Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hour along the King's Highway from Karak to Tafila (950 fils, one hour), the best place
for connections to Qadsiyya (for Dana Biosphere Reserve) and Shobak. To Wadi Musa
(for Petra), take a minibus to Ma'an (JD2.200, two hours) which leaves around 1pm daily,
and change there. Alternatively, leapfrog on minibuses to Tafila, Shobak and Wadi Musa.
Buses to Aqaba (JD2.700, three hours) travel in the mornings via the Dead Sea High-
way about four times a day. In the afternoon it's better to take the Amman bus to Qatrana
on the Desert Highway and change to a southbound bus to Aqaba.
There are smaller minibus stands around town for services to Safi (800 fils) and
Mazra'a (600 fils) on the Dead Sea Highway, south along the King's Highway to Mu'tah
(400 fils) and Mazar (400 fils), and north to Al-Qasr, Ar-Rabba and Ariha.
Taxi
From Amman it's possible to charter a taxi to Karak via the Desert Highway for about
JD45 one way. From Amman via the King's Highway, with a stop at Madaba and Wadi
Mujib, it costs at least JD75.
From Karak, taxi fares cost around JD45 to Amman or Madaba, JD40 to Dana and
JD60 to Petra.
Getting Around
The old city of Karak is easy to get around on foot but has a maddening system of narrow
one-way streets. If you're driving, consider parking outside town and taking a taxi.
Khirbet Tannour
Travelling south from Karak, the King's Highway gradually descends from a brooding
piece of black volcanic hillside into the impressive but arid Wadi Hasa (the biblical Zered
Valley). Attempts at tomato growing are in evidence but it's hard to encourage the rocky
topsoil into production, and the discarded and wind-strewn strips of plastic are a sorry
blight on an otherwise wild landscape.
The highway skirts a reservoir, above which looms a small, conical hill. A track leads
off to the right of the highway from where a steep 15-minute hike leads to the top of the
hill. At the top are the neglected ruins of the 2000-year-old Nabataean temple of
Khirbet
Tannour
(admission free; daylight hr)
. A famous statue of Nike was found here, a
copy of which is housed in Amman's National Archaeological Museum; the original is in
