Desert castles (all images)

The Desert Castles are a number of early Islamic era buildings located up to 60km east of Amman. These are actually not castles, but palaces, hunting lodges, caravanserais and farmhouses, serving as urban retreats for the rulers of the Umayyad dynasty living in Amman. The desert castles were mostly set up in the 7th century AD. They can be visited by driving in a loop starting from Amman and ending in Amman. The simplest way to visit all castles is by rental car from Amman, although tours to the castles exist.