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Jordan
/ The Desert Castles / Qasr Kharanah
Qasr Kharanah
is yet another imposing fortress built by the Umayyads, once thought
to have been constructed for defence purposes. It is perhaps more
likely that it was a former caravanserai, where camel caravans
pulled in to break their journey.
The thick-walled
structure has two floors of living space topped by an open-roofed
area and is built around a courtyard. The windows are narrow,
arrow-slots and these open in all directions, lending considerable
credence to the fortress theory, although many historians feel
that they would have offered insufficient field of fire to archers
and are more likely to have been used for light and ventilation.
Decorations are few, but some frescoes are to be found in the
upper rooms.
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