Collection guide · Ottoman period
Jordan’s Ottoman Hajj Forts
Seven forts on the old pilgrim road from Damascus to Mecca, built to guard water for the Hajj caravan, from Zarqa in the north to Mudawwara near the Saudi border.
7Forts
5No 4x4 needed
7Free entry
Qal’at Qatrana · Photo by Alex Bezrukov
The story
Water on the road to Mecca
Each year a great caravan of pilgrims set out from Damascus for Mecca, and its road ran south through what is now Jordan. The stops were set by water: Mudawwara was already a halt on the pilgrim road in the 9th century, and Al-Hasa appears as a Hajj halt in 1563.
The Ottomans, who ruled the region from 1516, built forts with cisterns at these stops. Sultan Suleiman built Qatrana in the mid-16th century, and ʿUnaiza followed in the later 16th century. Qasr Shebib in Zarqa is older, probably a Mamluk fort of the 14th century, but it served the same road.
In the 18th century the Ottomans strengthened the road again. Mudawwara was built in 1730–33, Al-Hasa in 1760 and Fassu’a in the mid-18th century, both under Sultan Mustafa III, and Dab’a was restored in 1766–67.
The Hejaz Railway, opened in 1908, followed the same route and passed close to most of the forts. Its station at Mudawwara saw one of the last battles of the Arab Revolt in 1918.
At a glance
The 7 forts side by side
Time on site, ticket and road conditions, taken from each travel guide. Filter the table and the map shows the same sites.
| Site | What it is | Time | Ticket | From Amman | 4x4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qasr Shebib | Medieval tower-fort in Zarqa | 15 min | Free | 25 km · 30–45 min | No |
| Qal’at Dab’a | Fort with corner towers and reservoir | 30 min | Free | 60 km · About 1 hr | No |
| Qal’at Qatrana | Restored 16th-century fort | 30 min | Free | 90 km · About 1 hr | No |
| Qal’at Al-Hasa | Fort of 1760 by an old bridge | 30 min | Free | 140 km · About 1 hr 45 min | No |
| Qal’at ‘Unaiza | Basalt fort, later 16th century | 30 min | Free | 180 km · About 2 hr | No |
| Qal’at Fassu’a | Small fort at a mountain pass | 30 min | Free | 265 km · About 3 hr | Needed |
| Qal’at Mudawwara | Fort beside a railway station | 30 min | Free | 320 km · About 3 hr 45 min | Needed |
Normal car4x4 needed
How to visit
Three ways to see them
Most of the forts stand near the Desert Highway. The northern ones make an easy day from Amman; the southern ones are far out near the Saudi border.
Day trip from Amman
Down the Desert Highway
Dab’a and Qatrana are about an hour from Amman and Al-Hasa about 1 hr 30 min–1 hr 45 min, so you can see all three in a day and be back by evening.
On the way south
South to Ma’an and beyond
ʿUnaiza is about 2 hours south of Amman. Fassu’a and Mudawwara lie far to the south, beyond Ma’an, on tracks where a 4x4 is needed.
Short stop
Qasr Shebib in Zarqa
The fort stands in the centre of Zarqa, easy to add to a day out to the desert castles or Azraq east of Amman.
Travel guides
All 7 fort guides
Travel guide
Qasr Shebib
A medieval tower-fort on a spur in the centre of Zarqa, a Hajj halt that became the seed of the city
Travel guide
Qal’at Dab’a
An 18th-century Hajj fort with four corner towers and a great reservoir on the plain south of Amman
Travel guide
Qal’at Qatrana
A restored 16th-century Hajj fort and great reservoir beside the Desert Highway
Travel guide
Qal’at Al-Hasa
An Ottoman Hajj fort of 1760 beside the old bridge over the flood valley of Wadi al-Hasa
Travel guide
Qal’at ‘Unaiza
A basalt Hajj fort of the later 16th century below the black hill of Jabal Unaiza
4x4
Travel guide
Qal’at Fassu’a
A small 18th-century Hajj fort at the head of the Batn al-Ghul pass, south-east of Ma’an
4x4
Travel guide
Qal’at Mudawwara
An 18th-century Hajj fort near the Saudi border, beside the station taken by the Camel Corps in 1918
Plan your visit
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Tell us when you are travelling and which forts you would like to see. We will suggest a route and a price.
