Karak, also known as Kerak Castle, is about a couple of hours away from Amman to the south west.
I went with the kids for a ride to it and then, as you can see by the map, back past the Dead Sea. We set off loaded with pop, crisps and biscuits, but not lashings of ginger beer. Though we did have some cake with us (and an apple each, but that was the sum total of the healthy option. When my wife does a trip with us then the healthy option far outweighs the unhealthy one, but we like to slip away when she is at work).
I went with the kids for a ride to it and then, as you can see by the map, back past the Dead Sea. We set off loaded with pop, crisps and biscuits, but not lashings of ginger beer. Though we did have some cake with us (and an apple each, but that was the sum total of the healthy option. When my wife does a trip with us then the healthy option far outweighs the unhealthy one, but we like to slip away when she is at work).
A little history and information first, then we’ll stop for a bag of Haribo Gummibärchen before we continue.
Karak was a kingdom all by itself and the castle sits about 1000m above sea level on a promontory surrounded on three sides by valleys. The area has been lived in since the Iron Age and is mentioned in the Bible as being called Qer Harreseth when the Moabites lived there. The Nabateans followed, then the Romans who called it Areopolis.
Eventually, in 1132, the Crusader King of Jerusalem made a man called Pagan Lord of the lands in the area. He initially had his HQ at a castle a little further south (now called Shoubak but was then called Montreal). Pagan felt he needed something a little grander and the triangular plateau in Karak fitted his ideas as the base of a larger and more threatening castle.
So he built one, beginning in the 1140’s.
As it turned out the Crusaders only used it for about 46 years before Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb – better known to us as Saladin – turfed them out.
Saladin actually laid siege a couple of times.
One story goes that in 1183 one of the first sieges occurred at the same time as the wedding of Humphrey IV of Toron and Isabella of Jerusalem.
Saladin agreed not to target their marriage chamber with his siege engines whilst attacking the rest of the castle.
Saladin though got really pissed off by the then Lord of the area, Raynald, who began to attack trade caravans and also launched a raid on Mecca. So he attacked the castle in earnest eventually winning through in 1189.
The castle passed on over the years to Baybars, a Mamluk ruler, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt who in 1840 must have really had a thing about the castle as he destroyed much of it, later the Ottomans and then we pass into recent history.
We take a first look at it as we pass close to the village –
Karak was a kingdom all by itself and the castle sits about 1000m above sea level on a promontory surrounded on three sides by valleys. The area has been lived in since the Iron Age and is mentioned in the Bible as being called Qer Harreseth when the Moabites lived there. The Nabateans followed, then the Romans who called it Areopolis.
Eventually, in 1132, the Crusader King of Jerusalem made a man called Pagan Lord of the lands in the area. He initially had his HQ at a castle a little further south (now called Shoubak but was then called Montreal). Pagan felt he needed something a little grander and the triangular plateau in Karak fitted his ideas as the base of a larger and more threatening castle.
So he built one, beginning in the 1140’s.
As it turned out the Crusaders only used it for about 46 years before Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb – better known to us as Saladin – turfed them out.
Saladin actually laid siege a couple of times.
One story goes that in 1183 one of the first sieges occurred at the same time as the wedding of Humphrey IV of Toron and Isabella of Jerusalem.
Saladin agreed not to target their marriage chamber with his siege engines whilst attacking the rest of the castle.
Saladin though got really pissed off by the then Lord of the area, Raynald, who began to attack trade caravans and also launched a raid on Mecca. So he attacked the castle in earnest eventually winning through in 1189.
The castle passed on over the years to Baybars, a Mamluk ruler, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt who in 1840 must have really had a thing about the castle as he destroyed much of it, later the Ottomans and then we pass into recent history.
We take a first look at it as we pass close to the village –
The castle is about 220m long, 125m wide at one end and 40m wide at the other (southern) end where a narrow valley separates it from a much higher hill – once Saladin's favourite artillery position.
Bit of a mistake there when deciding where to put your castle – it being overlooked by a higher hill.
If memory serves me right, the greatest Crusader castle of all Krak des Chevaliers in Syria was overlooked as well but I don’t think this was too contributory in its downfall. This was the castle that someone as fearless as Saladin took one look at and said, “Errr....... no. I’ll give it a miss.”
Parking in the modern day era around the castle is atrocious, why on earth the Crusaders couldn’t have fashioned out a large car park I’ll never know, but after several false starts managed to find a space close by these three characters –
Bit of a mistake there when deciding where to put your castle – it being overlooked by a higher hill.
If memory serves me right, the greatest Crusader castle of all Krak des Chevaliers in Syria was overlooked as well but I don’t think this was too contributory in its downfall. This was the castle that someone as fearless as Saladin took one look at and said, “Errr....... no. I’ll give it a miss.”
Parking in the modern day era around the castle is atrocious, why on earth the Crusaders couldn’t have fashioned out a large car park I’ll never know, but after several false starts managed to find a space close by these three characters –
What you can’t quite see is the man closest to us sitting down who has in his lap a large plastic crocodile. Me and the kids were helpless with laughter as he kept scaring the shit out of passersby, usually his mates, by opening his knees quickly and the cloth material stretching taut. This launched the crocodile in the direction of the poor unfortunate walking by.
Anyway we entered the castle (1JD each aged twelve and up) and had a quick look towards the Dead Sea –
Anyway we entered the castle (1JD each aged twelve and up) and had a quick look towards the Dead Sea –
It’s there in the distance, I promise –
The thing about this castle that makes it interesting for me is that there is now more underground than over ground. The hill is riddled with galleries, passages, hidden entrances and is a real adventure to explore. Take a torch if you ever go.
It is also an adventure because of the lack of safety rails or anything in the way of “Keep Off! Unsafe!” notices.
Rather than explain everything in minute detail I’ll just post some photos to give you the idea of the state of it. Bear in mind I took no end of photos underground but there was so much dust/sand in the air all you could see was it in the air.
So, in no particular order, some highlights –
It is also an adventure because of the lack of safety rails or anything in the way of “Keep Off! Unsafe!” notices.
Rather than explain everything in minute detail I’ll just post some photos to give you the idea of the state of it. Bear in mind I took no end of photos underground but there was so much dust/sand in the air all you could see was it in the air.
So, in no particular order, some highlights –
We ate our pop and crisps whilst playing hide and seek in the ruins and made our way back to the car.
On the way out though we saw in the small area in front of the castle a sight for sore eyes – mine anyway. A collection of classic British cars that had just appeared whilst we were inside. Scroll past if you’re not swayed by them but for me is was a revelation. It seems they were on a tour of Jordan. Jaguar, Morgan, Bristol and one or two odds and sods – –
On the way out though we saw in the small area in front of the castle a sight for sore eyes – mine anyway. A collection of classic British cars that had just appeared whilst we were inside. Scroll past if you’re not swayed by them but for me is was a revelation. It seems they were on a tour of Jordan. Jaguar, Morgan, Bristol and one or two odds and sods – –
The three men had gone when we got back to the car but we ended up instead in a traffic jam trying to get down from the hill –
The idea was to head down to the Dead Sea and we skirted round the rear of the castle. On the hill to the right with the aerials is where Saladin placed his projectile throwing machines without much success –
We dropped down smartly from 1000m above sea level to just over 400m below sea level – in a low gear – and arrived at the southern most point of the Dead Sea, then followed the side of it to the top where the hotels are. On the way I took a few photos to give you the idea of what was there –
We retraced our height back up to Amman and in celebration of managing to consume all our snack food we called for an ice cream and a McDonalds before getting home.