Middle East - Anthony Ham [310]
Even if you are not intending to make the crossing, it’s worth travelling to the canyon rim. Just after Dhiban, the road descends after 3km to an awesome lookout. Some enterprising traders have set up a tea stall here, and fossils and minerals from the canyon walls are for sale. This is the easiest point on the road to stop to absorb the view, take a photograph and turn round if you’re heading back to Madaba.
Dhiban is where almost all transport south of Madaba stops. The only way to cross the mighty Mujib from Dhiban to Ariha (about 30km) is to charter a taxi for JD8 each way. Hitching is possible, but expect a long wait.
Climbing out of the gorge on the southern side, you will come to the strategically placed Trajan Rest House & Restaurant ( 03-2310295/07, 95903302; trajan_resthouse@yahoo.com; bed in shared room JD5, with breakfast & dinner JD10). The rest house is mainly visited for its restaurant, a cavernous grotto of Bedouin artefacts, with handloomed rugs and benches at long trestle tables. The accommodation here is basic, with curtains for doors, but the nearby views from the canyon rim compensate. For those who have had to resort to hitching across this part of the highway, you may find a ride across the valley from here.
KARAK
03 / pop 210,000
The evocative ancient Crusader castle of Karak (or Kerak) became a place of legend during the 12th-century battles between the Crusaders and the Muslim armies of Salah ad-Din (Saladin). Although among the most famous, the castle at Karak was just one in a long line built by the Crusaders, stretching from Aqaba in the south to Turkey in the north. The fortifications still dominate the modern walled town of Karak.
At one point in its chequered history, the castle belonged to a particularly unsavoury knight of the cross, Renauld de Chatillon. Hated by Saladin for his treachery, de Chatillon arrived from France in 1148 to take part in the Crusades. He was renowned for his sadistic delight in torturing prisoners and throwing them off the walls into the valley 450m below; he even went to the trouble of having a wooden box fastened over their heads so they wouldn’t lose consciousness before hitting the ground.
The castle ( 2351216; admission JD1; 8am-4pm Oct-Mar, to 7pm Apr-Sep) is entered through the Ottoman Gate, at the end of a short bridge over the dry moat. The path leading up to the left from inside the entrance leads to the Crusader Gallery (stables). At the end of the gallery, a long passageway leads southwest past the soldiers’ barracks and kitchen. Emerging from the covered area, you will see the overgrown upper court on your right, and going straight ahead you will go past the castle’s main Crusader church. At the far southern end of the castle is the impressive Mamluk keep, in front of which some stairs lead down to the Mamluk palace, built in 1311 using earlier Crusader materials. More stairs lead down to the delightful underground marketplace, which leads back to the entrance.
Sleeping & Eating
Towers Castle Hotel ( /fax 2354293; Al-Qala’a St; s/d/t JD12/20/27; ) Close to the castle, this friendly budget hotel is a good meeting place for younger travellers. Don’t be put off by the rather dingy reception area: the rooms open onto balconies with wonderful views across Wadi Karak. You can find help with onward travel here.
Karak Rest House ( 2351148; karakcastle@gmail.com; Al-Qala’a St; s/d JD28/47; ) If you want a bit more bang for your buck, then try this extravagantly decorated hotel, right next door to the castle, with sweeping views of Wadi Karak, elaborate Middle Eastern–style fixtures and fittings and an elegant lobby area. Sip mint tea under the pergola and enjoy the goings-on of Castle St.
King’s Restaurant ( 2354293; Al-Mujamma St; mezze JD1, mains JD4; 8am-10pm) This boulevard restaurant attracts an assortment of travellers at all times of the day and night. It offers local,