New article: Rebuilding Jordan's desert castles

The Arab Review, 27th June 2012

With reconstruction work in full swing, the setting inside the palace is as strange as the view from outside. The elegant green marble pillars stand side by side with a bright orange crane, and the stark lines of scaffolding contrast with the ornate wall-carvings half-hidden behind. Everywhere workers, all from a family whose small houses are scattered in the desert beyond, patiently work on the palace’s stones. Each man’s head is wrapped in a red-and-white Jordanian keffiyeh against the blowing sand, but occasionally the twisting dust-devils and lashing desert winds become too much and work has to stop.

The full article is here.