The castle needs a lot of proper rennovation and cleaning. Its a pity that such places aren't taking care of.

This well preserved palace which used to be an Umayyad winter palace depicts the beauty of the Islamic art. it is located in Al-Qastal area in Amman and was built during the reign of the Caliph Al-Walid 2. The most striking feature of this castle is found currently at the Pergamon museum in berlin. I recommend this place to be visited.

Very nice Palace and easily accessible which unfortunately means it's been totally trashed. It needs to be properly cleaned and taken care of. Would be good to put a visitor centre, like in other places. The decor, especially at the front of the Mosque, is stunning.

It's a cool building for a very quick visit. With kids we walked the entire thing in under 15 minutes. There is one sign with some details about it but not much else. It's close to the airport but still a 20 minute drive from the airport due to taking back roads. The roads to get to it are paved but not taken care of. Plenty of parking right in front of it. Free. Saddest part is all the trash and vandalism, it is not taken care of in the slightest.

Al-Mashta is one of the Arab palaces built by the Umayyads in the Levant. The palace is located 32 km southeast of Amman. It was built by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid bin Yazid in the year 744 AD. The palace is surrounded by a square wall of 144 meters in length with 25 circular towers, except for the two entrance towers, which are in the form of a semi-octagonal. The palace is located in Jordan in the Giza district. In 1903 AD, the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid gifted the decorations of the palace to the Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II, and this is the reason for the presence of the decorations of the facade in Germany

It was so sad to see such a place in this bad condition! It would've looked amazing if they took care of it, full of garbage here and there. How do you keep an important place like this without security?! I saw a guy and his wife preparing shisha and burning coal by the ruins, what!? And this place has no entrance, you'll have to make your way through the barbed wires fence.

This palace is the biggest Umayyad palace in Jordan. Amazing architecture and beautiful details. You need to make sure that the guard is available to open the outside gate. The phone number posted is wrong and it is free to access the site.

An important Ommayed palace, located near the airport. There is a need for conservation work, and site management.

Beautiful palace. Worth some restoration work. Forn now looks fenced, buuuuut considering that gates are opened (although locked with a chain/lock combination) just to permit pasage to people but not cars I assume it can be visited.

It’s so sad to see such beauty neglected and not properly taken care of and made use of! This is the ( "Winter Palace") the ruin of an Umayyad winter palace, probably commissioned by Caliph Al-Walid II during his brief reign (743-744). The ruins are located approximately 30 km south of Amman, Jordan, north of Queen Alia International Airport, and are part of a string of castles, palaces and caravanserais known collectively in Jordan and the wider Southern Levant region as the Desert Castles. Though much of the ruins can still be found in situ, the most striking feature of the palace, its facade, has been removed and is on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The complex was never completed. This could be a great venue for concerts and cultural events, this needs to be shown to young children so they know more about this country’s rich history and events. Ministry of tourism and antiquities should do a better job.

Beautiful ruins of a castle that is little visited today

Very interesting place, but a lots of trashes and it takes some time to get there. The road is in a bad shape. From the bright side there is parking in front of it.

Great history but needs management and protection

Like so many other places in this country, it's not appreciated by the public. At least there were some old signs up explaining a bit about its history. Ummayad Palace which was never finished...Germany took parts of it away...some got restored on location

Beautiful place, but there was a lot of garbage lying around. Such a treasure should be more taken care of. I was happy to see one information board.

Looks very nice from fare. But wall and fence impossibility to visit.

A bit difficult to get in as there is fencing all around. The ruins are in decent shape and it is easy to imagine what the space would have looked like centuries ago. Plenty of space to walk around and see the various areas that standing.

Kann man mitnehmen, wenn es auf der Strecke liegt, einen wirklichen Umweg ist es nicht wert.

Archeological spot on your way to Queen Alia Airport. A significant architectural heritage from the Umayyad period showing a big time Islamic artisan. A hidden gem in a context of factories and logistical streets. Worth visiting!

Near to the airport, Queen Alia International Airport, in an industrial area, you find this piece of art, an old castle, so beautiful and so unique, in the middle of nowhere, the place is not famouse, you'll not find anyone there, enjoy the unique nature of the place and leave with a million questions in your head

Just outside airport fence, not much there but historic

This place is not mantained in any way. It is rather a very small palace without too much to see in an industrial area. Is it worth seeing only if you're passing by and you have time to kill.

An interesting example of Ummayad architecture.. I hope there will be more effort to preserve it..