Qasr Kharana: The Desert Castle in Photos

By Alex
Updated October 23, 2026

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Standing alone beside the highway in Jordan’s Eastern Desert, Qasr Kharana is the best-preserved and least understood of the Umayyad desert castles, already standing by AD 710. This album walks around its solid towered walls, through the entrance passage and up the stairs, into the courtyard and the vaulted suites of rooms, and closes in on the stucco rosettes, cross vault and sawtooth band of the decorated upper floor, before stepping back to see the castle in its open landscape.

In this album

41 photos of Qasr Kharana

Tap a photo to open it full size

The rounded corner towers and high stone walls of Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 01The Castle Walls

The north side of the castle, its back wall with rounded towers, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 02The North Side

The castle seen across flat desert ground with a single shrub, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 03Across the Desert

The front of the castle with its single central gate, seen from a distance, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 04The Entrance Front

The square castle under a deep blue sky, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 05Under a Blue Sky

Looking up at a solid rounded corner tower, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 06A Solid Corner Tower

A wall of the castle with a half-round tower in the middle, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 07A Half-Round Tower

A corner of the castle with bands of decorative stone courses, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 08Corner and Courses

A long wall with narrow slits and a central half-round tower, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 09The Long Wall

The information stand with the name of Qasr Kharana in front of the castle, Jordan — 10The Site Sign

A corner tower and wall with narrow light slits, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 11Towers and Slits

The long vaulted entrance passage looking out towards the gate, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 12The Entrance Passage

A doorway with a stone frame off the courtyard, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 13A Stone Doorway

A long, narrow staircase between high walls leading to the upper floor, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 14The Staircase

The small courtyard with doorways and windows on two floors, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 15The Courtyard

The courtyard walls with upper-floor doorways and windows, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 16Two Storeys

Openings of the upper-floor rooms above the courtyard, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 17Upper-Floor Openings

The courtyard walls rising to the open sky, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 18Looking Up from the Court

A vaulted hall with arches leading to a doorway, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 19A Vaulted Hall

A vaulted hall with a large round stone on the floor, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 20Hall with a Round Stone

A hall with transverse arches resting on attached columns, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 21Arches and Columns

Transverse arches carrying the vault of a hall, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 22Transverse Arches

A vaulted room lit by a small arched window, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 23Light Through a Window

Arches and a half-dome in one of the suites of rooms, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 24A Suite of Rooms

The large round stone on the floor of a vaulted hall, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 25The Round Stone

A close view of the large round stone in a vaulted hall, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 26The Round Stone Up Close

A room with a window and a squinch in its corner, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 27Corner Squinch

A vaulted room lit by three narrow slits, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 28Three Slits

An arcade of engaged columns on the upper floor under the sky, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 29The Upper Arcade

Clusters of small columns and arches in an upper-floor room, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 30Clustered Colonnettes

A cross-vaulted ceiling decorated with diamonds and squares, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 31The Cross Vault

A row of moulded plaster rosettes on an upper wall, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 32Stucco Rosettes

Faint marks on a plastered wall in an upper room, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 33Marks on the Plaster

A squinch carrying a half-dome in the corner of a room, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 34Squinch and Half-Dome

An arched niche with a moulded frame, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 35An Arched Niche

A band of triangular sawtooth decoration in the plaster, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 36The Sawtooth Band

The path for visitors leading across the desert to the castle, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 37The Visitor Path

The castle small on the horizon of the open plain, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 38Alone on the Plain

The castle under streaks of cloud, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 39Dramatic Sky

The castle on the horizon of the Eastern Desert, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 40On the Horizon

The castle at the end of desert tracks in evening light, Qasr Kharana, Jordan — 41Evening Light

About this album

Site

Qasr Kharana, Eastern Desert

Region

Eastern Desert

Period

Theme

Coordinates

31.7289° N, 36.4628° E

Photos

41 photos

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The rounded corner towers and high stone walls of Qasr Kharana, Jordan

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