Quseir Amra*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Jordan
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, iv
Reference	327
Region†	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1985  (9th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Qasr Amra (Arabic: قصر عمرة) is the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Desert castles consist of a number of minor castles and fortresses scattered over the desert in eastern Jordan. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern The castle was built early in the 8th century (probably between 711 and 715) by the Umayyad caliph Walid I whose dominance of the region was rising at the time. The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Events By Place Europe April 30 — Ummayad troops led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar, and begin Events By Place Europe September 26 — Battle of Compiègne: Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald, becoming mayor The Caliph is the Head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah The castle is thus one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture. Islamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic architecture has encompassed a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day influencing the design and construction

Fresco, Qasr Amra

Fresco from Qasr Amra, Pergamon Museum, Berlin

The castle, which was used as a retreat by the caliph or his princes for sport and pleasure, is lined with frescos that depict hunting scenes (of mammals long since hunted to extinction in the Middle East), fruit and nude women. The Pergamon Museum ( German: Pergamonmuseum) is among the museums on Museum Island in Berlin. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or The castle also contains a bath complex with a triple-vaulted ceiling that shows a Roman influence. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC

Today Qasr Amra is in a poorer condition than the other desert castles, with graffiti damaging some frescos. Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property However, restoration projects are underway. The well and water system can be seen.

Abandoned structure was re-discovered by Alois Musil in 1898. Alois Musil ( June 30, 1868 in Rychtářov near Vyškov - April 12, 1944 in Otryby near Český Šternberk The castle was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 under criteria i), iii), and iv) ("masterpiece of human creative genius", "unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition" and "an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history"). United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar)

Alternate spellings

Transliteration from Arabic gives rise to many spelling variants including Quseir Amra, Qasr Amrah, Qasr Amr, Qasayr Amra and Qusair Amra. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language However, the proper transliteration is Quṣayr ʿAmra which means 'small palace of 'Amra'.

References

• UNESCO World Heritage Site listing