Humeima

Welcome to Humeima. As the beautiful verses of local Arabic poetry so aptly declare, this remarkable place is the heart of the desert and the very soul of Bedouinism. …

As we begin our exploration of Humeima, we find ourselves standing upon stones that have borne the weight of ancient empires. Beneath your feet lies the legendary Tariq al Muluk, the famed King's Highway. …

Leaving the ancient Roman road behind, we now approach the most imposing architectural feature of Humeima, the grand palatial structure known as the Qasr. The massive footprint of this building dominates the central…

Stepping through the main entrance of the Qasr, we leave the expansive desert behind and enter the intimate, enclosed world of the Center Court area. This large, open-air courtyard functioned as the beating heart of the palatial…

Proceeding toward the northern boundary of the courtyard, we enter the remnants of a specific, deliberate architectural transition: the main hallway. To access the designated spiritual heart of the Qasr, visitors and residents…

We have now arrived at the culmination of the Qasr's architectural layout: the prayer room at the top, occupying the extreme northern edge of the building. As noted in the courtyard, this is the solitary chamber directly…

Leaving the grand, north-facing Qasr behind, we walk a short distance southward to examine a distinctly different set of ruins. Here, separated from the main palatial estate, we find the foundations of what is clearly more of a…

Our final architectural stop takes us to the southernmost edge of the Humeima archaeological zone. Here, the ruins shift from spaces of the living to the solemn architecture of the dead. …

As our journey through Humeima comes to a close, let us pause near the ancient tombs and look back over the sprawling expanse of ruins we have traversed. We began our walk on the resilient paving stones of the Via Nova Traiana, a…