Quseir Amra or Qusair Amra is a historic bathhouse that was part of a hunting lodge. Quseir Amra belongs to the so-called 'desert castles' built by the Umayyad dynasty to the east and south of Amman. The building probably dates from the period 711 - 715 and was built by order of Caliph Walid I. The paintings are possibly of a later date and were then added between 730 and 740.The building is built of blocks of sandstone. It is currently located in the middle of the desert near a wadi, a riverbed that is dry for most of the year. In the eighth century, the area was probably green and fertile. A well - still present today - was used to draw the water for the baths.The hamam consists of several rooms. One enters the large reception hall covered by three parallel barrel vaults. In the centre is a niche where the royal throne probably stood. Furthermore, there are two rest rooms. On the left, one can walk to the apodyterium (the dressing room) behind which are the tepidarium (the lukewarm bath) and the caldarium (the hot bath).The bathhouse is unique for its 250 well-preserved frescoes, many of which are still vividly coloured. These frescoes decorate the interior walls of the building and especially those of the reception hall. They depict hunting scenes, bathing women, scenes related to the construction of the bathhouse, among others. In the small caldarium i
I am Maarten Verhees. The focus of my photographs is on the variation of architecture, animals and people. I try to capture the essence of local places in photographs... Read more…