About the product
South of Madaba on the old King’s Highway is Kerak, which was the capital of the biblical
kingdom of Moab. Perched atop a steep hill, Kerak is a predominantly Christian town
dominated by the largest and best preserved of the Crusader castles in the region.
Once an important city of the Biblical kingdom of Moab, Kerak was also home to
the Nabateans, Romans (from 105 AD), and the Byzantines, before the Crusaders built
a castle here. In the Byzantine period Kerak was a bishopric and it remained mostly a
Christian town even under Arab rule.
Kerak Castle resisted attacks by Saladin’s troops in 1183 and 1184, but finally fell after
a siege in 1189. The Mamluk ruler Baybars added a tower on the northwest corner in
1263. It was later owned by local families until 1840, when Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
captured the castle and destroyed much of it in the process.
Kerak Castle is a typical example of Crusader architecture, with Romanesque-style
stone vaults, numerous corridors, and strong doorways. The Crusader parts of the ruins
are mostly on the upper level and can be identified by their dark volcanic tufa; later
Arab additions are in white limestone.
Through a massive door steps lead down to vast, dimly-lit, vaulted rooms and
corridors underground.
The upper courtyard includes the remains of a Crusader chapel and provides excellent
views over the Jordanian landscape to the Dead Sea.
The west wing of the complex is home to the small Kerak Archaeological Museum,
which displays artefacts excavated at the site.
kingdom of Moab. Perched atop a steep hill, Kerak is a predominantly Christian town
dominated by the largest and best preserved of the Crusader castles in the region.
Once an important city of the Biblical kingdom of Moab, Kerak was also home to
the Nabateans, Romans (from 105 AD), and the Byzantines, before the Crusaders built
a castle here. In the Byzantine period Kerak was a bishopric and it remained mostly a
Christian town even under Arab rule.
Kerak Castle resisted attacks by Saladin’s troops in 1183 and 1184, but finally fell after
a siege in 1189. The Mamluk ruler Baybars added a tower on the northwest corner in
1263. It was later owned by local families until 1840, when Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
captured the castle and destroyed much of it in the process.
Kerak Castle is a typical example of Crusader architecture, with Romanesque-style
stone vaults, numerous corridors, and strong doorways. The Crusader parts of the ruins
are mostly on the upper level and can be identified by their dark volcanic tufa; later
Arab additions are in white limestone.
Through a massive door steps lead down to vast, dimly-lit, vaulted rooms and
corridors underground.
The upper courtyard includes the remains of a Crusader chapel and provides excellent
views over the Jordanian landscape to the Dead Sea.
The west wing of the complex is home to the small Kerak Archaeological Museum,
which displays artefacts excavated at the site.
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