Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Just beyond the village of Mukawir (pronounced mu- kar -wir) is the spectacular 700m-
high hilltop perch of Machaerus, the castle of Herod the Great (admission JD1.500;
daylight hr) , and the place where Salome is said to have danced for the head of John the
Baptist.
The pudding basin of a hill was first fortified in about 100 BC, and expanded by Herod
the Great in 30 BC. The ruins themselves are of minor interest, but the setting, with the
wind blowing through the columns like one of Salome's seven veils, is both haunting and
breathtakingly beautiful. Most days you'll be alone with the ghosts.
Machaerus is known locally as Qala'at al-Meshneq (Castle of the Gallows), a fitting
name given that it is renowned as the place where John the Baptist was beheaded by
Herod Antipas, the successor of Herod the Great. According to the Bible, John the Baptist
had denounced Herod Antipas' marriage to his brother's wife, Herodias, as Jewish law
forbade a man marrying his brother's wife while he lived. Bewitched by his stepdaughter
Salome's skill as a dancer, the king promised to grant her anything she wished. To take re-
venge on the Baptist, Herodias told her daughter to ask for his head on a platter:
And she went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of
John the Baptiser.”
Mark 6:24
So, at the request of Salome, John was killed at Herod's castle, Machaerus. Provocative
Salome has inspired painters and writers ever since.
There was nowhere to stay in Mukawir at the time of writing but the Mukawir Visitor
Centre (in the village, about 2km from the castle) is likely to open in 2012. Accommoda-
tion will be offered on site in old renovated buildings next to the ruins of Bishop Malech-
ios Church. A restaurant is planned here too. In the meantime, water, tea and coffee (and
tickets to the castle) are sold from a Bedouin tent at the entrance to the castle.
Sights & Activities
From the car park, a stone staircase leads down to the main path, which climbs the hill in
a clockwise direction. Near the base of the climb, a small track leads around the main hill
to the right, past a number of caves . Legend has it that it was in one of these that the grue-
some execution took place. Flocks of choughs wheel through the air in suitably ominous
fashion.
The main path climbs eventually to the castle . At the top, the modest ruins are unla-
belled. The reconstructed columns southwest of the deep cistern mark the site of Herod
Antipas' palacetriclinium ; this is the site where Salome danced. You can also make out
the low-lying remains of the eastern baths and defensive walls .
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