The Castles of Karak and Shoubak

On the route from the Dead Sea resorts to Petra are two Crusade era castles perched atop hills in the Jordanian mountains. Karak and Shoubak Castles were built in the 12th century and even in their current state of ruin have enormous amounts of still intact buildings, underground galleries, passageways and beautiful arch work. Neither have many controls so you are free to wander, climb and explore where ever you want and let your imagination and fantasy go wild. These are fascinating ruins but bring a flashlight, good shoes and a strong heart to see it all.

Karak Castle

Of the two castles, this was the much better preserved and restored site. There are an enormous amount of intact rooms, galleries and halls that allowed a few hours of exploring and had me excitingly ducking in to and wondering what was beyond every doorway and dark stairwell. The Upper Keep was a highlight for its hall and the scramble up the exposed front and traverse along the second level to stairs that accessed the roof for a fantastic view over the whole castle and the surrounding lands.

Shoubak Castle

Even though it is the lesser restored and smaller of the castles, there was an additional enjoyment that came from feeling like you were discovering passages and broken down rooms for the first time. It was a maze of walls, arches and remains that had me running all over the grounds. The best part was a tunnel carved through the center of the mountain that decended over 150 meters through rough cut steps to the water spring that supplied the castle. When I finally popped out at the bottom of the hill in a tight manhole, it was a surprise to see how far I'd descended (and how far I had to claim back up).