As I said in my previous post, Karak is just a quick one night stop for me on my way south. I woke up early in Madaba and had to first take a bus back to Amman and then transfer to a bus heading to Karak. It was all fairly easy to accomplish, though I get strange looks and genuine confusion from locals when they find out I want to take the bus instead of paying a small fortune for a private driver to take me to my destination. I see lots of other tourists around, but I have yet to encounter another tourist on any local transport. I find that funny… and sad. After checking in at my hotel, I took a moment to appreciate the view of the reason I decided to come here, Karak castle, in the heart of the biblical Moabite kingdom.

Karak castle is one of many crusader castles in the region. It was reputedly one of the most feared and hardest to attack castles that existed at that time. It was originally built in the mid 12th century by Christian crusaders and by the late 12th century it had fallen into Muslim hands. The original walls are formidable and inside are the ruins of a crusader church and a Mamluk palace and mosque.

This castle is awesome! There were so many underground passages to explore, including the prison, a sort of underground market with shop stalls, the castles kitchen, and so many other nooks and crannies, twists and turns. I had a blast wandering around this place for hours.

The views are also tremendous being so high up above the rest of the town. To the west you can see down Wadi Karak (wadi means valley) where it is believed Sodom and Gommorah were located. In addition there are some interesting carvings, including a Greek inscription near the kitchen that baffles archeologists to this day. No one seems to know what it actually says.

Oh, and just as a public service announcement, if you’re missing or just happen to be looking for a French baby boomer, they’re all here in Karak. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many elderly French nationals in one place, not even in France! Thus ends my brief stay in Karak. Time for a good nights sleep because tomorrow I head a bit further south for a few days of desert hiking. Wish me luck!

Go here to see more of Karak Castle