Syria · 8th century
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi (Arabic: قصر الحير الغربي) is a Syrian desert castle or qasr located 80 km south-west of Palmyra on the Damascus road. The castle 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 Umayyad architectural style. As the complex was believed to be an estate owned by someone of wealth, it is no surprise that some decorations for its opulent owners may be found within the remains of the palace. Some of the items found within include richly decorated floor frescoes, stucco walls, and figural reliefs. Many decorations and artwork from the complex are kept at the National Museum in Damascus.
Like other desert palaces, Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi was not Hisham's primary residence. The structure served as a secondary lodging for the Caliph, while the expanse of flat desert land surrounding it was used for leisurely activities such as hunting and racing. Noblemen other than the Caliph would have stayed in tents around the palace when they visited.
Text adapted from “Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi ranks #1,792 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #11 of the 38 mapped in Syria. Founded 727, it is older than 95% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 48 atlas entries founded in the 8th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,459 times in the last 60 days, more than 61% of the atlas. The nearest day-trip guide is Salamiyah, 87 km away. It is one of the 106 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Levant. See how Syria compares in the castle statistics.
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