Blogs from Al Karak, West, Jordan, Middle East
Simply thrilling: canyoning to the Dead Sea shores
Published: May 13th 2011Middle East » Jordan » West » Al Karak
April 16th 2011
Keeping up with the exploration of Jordan whenever I got a long week end outside of Iraq and well this is truly the Promised Land when it comes to outdoor sports in some “virgin territories”. What might look as desert & arid scenery at the first sight is actually filled with hundreds of canyons, waterfalls and underground springs leading to the Dead Sea, possibilities are thus countless. What else? Well, this is the first entry of a series on “off the beaten track” outdoor adventures in Jordan. The canyon - Wadi Assal – nickname “the big one” 17km dry & water hike 9 abseils including two along waterfalls Starts right south of Kerak city, in Kathrabba/Ai and ends by the Dead Sea shores From Amman: 2 hours & half by minibus and 2 hours back Agency ... read more
King's Highway from Madaba to Karak Castle
Published: November 30th 2010Middle East » Jordan » West » Al Karak
November 15th 2010
The King's highway is one of the three North-South arteries of Jordan. The others are the Dead Sea highway to the West and the Desert Highway to the East. The Desert highway is a modern freeway that is quite busy, but both the Dead Sea and King's highways are twisted scenic roads with some spectacular views. We travelled the King's highway South from Madaba to Karak Castle. It crosses Wadi Mujib, which is Jordan's very own Grand Canyon. We stopped for Bedouin Tea at the top of the valley, before descending down hair pin turns into the Wadi and then back up across the other side.... read more
November 15th 2010
Karak Castle was built by the marauding crusaders in 1142 and was once commanded by a sadistic French guy in non-oxidized armour named Renauld de Chatillon who took great delight in throwing his victims off the ramparts. He placed wooden boxes around their heads to make sure his torture victims didn't knock their heads and get unconscious before they hit bottom. Saladin's forces took the Castle in 1183 after an epic siege. ... read more
October 27th 2010
In a sentence; my weekend included hiking in the moonlight, camping out on top of a mountain overlooking the Dead Sea, wandering through a siq, showering under a waterfall, several glasses of tea with the Bedouin, a very intriguing conversation with a couple falconers, exploring a crusader castle, and meeting lots of very interesting people along the way. Very decidedly not a CIEE approved trip but I had a fantastic time. It was a distinctly college student way of traveling, without any reservations of plans, moving between places by public transportation or hitchhiking or on foot, taking time to stop and meet the locals, and of course forgetting to pack essential items. Our route took us first to Karak and from there to the village Mazra’a to a shambolic hike through the mountains and valleys, then ... read more
March 30th 2009
07h00 came surprisingly early. I know it happens at the same time each day but I'd once again found it difficult to sleep on the small mountain that purported to be a pillow. Clearly though, after having got rid of the pillow, I must have slept as the alarm clock was waking me up. After taking a shower and dressing, I packed my rucksack and headed down to breakfast. Not good - again. This time, the bread rolls were like bullets, but still, I dined on orange juice, coffee and bread - but drew a line at warm milk on the cereal! Returning to my room, I packed my washing kit and headed down to reception to checkout. At 08h15, we climbed into the bus and headed off for the first stop of the day. Mosaics ... read more
January 11th 2009
My last day of touring was a trip to the city of Karak to see the Castle. This was a one hour bus trip from Jordan's southern bus station. The castles was originally built in 1140AD and is a natural strong point in the area. Since then, this site has been key for any power that wants control of the area. Sieges where the common way of taking the Castle, with the majority of them lasting months of years, with in habitants eating everything inside and selling wives and children to prolong supplies. Much of the interior has been excavated with numerous halls, churches, kitchens, quarters etc. This concludes my blogs for the moment, as I head home tomorrow. Thanks to all for taking the time out to check these entries out and providing comments and ... read more
August 15th 2008
Our next stop was the Crusader castle at Karak which was included in the movie Kingdom Of Heaven.... read more
May 2nd 2008
Today was a massive day. We joined our tour group in the morning at about 9am at the Shepherd Hotel in Amman. They had all only just arrived from the UK at about 2am. We were the only people doing a land only trip so we were in a pretty good state compared to all of them. There were about 14 people on the tour and only one other man so Dave was in women heaven. Unfortunately most of the ladies who were on the trip were a little only ( a group there as a 50th b'day present to themselves). We all hopped on a bus and then headed off towards the first stop of the day at Mt Nebo. Mt Nebo is supposedly the mountain where Moses died, within sight of the promised ... read more
October 5th 2007
The next day we drove south and visited Madaba where there is a church with an ancient mosaic map of the Middle East set in the floor and Mount Nebo from where Moses is reputed to have first seen the Promised Land. Then down through some magnificent scenery to the Dead Sea. Ian wanted a photo of the vehicles set against the sea so we found a place where we could get down to the water. Camilla, Jeremy and I thought it too good an opportunity to miss and went for a ‘swim’. The water is so buoyant being 30% salt that you just sit on the top and bob about. We then showered off with our camping showers - garden sprays! Very useful. We drove, again through the most beautiful wild countryside up to Karak ... read more
August 7th 2006
Monday August 7, 2006 - Another early day. Got up and had to take a taxi to the bus station to get the bus to Karak, which is two hours from Amman. Finished reading my book so that I could swap with my roommate. When I got there the driver told me to get off, but I couldn't see where the castle would even be. Just like yesterday, only not as bad. But frustrating. So I asked a man in the street which way to go, but since he didn't really speak English, he walked me all the way to the castle. Very nice actually. Spent the next three hours or so wandering around. It is a standing castle, but a lot of ruins. A lot of it is without a roof, and then there were ... read more
