Al-Ukhaidir Fortress

The fortress-palace of Ukhaidir sits roughly 120 kilometres south-west of Baghdad in the Iraqi desert, one of the best-preserved monuments of early Abbasid architecture anywhere in the Islamic world. Built around 775 CE — shortly after the founding of Baghdad — it served as a retreat for a member of the Abbasid ruling family, away from the intrigues of the caliph's court. Its massive rectangular enclosure wall of mud brick, punctuated by semi-circular towers, encloses a rigidly axial interior of courtyards, vaulted corridors and iwan halls that mark a pivotal moment between Sassanid palatial tradition and classical Islamic architecture. Listed on Iraq's UNESCO Tentative List, the fortress receives few visitors; those who make the journey encounter near-total desert silence within walls several metres thick.