Kerak
The South Defensive Castle
Whether you approach Karak from the ancient Kings Highway to the east or from the Dead Sea to the west, the striking silhouette of this fortified town and castle will instantly make you understand why the fates of kings and nations were decided here for millennia.
The town is built on a triangular plateau, with the castle at its narrow southern tip. The castle is some 220m long, 125m wide at the north end, and 40m wide at the southern end where a narrow valley deepened by a ditch separates it from the adjoining and much higher hill – once Saladin's favourite artillery position.
Throughout the castle, dark and roughly-shaped crusader masonry is easy to discern from the finely-crafted blocks of lighter and softer limestone used in later Arab work.
Throughout the castle, dark and roughly-shaped crusader masonry is easy to discern from the finely-crafted blocks of lighter and softer limestone used in later Arab work.
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