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Qasr al Hayr al Gharbi

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Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi Western alHayr Palace Plan of Palace After Schlumberger Archnet

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Qasr al‑Hayr al‑Sharqi, National Museum of Damascus, Qasr Azraq, Hisham's Palace, Qasr Amra

Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi castle or qasr (Arabic: قصر الحير الغربي‎‎), located 80 km south-west of Palmyra on the Damascus road in Syria, is a twin palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi, built by the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 727 CE. It was built in the Byzantine architectural style.

It was used as an eye of the king during the Umayyad era, to control the movement of the desert tribes and to be a barrier against them, as well as being a hunting lodge. Later it was utilized by the Ayyubids and the Mamelukes but was abandoned permanently after the Mongol invasions.

The castle is quadrangular in outline with 70-meter sides. The central doorway to the castle is very attractive, and has been moved to the National Museum of Damascus to be used as the entrance. Its semi-cylindrical towers on the sides of the doorway, columns, and the geometric shapes mirrored a blend of Persian, Byzantine and Arab architecture.

Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons55

Not much remained from the castle. Only visible is a reservoir to collect water from Harbaka dam, a bath and a khan.

Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi Floor painting with musicians and hunting scene Umayyad Qasr al

The gateway is preserved as a façade in the National Museum of Damascus.

Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi FileQasr AlHir AlGharbiJPG Wikimedia Commons

Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi Qasr alHayr alGharbi Wikipedia la enciclopedia libre

References

Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi Wikipedia