Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi قصر الحير الغربي | |
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General information | |
Town or city | Homs Governorate |
Country | Syria |
Coordinates | 34°22′28″N 37°36′21″E / 34.374444°N 37.605833°E |
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi (
Description
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi is one of a number of Umayyad desert castles in the Syrian/Jordanian region. The site originally consisted of a palace complex, a bath house, industrial buildings for the production of olive oil, an irrigated garden and another building which scholars suggest may have been a caravanserai. Over the entrance is an inscription which declares that it was built by Hisham in the year 727, a claim that is borne out by the architectural style.[1]
It was used as an eye of the king during the Umayyad era, to control the movement of the desert tribes and to act as a barrier against marauding tribes, as well as serving a
The castle is quadrangular in outline with 70-metre (230 ft) sides. The central doorway to the castle is very attractive and has been moved to the
Little of the original castle remains; however, the reservoir to collect water from Harbaka dam, a bath and a khan are still visible. The gateway is preserved as a façade in the National Museum of Damascus.
See also
References
External links
- "Qasr Al Hir". Syria Gate. Archived from the original on 2007-11-18.
- Genequand, Denis (2013). "Some Thoughts on Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, its Dam, its Monastery and the Ghassanids". Levant. 38 (1): 63–84. ISSN 0075-8914.