Author
Prince Khair Bey Al-Ala'i, known as
Author Original
الأمير خير بيه العلائي المعروف باسم
Publication Date
920 / 1515؛ 996 / 1585
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;29;ar
Library Location
This castle is located in the city of Aqaba, 375 km south of Amman, Aqaba, Jordan
Date
920 / 1515؛ 996 / 1585
Notes
The building took the form of a square, walled courtyard with a side length of 58 metres. Protruding from the surrounding walls were polygonal towers that were replaced by circular ones in the middle of the 13th / 19th century. The traveler Léon de Laborde visited the castle in 1828, and it appears from his drawing of the castle that the polygonal towers were still standing at that time. The original purpose of the building was to facilitate the Egyptian pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. In 1841 AD, as a result of the London Agreement, Egypt took over the administration of Aqaba to protect the Egyptian pilgrimage route, and thus the castle took on a military character. This transformation was reflected in the reconstruction of the towers, in addition to the groups of rooms erected on the northern and western sides. The entrance opens in the northern wall and is surrounded by two circular towers with unequal diameters, and on each tower appears a disc with the name of the Ottoman Sultan Murad bin Selimkhan inside it. Above the entrance there is a ratchet resting on elongated stone blocks. The entrance leads to a corridor or vestibule with a roof with intersecting vaults, and extending around its walls from right to left is an inscription band in Naskh script that reads, “…the blessed and happy Lord, the Sultan Al-Malik, the Ashraf King, Abu Al-Nasr, the Ashraf King, Abu Al-Nasr, Qansuh Al-Ghuri, the Sultan of Islam and the Muslims, the murderer of... the eraser of justice in the worlds, standing, God willing, in Aqaba, the Sultan Al-Malik, the Ashraf King, Abu Al-Nasr, Al-Malik Al-Ghuri, may God bless his supporters with Muhammad and his family. The construction of this castle was Blessed is the Emir Khayir Bey Al-Ala’i, the distinguished architect, Emir of the Tablkhans… dated… AH [ten or nine hundred and twenty]…” and to the right of the interior there are two circular frames, inside each of which is an inscription that reads, “To our Lord, Sultan Murad bin Salim Khan, renovate this castle in the year 996 AH.” The last part of the corridor is covered by a dome over spherical pendentives set up at the corners. From its far end, the corridor overlooks an open space surrounded by a group of rooms and halls. Near the middle of the southern wall, the mosque was built. Archaeological excavations have shown that the current building is the last of a series of buildings that preceded it, the construction of which began in the 7th / 13th century.
Sample Text
Mohammad Najjar “Aqaba Castle” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;29;ar
