Fort of Al-Hasa

The fortresses situated along the pilgrim routes were vital in that they provided travellers with the necessities: accommodation, water and food. The historical texts attest to the existence of a khan and a bridge on this site before the coming of the Ottomans. In the 15th century Ibn Chahin Darhiri mentions the taxes paid by caravans bound for Damascus via the Hasa bridge, while Syrian historian Muhammad ibn Tulun speaks of a reception for a Mameluke dignitary in 1504 and pilgrims arriving from Damascus. Researchers working from poems have deduced that the fortress was built during the time of the Ottoman sultan Mustafa III.

The building is on the desert road to Amman, 183 kilometres south of the capital.

The readily workable local stone enabled the use of small, well cut facing blocks over a core of small pieces of rubblestone mixed with lime and sand mortar which ensured the solidity of the courses. The same cut stones served for the thick walls dividing up the internal areas. This made the overall structure very strong.

Seen from the outside, the square-plan building resembles a fortress, but inside it is like a khan. The main facade, to the north, had a pointed-arch entrance giving access to a 4-metre corridor at the end of which a rectangular door with a lintel opened onto the courtyard. The outside walls were topped on both sides with machicolations resting on consoles: this meant hot oil or burning liquids could be poured on undesirable visitors. In the centre of the courtyard a small square building reached by a staircase covered a well. Around the courtyard, large openings with pointed arches and smaller, rectangular ones with chamfered corbels opened onto rooms with semicircular or groined vaults. At each end of the south side a straight staircase leads to the upper level, where a passageway with arrow slits was used by the guards. The fort also included a small mosque with a pointed vault and a mihrab niche.

In addition to the rainwater well, a pond very close to the fort provided water. Also to be noted are a small, three-arched bridge and a Roman-type stone-paved road.

The building style is reminiscent of that of the Roman forts in the region and reflects the climatic conditions of this desert site. The same layout is to be found in the Roman palace of Halabat, then in buildings by the Ummayads (Qasr al-Kharana), the Ayyubids (the forts of Azrak [1236] and Ajlun), the Mamelukes (the fort of Qa’it Bay in Alexandria [1477]) and lastly the Ottomans, with the Egyptian castles dotted along the pilgrim roads. The same is true of the distinctive system of double-sided machicolations, already known to the Romans.