Khirbat al-Mafjar

Khirbat al-Mafjar, Umayyad desert palace complex located in the Wadi Al-Nuwayʿima, approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of Jericho, in the West Bank. Built in the 8th century, this palace contained a residential unit consisting of a square building with an elaborate entrance, a porticoed courtyard, and a number of rooms or halls arranged on two floors. Few of these rooms seem to have any identifiable function, although a private oratory, a large meeting hall,...