Qasr Amra (Arabic: قصر عمرة‎ / ALA-LC: Qaṣr ‘Amrah), often Quseir Amra or Qusayr Amra, is the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan. It was built early in the 8th century (probably between 711 and 715) by the Umayyad caliph Walid I whose dominance of the region was rising at the time. It is considered one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture. The building is actually the remnant of a larger complex that included an actual castle, of which only the foundation remains. What stands today is a small country cabin, meant as a royal retreat, without any military function. It is most notable for the frescoes that remain on the ceilings inside, which depict hunting, naked women and, above one bath chamber, an accurate representation of the zodiac. These have led to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of three in the country. That status, and its location along Jordan's major east-west highway, relatively close to Amman, have made it a frequent tourist destination.

The abandoned structure was re-discovered by Alois Musil in 1898, with the frescoes made famous in drawings by an Austrian artist named Mielich for Musil's book. In the late 1970s a Spanish team restored the frescoes. The castle was made a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1985 under criteria i), iii), and iv) ("masterpiece of human creative genius", "unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition" and "an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history").

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasr_Amra