The ruins of Umm al- Walid are 15 km southeast
of Madaba in the town of Al Zafaran. They cover the length of
a small hill. This site has been occupied since the Bronze Age,
with a mixture of Roman and Islamic architecture. The ruins on
the hill consist of a mosque, an Eastern Qasr, a central Qasr,
a western Qa?r and two Roman temples. The mosque and the eastern
Qasr were built at the same period while they share the same
building materials and same architectural motives (GPS: 31°36'43.56"N
35°52'44.44"E.) The mosque is dated about 712-37 AD.
The older Umayyad building pictured above has a Qibla that points
within 1.25° of Petra. The other buildings do not appear
to have a qibla. |