A short drive north of Tel al-Sultan, this is a spot not to be missed. The sprawling winter hunting retreat of Caliph Hisham Ibn Abd al-Malik must have been magnificent on its creation in the 8th century, with its baths, mosaic floors and pillars – so much so that archaelogists have labelled it the ‘Versaille of the Middle East’. It was not fated to last, however – it was destroyed by an earthquake soon after its creation.
The caretaker will direct you to a cinema, where you will be shown a 20-minute video on the history of the site, which gives much-needed perspective for a walk around the ruins. A high point is an amazingly well-preserved ‘tree of life’ mosaic in the entertaining room of the bathhouse. On one side of the tree two deers graze peacefully, while on the other a deer is attacked by a lion. There are various interpretations of the mosaic, including the struggle between good and evil, peace and war, as well as good versus bad governance.
