Markaz Şiḩḩī - Al Karak

We arrived at Kerak Castle at around 11.30am and had a guided walk through the site with Sofyan.

Kerak Castle is one of the largest medieval castles in the Middle East. It was built in 1142 and remained in constant use until 1917.

In the early years, because of its position east of the Dead Sea, Kerak Castle was able to control bedouin herders as well as the trade routes from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca.

In 1188, the castle came under the control of the Muslim army who made it their administrative headquarters. A century later, the Mamluk sultan, Baybars, took over. Due to the castle's importance, he maintained a significant military force there which included at least 700 horsemen.

Kerak Castle remained an important strategic location during the centuries of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1834, the leaders of the peasants' revolt in Palestine took refuge in Kerak. Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt besieged the castle and destroyed much of its fortifications in the process.

In 1893, the Ottoman authorities reestablished control over the area by appointing a governor resident in Kerak Castle with a garrison of 1400, including 200 cavalry. He remained in charge until the Ottoman Empire fell.

Since then, the castle has been the site of extensive archaeological and historical research.

On December 18, 2016, the castle was the site of a terrorist attack. Fourteen people were killed and 34 were injured, the majority being Jordanian security forces and local civilians. A Canadian tourist was also killed.

After our tour of the castle, we had lunch in the on-site restaurant. It was a set menu of salads followed by barbecue. It was lovely but there was far too much food!!Read more