Jordan's Royal Residences

[tipper]

oh thank you mousbah. thats really nice of them to turn it into an orphanage

QA's grave is close to the House where she lived as a Queen and that she loved so much. P Hayah ,Zein and other Princesses are very active in the orphanage, which is dedicated to the memory of QA.

 

[Safaa Batin]

posted before but will post it here


Al-Hashmiya Palace (Dar al-Bir):




​

Located on high ground in the Hummar area, the Palace was built during the mid 1970s to be the home of Their Majesties King Hussein and Queen Alia, until the Queen’s tragic death on February 9, 1977. From the palace, Jerusalem could easily be seen on a clear day.


In appreciation of Queen Alia’s love for this beautiful area, she was laid to rest close by the Palace and a mosque was built nearby.

During the 1980’s and until 1997, al-Hashmiya was used as a guest palace for visiting heads of state and dignitaries, when Their Majesties King Hussein and Queen Noor asked for the building to become a new home for some 200 orphans who were living in harsh conditions in Amman. The Palace took the name of Dar al-Bir

 

[maryshawn]

Al-Hashmiya Palace

This is the one Noor said she was called by KH to consult on as it had problems......nice to finally see it. Didn't catch last posting-sorry. It is absolutely gorgeous! And what a kind gesture to give to orphans. I'm sure it is what QA, as well as KH and QN, would have wanted......now it really is a living monument, isn't it?

Al-Hashmiya Palace (Dar al-Bir):

 

[Humera]

here are some of the images of the royal family's homes that I got from Queen Noor's A&E Bio. The last one is a picture of her house in London I think..i could be wrong

 

[maryshawn]

Summer palace in Aqaba

As you will see, QN redesigned portions of the home. I don't think the entrance is featured but the arches across the back were her idea.

She used a lot of color around the home; natural colors, she explained, of the blue of the sea, the rose of sunsets, and there is a very comfortable feel to the home with many elegant Arabic touches.

The main home is surrounded by smaller homes for visitors--even royalty like Queen Elizabeth. Located on a sandy beach, it is kilometers from the Israeli border. After KH signed peace accords, he took his boat into Israeli waters and was cheered by those he met--something he found very touching.

While in Aqaba, the family life was very simple. They indulged in boating, water skiing, tennis, lying out in the sun, swimming and picnics.

What I don't know is if this house/compound actually ever had a name like other royal homes. Does anyone know?

These photos are from Architectural Digest, January 1987.

The front arch redesigned by Queen Noor for Aqaba as well as KH w/Hashim on stairs, Ali and Hamzah admiring swordfish they'd caught, Princess Iman's Birthday party and admiring baby Raiyah.

 

[malena]

If I am not mistaken,the Aqaba house belongs to king Abdullah now and him and the queen have redecorated the whole palace.Is this an old Architectural Digest eddition

 

[maryshawn]

I have asked who the home belongs to now. You are the first to give a definitive response--and it makes sense. Likely, QR did redecorate.....these photos are from 1987 or so as Hamzah was about 9 at the time. I can look up magazine and give you definitive answer but its about then. I initially was going to respond "well, that would make sense (the redecoration) as QR has young children and wants a family environment.....but at the time these photos were taken, QN and KH also had small children (QAs and QNs---I think Raiyah was a baby).


Do you know if the home has a name or if it is just referred to as the Aqaba home? They seem to name everything....but I've never heard one for this place.

If I am not mistaken,the Aqaba house belongs to king Abdullah now and him and the queen have redecorated the whole palace.Is this an old Architectural Digest eddition

 

[Safaa Batin]

Do you know if the home has a name or if it is just referred to as the Aqaba home? They seem to name everything....but I've never heard one for this place.

i think it has a name - not sure though- but i don't remember what, may be Albarakah, or that is in Amman?

 

[amina1]

Al-Barakah palace is where KA & QR live,
and I don't think the Aqaba palace have a specific name like the others.
Is it this palace that Queen Noor said that she likes it so much? if so, why she never visited it anymore?

 

[Bubbette]

His original summer palace was just being built in 1967 in what is now Pisgat Zev, Israel. My in laws live right down the street. It is in a beautiful hilltop location.

 

[sommone]

Wow..nice home. Blue is my favorite color too.

 

[maryshawn]

Gorgeous room--blue is my favorite color too. I noticed in her English and American homes she started to favour neutrals and ivory.....the size of their UK living room really surprised me--very small. 2 loveseats facing each other and a few small tables with family photos. Quite modest but tasteful. It was on a Bryant Gumbel program from the year before KH died. Gumbel said "you are young, very much in love with many years ahead of you...." QN immediately knocked wood on the table for luck. She might have suspected bad news then.

 

[maryshawn]

Queen Noor and King Husseins' Potomac Home Sold

From Washingtonian:

Queen Noor has sold the house at 10221 River Road, Potomac, MD, to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Details on his new house are reported by the Washingtoninan Magazine:
Cost: 10 million
Acreage: 14
Total space: 30,000 square feet
Master bedroom suite: 3,000 square feet
Former owner: Queen Noor
Number of car bays: 12
Number of seats in movie theater: 18 (plus popcorn stand)
Size of "fun room" - 1,000 square feet
Clothes storage area - 600 square feet
Number of closets: 17 including 120 square foot cedar closet
Seats at bar: 14
Number of TVs in bar area: one 65 inch and 4 41 inch


Since sale, Mr. Snyder has been in trouble with village of Potomac for cutting down a vast number of trees on the property. The village sent in environmental officials and Mr. Snyder has had to pay fines and commit to a tree planting project in an effort to restore some of the lost vegetation.

But the house sure sounds nice!!!!! Mary Shawn

 

[Balqis]

Thanks for the info, Mary Shawn. I wonder how many times a year they stayed in this house while KH was alive. Where is QN relocating to now?

 

[maryshawn]

Queen Noor's new rental home

Crest Lane has traditionally been McLean’s most prestigious street in large part because Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis grew up in the same Chain Bridge Road neighborhood at Merrywood, the house where JFK wrote Profiles in Courage. But what makes 1159 Crest Lane so special that the seller is asking $11.5 million? Granted the unique elliptical house set on 2.4 acres commands beautiful views of the river from every room. And the fact that it is rumored to have been rented by Jordan’s Queen Noor also accounts for some of the property ’s perceived value. Built in 1999, the multi-million dollar home is described as having “understated elegance,” not unlike Noor herself. The seller, listed as Margaret Skallrup, Trustee, originally placed the home on the market with an asking price of $15 million. Consequently, interested buyers may hold out some hope that the price will fall yet again.

It is Noor's for now but, unless she buys it, she will be moving once the seller receives her asking price. I suspect--given the fact Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland are home to her mother and sister, as well as a convenient hub from where to do business with the causes she is associated with--her next home will likely be in same area. She obviously likes living on the Potomac River but just finished reading an article where she says she is downsizing as she no longer has the need for many servants or rooms for entertaining state visit guests. Will try to post as it is quite good and revealing. Mary Shawn

River Road House Information

Redskins’ owner, Daniel Snyder, has reportedly spent $10 million for yet another major purchase in the Washington metropolitan area. This time he bought the much-publicized Potomac waterfront estate which Jordan’s Queen Noor and the late King Hussein had owned. The twelve-acre property, which was listed with W. C. & A. N. Miller, contains two large homes, one of which the royal couple used to house their staff of servants and aides when visiting the Washington area, where Noor (the former Lisa Halaby) was raised. Reportedly, Snyder had been scouting properties in Potomac, for the better part of two years and considered “Chateau Peyrenne de Moras” at 9121 River Road with a pool, five-car garage, and on a little less than five acres before deeming the neighborhood too noisy. With his recent choice, he should have more solitude, and, given that the property boasts an electric fence and pop-up barricades, plenty of security as well. (Couldn't remember his name....but there are plenty who are fighting--albeit a little too late his taking so many lovely trees down).

More information on the River House.

 

[Balqis]

Thanks Mary Shawn

Now this maybe a rather strange question. I am trying to imagine the area where this house on the Potomac River may be situated. As I've never been to the area I am, I guess getting a helping hand from the movies that I've seen where this location may have been used. The recent remake of The Manchurian Candidate with Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington had a scene showing the backyard of Meryl Streep's character (she plays the wife of a Senator and her son is the running candidate for Vice President). The outside scene has a river at the end. It looks really beautiful and I presume it was shot in a prestigious area. It's a long shot I know but could this be the same area???

 

[maryshawn]

This may give you some idea, courtesy of Yahoo. A is where River Road is and B is Crest Lane area. My understanding is that while KH was alive, they used the River Road house about 3-4 mos. total per year; now Noor is based largely at Crest Lane. Both are highly prestigious neighborhoods so it is likely the movie was shot in the River Road area right on the Potomac.

Balqis, You have a keen eye; yes, that movie had parts shot right around River Road where KH and QN's first house--the description I posted first on this thread--in Potomac! So that is the correct area! Wow. Gives me better idea of how it looks now and why they loved it at first sight. How pretty.....


Thanks for bringing this one up!

Mary Shawn

 

[salma]

From Seegerpress:

Raghadan Palace

 

[salma]

The Royal Palace of Princess Basma bint Talal, sister of King Hussein
from marmaracini

 

[salma]

more pics of this Palace:

 

[Balqis]

Balqis, You have a keen eye; yes, that movie had parts shot right around River Road where KH and QN's first house--the description I posted first on this thread--in Potomac! So that is the correct area! Wow. Gives me better idea of how it looks now and why they loved it at first sight. How pretty.....


Thanks for bringing this one up!

Mary Shawn

That's GREAT! Thanks for getting back to me about this. While watching the movie, and that particular scene, I was struck how beautiful the area is. It has a real old world feeling to it. Glad to know now it is what I thought it might have been

 

[closesttoheaven]

The Royal Palace of Princess Basma bint Talal, sister of King Hussein
from marmaracini

so coooooold this palace.i never could live in such a palace even it looks nice.
i would get depressed.poor princess basma

 

[Reina]

From Alghad-Ragadan Palace

 

[Rossina]

can you post fotos for bait albaraka (abdulla and rania s home)....if you have

 

[auntie]

From Alghad-Ragadan Palace

Who lives here exactly?

 

[Reina]

I think KA lives in Raghadan. I read aan interview and they held it from there. But didn't they build another palace?

 

[Alicky]

I heard that Raghadan was used for more formal occasions, and that the King and Queen reside mainly in a more casual home in the suburbs. I don't remember where I heard that though.

 

[Little_star]

Qasr Al-Mushatta:
​

The Palace was named after an Ummayad hunting lodge south of Amman. Located in the Jordan Valley near the town of southern Shuna and the Dead Sea, King Abdullah used to live and work here during the winter months. It was built in 1929 and was renovated in 1942, after which the Palace became a guest house for Prince Abdel Ilah, the Regent of Iraq.

King Hussein continued to use it as a working farm and country home until the June 1967 war. On March 21, 1968, it was damaged by the Israeli army during the Battle of Karama. Today, it is still a working farm.
The Royal Palaces

 

[Little_star]

Personally I like Basman Palace and Al-Hashmiya Palace best.

"The two live in an apartment in the suburbs of Amman, a wedding present from the late king which they prefer to any of the eight royal palaces scattered around the city, and are the epitome of normality – or as normal as you can be when you are royalty. Rania still puts their children to bed herself, and her husband is not above whipping up the occasional evening meal."
http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/kingabdullah/

so it seems Rania and Abdullah don't live in a palace, as somebody stated before

 

[Reina]

I wish I could see what the apartment looks like. I guess it wouldn't be adjacent to any other apartments.