The Jordan that Tourists Rarely See 2: Qasr Kharaneh

In ancient times, Jordan was at the cross-roads of camel caravan routes. Travellers going between Damascus and Mecca, for example, or between Baghdad and Cairo, had to cross Jordan. It was not, however, the arid landscape we see today. The Byzantine and Early Muslim eras were moister, and nourished a lusher ecosystem. It supported more sheep, goats and camels, and consequently a higher Bedouin population. Travellers could hunt game such as gazelles and oryx, but had to fear their predators including lions, cheetahs, striped hyenas, wolves, and, in the mountains, brown bears and leopards. But because of these and the danger from Bedouin raiders, merchants built caravanserai at strategic points a day’s camel-ride apart. These fortresses were large enough to house the whole caravan: all the camels and their merchandise, as well as accommodations for the merchants, residents, and perhaps a garrison of troops. There would be shops, a bazaar, and the ancient equivalent of cafes. Qasr Kharaneh (or Kharana, Hraneh) is a largely intact and restored example. Scholars think now that it may also have functioned as a sort of conference centre, as it is too richly appointed to be strictly functional. Outside, it is a massive, mud-brick rectangle baking in the sun; inside, it is a wonder of shady coolness with light playing on the central courtyard and surrounding arches and porticos of stable rooms on the lower level, and stairways between the upper and lower levels. The vaulted upper rooms are decorated with rosettes and diamonds. From Muwaqqir, about 25 km southeast of Amman, it is another 38 km east.