Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi
The western Umayyad palace whose facade now fronts the Damascus museum.
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Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi was the western twin of the great eastern desert palace, built for the caliph Hisham in the 720s beside an older Byzantine monastic tower, with a garden fed by an aqueduct from a Roman dam. Its magnificent carved and painted entrance facade was dismantled and rebuilt as the front of the National Museum in Damascus, which is where its art is seen; at the site itself the tower, wall lines and the water system remain in the steppe.
What you actually see
- The Byzantine tower - the older structure the palace was built around.
- The wall lines - the palace plan traceable on the ground.
- The water system - dam, aqueduct and garden channels of the estate.
- The steppe setting - the emptiness the caliphs retreated into.
When to go
March to April and October to November are mild; summer is severe. Spring can green the steppe briefly.
Honest expectations
The famous facade is in Damascus, not here - the site itself is low ruins that take imagination. Desert access needs a guide and arrangements. No facilities of any kind.
Nearby
Palmyra is northeast, and Homs is west.
What to pack for Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.