The sail in was amazing at sunrise. We could see Egypt, Israel
on the left of us and Saudi Arabia on the right.
Holland America's Amsterdam on their World Cruise behind us
We met in the Casino Lounge at 7:15 and we are joined today
by Noemi & Sergio and Kathy & Jim. It’s our first time touring with
them and they were great company.
Our driver Ali was there waiting for us and we got settled
in the van and we were off for around a 2 hour drive to get to Shobak Castle.
We passed quickly out of Aqaba into the countryside which reminds me a lot of
Arizona. Lots of dessert and mountains. However, passing Bedouins with their
herds of goats and or sheep and camels along the side of the road reminds us
that we are in the Middle East.
map of where we went from Aqaba to Karak almost to Amman
goats in the road.....
We watched the scenery change from mountains to deep
valleys, to boulders, dessert and cactus and occasionally going through small
towns was very interesting. We passed Wadi Rum first and then Petra before
turning onto the King’s Highway towards Shobak Castle. We did stop for a
picture stop overlooking Petra on the way to the castle.
where the Princess tours stopped
where we stopped
inside the rest stop
white dot is the shrine to Moses’ brother Aaron - buried on top of Jebel Haroun (Haroun is Aaron in Arabic)
a "closer" view of the shrine
When we got there Ali went to buy our tickets, but he came
back and said they wouldn’t let him drive up to it we would have to walk. He
said that has never happened before. We wasted a bit of time discussing what to
do. We got out and took photos and we finally decided we would just leave and
as we were walking out the guy told us it was OK to drive there. When we got
there, we found quite a few cars parked there. Hmmmmm….. The ruins of the
castle were very interesting, but the scenery all around was amazing. On the
top of one mountain there were several camels silhouetted against the sky.
Bedouins with herds in another direction. We didn’t have a lot of time here,
but we got to see most all of it. We saw the remains of churches, souks, where
the royal horses were kept, watchtowers, and more.
Shobak is an early 12th-century Crusader castle and is
perched on the side of a rocky, conical mountain at 4,265 feet above sea level,
looking out over fruit trees below. Shobak was originally called Krak de
Montreal or Mons Regalis. Built in 1115, it was the first of many
fortifications built beyond the Jordan by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to guard
the road from Egypt to Damascus. It successfully resisted a number of sieges
until it fell to Saladin's troops in 1189.
goats on top of the mountain
Shobak Castle
Noemi & Sergio
camel on top of mountain
lots of camels on top of the mountain
entry to the castle
flint
On the way to Karak, the driver pulled over and said he’d be
back in a few minutes. He came back with piping hot naan and passed it around. The
meat stalls as we passed through town had hanging carcasses that still had
their heads on (with fur). We saw mainly goats, cow heads, a camel with the
head on and more. Hopefully, we got some photo that came out of them. (hard to
do from the van)
it was hot from the oven - YUM!
the one on the left is a camel
Pagan was also Lord of Oultrejordain and Karak Castle became
the center of his power, replacing the weaker castle of Montreal (Shobak) to
the south. Because of its position east of the Dead Sea, Karak Castle was able
to control Bedouin herders as well as the trade routes from Damascus to Egypt
and Mecca.
It is a notable example of Crusader architecture, a mixture
of west European, Byzantine, and Arab designs. Its walls are strengthened with
rectangular projecting towers and long stone vaulted galleries are lighted only
by arrow-slits.
We probably needed another 20 minutes or so to have made the
most of Karak, but knowing we had about a 4 hour drive back to the port made us
cut it short. To save time we had asked if we could eat something in the car
instead of a sit-down restaurant, but I think our included lunch was to be at
one of 2 choices. The buffet at Karak, or at the sit-down part way back to the
port, as he finally said we could get something quick to eat in the car, but we
stopped at the sit-down restaurant.
On the drive there, he stopped the car in this tight street and didn’t even get out of the car, but got us some hot falafels and passed them around.
The food at the restaurant was good, they brought out a couple kinds of Hummus and a spicy stew and some pita bread. Then, we got vegetable soup and chicken with a side of Jasmine rice. Everything was tasty! We shopped while our food was being cooked.
We continued to Wadi Al Mujib and back to Aqaba through the Wadi
Arava Desert.
We were back an hour early, so we probably would have had
enough time to have spent a bit more time at the Karak Castle, but with such a
long way to come back, it’s best not to risk getting caught in traffic or
anything else that could happen on the drive back.
back at the port of Aqaba
Greg, Kathy, Noemi & Sergio, our guide Ali & Jim
It was a great day and it was very interesting to see the
varied terrain and the people in the towns and cities and the camels, goats,
chickens and sheep.
Aqaba is also another place to snorkel the Red Sea which last time was one of the highlights of the 2013 WC where we snorkeled the Red Sea in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt.
There was no show tonight, but they showed a movie in the Cabaret lounge instead. We skipped that and came back to go through photos and relax after dinner. Dinner was open seating, so that was nice.
sunset at sail away
We now have 3 days at Sea, one of which will be transiting
the Suez Canal. Then, we have 8 straight days of ports to tour with only 1 day
off and then 1 Sea Day and then 2 more days of ports. Sounds exhausting doesn’t
it? It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it……
You are an amazing tour organizer! Great job Annette.
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