Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Shobak Castle was our first real citadel. It was a crusader castle originally called Montreal
and dated from about 1115. Its function was to control the commerce throughout the region.
The external walls are fairly intact and they tower over the steep slopes that encircle the
overall structure. The interior walls and vaults were more ruinous, but it was possible to get
a good feel for what it must have been like.
The castle contains two cisterns carved into the hill, with a long, steep stairway of several
hundred steps leading to springs within the hill itself. We had a glimpse of both the tunnel
and the stairway and they were in very poor condition. Overall it would have been foolish
to try and negotiate them without the proper gear. An Italian archaeological team from the
University of Florence is currently investigating the overall site.
Looking out from the parapets one could see a number of abandoned stone houses and some
Bedouins were camped on an adjacent hillside. The countryside was devoid of any vegeta-
tion and the rocky ribs of the surrounding hills were exposed with very little workable soil.
It looked as if all the topsoil had been removed and what remained just sat there baking in
the harsh sun. No wonder the houses had been abandoned.
We were headed to the Dana Nature Reserve and there was some disappointment when Basil
informed us that we had to forego the visit scheduled for Mt Nebo and Madaba.
I sat down with Basil and sought to negotiate a visit to both places; however, he was adamant
that 'head office' had decreed one or the other. After an hour or so he suddenly announced
that he would make some kind of sacrifice and arrange for us to visit both. Candidly we got
the feeling that Basil was playing a game, with the expectation that his selflessness would
be recognised when his tip was assessed at the end of the journey.
The Dana Nature Reserve, centred on Dana Village, is Jordan's largest nature reserve. It has
been the home of the Al Atata tribe for 400 years and the original settlement goes back 6,000
years.
