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Quseir Amra

Quseir Amra

Built in the early 8th century, this exceptionally well-preserved desert castle was both a fortress with a garrison and a residence of the Umayyad caliphs. The most outstanding features of this small pleasure palace are the reception hall and the hammam, both richly decorated with figurative murals that reflect the secular art of the time.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Qusair Amra

Construit au début du VIIIe siècle, ce château du désert, particulièrement bien conservé, était à la fois une forteresse abritant une garnison et une résidence des califes omeyyades. Doté en particulier d'une salle d'audience et d'un hammam aux riches peintures murales figuratives, ce petit château de plaisance reflète l'art profane de l'époque.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

قُصَير عمرة

كان قصر الصحراء هذا، المُشيَّد في بداية القرن الثامن والذي تتمّ المحافظة عليه بشكلٍ خاص، قلعةً تأوي الحرّاس ومحل إقامة الخلفاء الأمويّين. ويعكس قصر المتعة الصغير هذا، المجهّز بقاعةٍ للاجتماعات وبحمّامٍ مليء بالرسوم التصويريّة على الجدران، الفنَّ العلماني الذي كان سائدًا في تلك الفترة.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

库塞尔阿姆拉

库塞尔阿姆拉沙漠城堡建于公元8世纪早期,保存非常完好。该城堡既是一个军事要塞,也曾是倭马亚哈里发的住所。这座精美的小宫殿最特别的是它的接待厅和浴室,装潢富丽堂皇,装饰有许多反映那个时代世俗艺术的象征性壁画。

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Древняя резиденция халифов Кусейр-Амра

Построенный в начале VIII в., этот исключительно хорошо сохранившийся комплекс строений в пустыне был одновременно крепостью со своим гарнизоном и резиденцией халифов из династии Омейядов. Наиболее ценными в этом прекрасном небольшом дворце являются зал приемов и баня – «хаммам». Оба строения богато украшенны фигурными росписями, представляющими светское искусство того времени.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Quseir Amra

Construido a principios del siglo VIII, este palacio del desierto especialmente bien conservado fue a un tiempo fortaleza dotada de una guarnición y residencia de recreo de los califas omeyas. La sala de audiencias y los baños de vapor (hammam) están decorados con ricas pinturas murales figurativas que ilustran el arte profano de la época.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

アムラ城

source: NFUAJ

Quseir Amra

Dit uitzonderlijk goed bewaard gebleven woestijnkasteel werd aan het begin van de 8e eeuw gebouwd. Het was zowel een fort met een garnizoen als de residentie van de Omajjaden kaliefen. De meest opvallende kenmerken van dit kleine paleis zijn de ontvangsthal en de hammam, beide rijkelijk versierd met figuratieve muurschilderingen die de seculiere kunst van die tijd weergeven. De uitgebreide fresco’s van het badhuis en de receptie zijn uniek voor de islamitische architectuur uit de Omajjaden periode. De muurschilderingen tonen invloeden van klassieke heidense thema’s, portretten en jachttaferelen in Byzantijnse stijl, jachttaferelen en afbeeldingen van dieren. Allemaal vergezeld van Griekse en Arabische teksten.

Source: unesco.nl

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Quseir Amra (Jordan) © Editions Gelbart
Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

Built in the early 8th century beside the Wadi Butum, a seasonal watercourse, this desert establishment was both a fortress with a garrison and a residence/pleasure palace of the Umayyad caliphate. The exceptionally well-preserved, small pleasure palace comprises a reception hall and hammam (a bath complex with changing room, warm and hot rooms), all richly decorated with figurative murals that reflect the secular art of the time.

The extensive fresco paintings of the bath building and reception hall are unique for Islamic architecture of the Umayyad period. The wall paintings show influences from classical pagan themes, Byzantine style portraits and hunting scenes, depictions of animals and birds, and are accompanied by inscriptions in Greek and Arabic. The representation of the zodiac on the domed ceiling of the caldarium (hot room) is one of the earliest known, surviving portrayals of a map of the heavens on a dome.

The desert establishment, of which this pleasure palace forms part, was one of several created in the semi-arid area east of Amman for the purpose of interacting with the tribal region of the Wadi Butum. As such, Quseir Amra is an outstanding example of a particular type of architectural ensemble which relates specifically to the administrative strategy of the first Islamic caliphate.

Criterion (i): The Quseir Amra paintings constitute a unique artistic achievement in the Umayyad Period. The extensive fresco paintings of the reception hall and bath building, in creating a place of relaxation for the Prince away from earthly cares, provides new insight to early Islamic art and its derivation from classical and Byzantine precedents. The zodiac dome, human portraits and depictions of animals and birds in the hunting scenes are found only in this early period of Islamic art.

Criterion (iii): Quseir Amra bears exceptional testimony to the Umayyad civilization which was imbued with a pre-Islamic secular culture and whose austere religious environment left little trace in the visual arts.

Criterion (iv): Together with the remains of the fort/garrison buildings several hundred metres to the north and traces of agricultural water catchment works, the fresco-painted bath building with its reception hall and adjacent well, tank and water-lifting hydraulic system, drainage pipes and cesspool represent an outstanding example of an Umayyad desert establishment.

In view of the fact that the relief decorations of the monumental frontal façade of Qasr el Mushatta were sent to the Berlin Museum and that the ruins of Qasr al Khayr al-Sharqui and Qasr al-Khayr al-Gharbi contain few decorative elements, Qusair Amra remains, together with Qasr Hisham and its mosaics, the best preserved of the decorated Umayyad palaces and castles in Jordan and Syria.

Integrity (2010)

The most significant elements of the property comprising the bath building and reception hall with their frescos remain intact.

The monument is vulnerable to erosion due to desert sandstorms and seasonal flooding of the water course on which it is located. A tree-planting project to the east and north of the property was aimed at reducing the impact of the arid desert, and a flood mitigation project has involved the construction of a diversion dyke to the west of the property. A huge modern reservoir was constructed to collect the flood and use the water to irrigate the forested area. These measures have been successful.

The location and condition of the building renders it subject to moisture penetration, which in turn is affecting the integrity of the wall paintings, causing deposition of salts and detachment of plaster at the base of the wall. The wall paintings are vulnerable to seasonal humidity and condensation due to increased numbers of visitors.

The paintings are also vulnerable due to the ageing of some of the products used in a 1970s restoration project, the accumulation of new dirt, graffiti, and deposits produced by birds and insects.

The setting of the monument, once a peaceful haunt of gazelles and other wildlife that came to the seasonal pools in the wadi bed shaded by patches of Butut (terebinth) trees that gave the watercourse its name, is now subject to noise and pollution from the highway constructed about 150 metres to the east.

Authenticity (2010)

The Outstanding Universal Value of the property is conveyed by the bath building and reception hall and their wall paintings and remnant mosaic floors. It is also conveyed by the context of the building which includes the adjacent well, tank and water-lifting system, the fort/garrison to the north, the remnant agricultural water collection structures and the desert environment with its seasonal watercourses.

These attributes require ongoing conservation and careful management of the requirements of increased tourism. The paintings have been subject to restoration programs in the 1970s and 1990s and a further program is envisaged. The setting now includes a visitor centre on the northern edge of the buffer zone and a solar-powered water pumping station 400 metres to the north-east.

Protection and management requirements (2010)

The property is a protected area under the Antiquities Law of 1935 Article 8 and the provisional law of 1976.

There is currently no management plan but there is a management operation. The site is managed by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities through its local office at Zara. Staff from the Department of Antiquities in Amman including an archaeologist, an architect, a foreman and four unskilled workmen carries out regular monitoring services and minor repairs and maintenance. The property is totally fenced and security is maintained by four permanent guards.

The Department of Antiquities is currently in discussion with the authorized departments regarding land cadastre surveying for the establishment of an expanded protection zone around the property for up to approximately 2,000 dunums (two million square metres).

Regulations will be developed in cooperation with the local municipality and Ministry of Agriculture to control future development and tree-planting.

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