Publication Date
508 - 509 / 1115- 1116
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;22;ar
Library Location
Al-Waira Castle is located in Wadi Musa, 1 km north of the main entrance to Petra. It is 34 km south of Shobak, Petra/Wadi Musa, Jordan
Date
508 - 509 / 1115- 1116
Notes
Al-Wayra, or Wadi Musa, as it was described by the Franks, was one of several castles built in and around Petra in the year 508-509 / 1115-1116 by Baldwin I, king of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The castle, which was built from stone blocks of sandstone, has an unequal rectangular shape, with dimensions ranging between 100 m in length and 65-80 m in width. The reason for the irregular shape of the castle is due to the topography of the area, as the surrounding walls follow in their extension the protruding rocky plateaus. The surrounding walls are supported by a group of small towers. One of the main towers is located in the middle of the eastern wall and the second is at the northwestern corner overlooking Wadi Al-Waira. Entry to the castle was through a tunnel dug into the sandstone and linked to a bridge built over Wadi Al-Waira. The northwestern corner is occupied by a small church roofed with a barrel vault, its dimensions are 14 The purpose of building this castle and its contemporary castles in Shobak and Al-Habis inside Petra was to protect the area southeast of the Dead Sea, and to impede Hajj and trade caravans moving between Syria, Egypt, and the Hijaz. Frankish control over the castle ended in the year 584 / 1188 after it fell into the hands of Saladin’s soldiers, shortly before the fall of Shobak Castle. The Ayyubids made minor modifications to the citadel, but did not add any significant construction to it.
Sample Text
Ghazi Bisheh “Al-Waira Castle” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;22;ar
