King's Highway, Dana & Karak
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2010
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Trip End
Aug 18, 2010
Karak, Jordan
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The next day we decided on a change of pace. We headed out of Wadi Musa, past the main carriageway in our car (stopping briefly to fill up with nice cheap petrol which is still pumped by an attendant!) and onto the Kings Highway, an ancient road which was probably travelled by Moses (the Musa of Wadi Musa) on his way to Israel. It began in Egypt, passed through the lands of Edom, Petra, Moab, etc, turned east at Kerak towards the Euphrates where it finished. It is probable that at least some of the Biblical wars were fought over who control this major trade route.
We passed the Crusader castle of Shobak (also called Shawbek) which was the castle of Crak de Montreal built by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1115 (one of the string of 16 he built to guard the road from Damascus to Egypt). We could not really see it! It was captured by Saladin in 1189, then passed to the Mamluks 1260.
We carried on down the road to Ash Shawbek, then turned right and went wrong!
After accidentally joining the Desert Highway we got back to the Kings Highway and drove onto Dana village and nature reserve. We drove through a steep town up the (much greener) mountains for 15 minutes and stopped at an observation point where we could look down on the valley (Wadi Dana) and across to the village. Originally it was a fortified Ottoman village, but had been largely abandoned. It was first built in the 15th C and, because it was abandoned, has retained its original look and structure. The stone houses are built in long, low rows with generally a single (inward facing) entrance. The rear has no windows as it formed part of the defences. A few, larger plots had walled (now ruined) gardens. It was very, very quiet (us + no one) and we saw lizards sunning themselves and loads of birds.
We drove into the village and parked. There were quite a number of wild donkeys who were not at all afraid of us. The first cafe we tried was shut so we walked up to another which had a rooftop restaurant. Unfortunately it was so busy we decided to have coffee only and move on. We walked around the corner to look into the reserve and saw (and heard) all the beautiful birds. Most of the birds were small and quite plain to look at, but sang beautifully. We heard the bulbul (noticeable black head), bee-eater (the most colourful of the birds we saw) and Tristam's starling. We saw others, but I couldn't identify them!
We didn't see the fabled Jordanian black iris because it was the wrong time of year.
We left at 10 am and continued along the Kings highway, passing Tafileh (a bustling, but unremarkable town) and on into the mountains. We passed a huge dam (the river Jordan), saw the Dead Sea shining in the distance and numerous Bedouin encampments. We passed over high mountains (maybe Aaron stood here looking into Israel). We didn't see many other people (1 car and 1 lorry, both going the other way). We were certainly very high, We passed by a huge black rock which was an ancient volcanic plug.
Finally at around midday we arrived at Karak (Kerak) town. I took a lovely photo of Karak castle from the Kings Highway. This was undoubtably the best way to enter Karak as you get really imposing views. Kerak has a large Christian population who date their origins to Byzantine christianity.
We drove around the walls to the main entrance, then up the hill. As we got to the top the roads looked busy and we couldn't see where to park. However as we drove past the El-Mujamma Street to Castle Plaza which overlooks the castle. The restaurant owner of the King's Restaurant quickly moved some cones and ushered us in. We were hungry (he didn't hassle us at all, but offered us free mint tea before we even said we were eating). The table (an outside one) was nicely shaded. Steve has a mansaf (for which Karak is famous) and I had some maqlubbeh. We spent a quiet 40 minutes eating and reading the castle guide book. We agreed with the restaurant owner to leave the car by the restaurant. He asked us to return for some free drinks after our visit (which he honoured several hours later).
We walked past a guard post (2 well armed policemen stood there) to the very busy entrance to the castle. Watch out for the tour buses- they do not watch for pedestrians! The short street was lined with expensive gift shops. The entrance is small and over a rickety bridge.
The castle is very interesting. Karak castle was built in 1140 by the crusader Paganus (Pagan, who was the butler of King Baldwin II, the Lord Fulk of Jerusalem), Lord of Oultrejordain.He was succeeded by his nephew Maurice, who was succeeded by Philip de Milly (who was also a Knight Templar Grand Master). Through his marriage to Stephanie de Mily (Philip had no surviving son) it passed to the wicked Reynald de Châtillon. He continued to attack Arab caravans (and particularly pilgrims en route to Mecca) despite a truce having been agreed, so Salah-al-Din (Saladin) besieged the castle in 1183. As the siege took place during the marriage of Humphrey IV (of Toron) and Isabella (of Jerusalem), Saladin agreed not to attack their bedchamber. This siege was relieved by King Baldwin IV, but the castle was later captured in 1189 after the Battle of Hattin. It was extended by the Mamluk ruler Baybars in 1263. In 1840 the Egyptian Ibrahim Pasha took it, and it then came under Ottoman control.
We started by walking around the battlements which date to the earliest Crusader period. We turned left into the crusader stables (Gallery), then down to the Crusader's gate (which had a deliberately small access). As we headed down an old (small) Bedouin asked if we wanted a guide. We decided to agree and he proved an informative guide (better than our guide book). He did not ask for money at any time, and seemed genuinely pleased when we offered him a reasonable sum outside the museum.
We saw an interesting headless 2ndC AD Nabatean funerary carving (not Saladin of local legend). Then we headed up a narrow staircase to the tower, then the barracks. It was dark (we had torches) and low (Steve had to bend). We saw the dungeons, kitchen and storage areas. Our guide shone his torch to show us some odd Greek writing. We walked through to the end of the corridors, back into the light.
Steve walked to the end and walked up to look over the parapet. This may have been where Reynald threw his victims off which wooden cages around their heads to ensure they stayed conscious as their bodies were smashed on the rocks. You can see a long way, to the reputed site of the cities of Sodom and Gommorah.
Saladin founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He started his career in the army of the Egyptian Fatimids, but soon removed the last Fatimid caliph and took his own command. He was known for his sense of chivalry and even sent his doctor to help Richard the Lionheart. When he died his lands were divided between his brothers, establishing an Emirate of Mecca. The last Emir was Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the grandfather of the King of Jordan (Hussein I)
We turned left towards the Mamluk part of the catle where we saw what was probably the mosque and the old Crusader church. We went down the steps to the Mamluk palace of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammed (1311) which had an Islamic open air reception hall and chambers leading off it. We finished in the courtyard where we went into the excellent museum. The displays were in Arabic and English and were informative and interesting, covering not just Karak, but the whole crusader context.
It was a bit tricky to leave Karak as its all one way with very few signposts, so we made a few mistakes before succeeding in getting out.
When we got back at 9pm we went straight into Wadi Musa and went to eat at the Red Cave Cafe. It was very busy and, although attentive, we did not get a brilliant service. However, the food was tasty and it was a pleasant evening to sit outside in. We both had maglouba, which was tasty. We had to buy the (usually complimentary) bread.
As we came back we saw lots of families breaking their Ramadan fast by picnicking wherever there was a spare bit of grass.
