Al-Qasṭal

Al Qastal lies in the Syrian steppe near Khanasir, south of the salt flats of Jabbul. Known to early Arab writers as Khunasira, Khanasir became a fortified estate and a favoured residence of the Umayyad caliph Umar II, who ruled from 717 to 720. A long underground water channel dating to Byzantine times supplied the settlement.