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<< Our Photo Pages >> Shobak Castle - Hillfort in Jordan

Submitted by motist on Sunday, 19 September 2010  Page Views: 7467

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Shobak Castle Alternative Name: Krak de Montreal
Country: Jordan Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Al-Shobak
Latitude: 30.531449N  Longitude: 35.560819E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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XIII visited on 1st Mar 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist : Shobak Castle Mr. Saleh Rawashdeh The castle warden and guide. Ask him to take you to the Dolmen field. He runs the Jaya Tourist Camp close to the castle. (nice place) E-mail: jaya_camp@yahoo.com Phone: ++962 79 5958958 (Vote or comment on this photo)
Shobak is situated midway between Kerak and Petra and is 154 miles (248km) from Amman. It contains a large Crusader castle, built around 1115 A.D., which was repeatedly besieged by Salah al Din and eventually captured in 1189.
The castle was built in 1115 by Baldwin I of Jerusalem during his expedition to the area (during which he captured Aqaba on the Red Sea in 1116). Originally called 'Krak de Montreal' or 'Mons Regalis', it was named in honour of the king's own contribution to its construction (Mont Royal).

It was strategically located on a hill on the plain of Edom, along the pilgrimage and caravan routes from Syria to Arabia. This allowed Baldwin to control the commerce of the area, as pilgrims and merchants needed permission to travel past it. It was surrounded by relatively fertile land, and two cisterns were carved into the hill, with a long, steep staircase leading to springs within the hill itself.
It remained property of the royal family of the Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1142, when it became part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain. At the same time the centre of the Lordship was moved to Kerak, a stronger fortress to the north of Montreal. Along with Kerak, the castle owed sixty knights to the kingdom. It was held by Philip de Milly, and then passed to Raynald of Châtillon when he married Stephanie de Milly. Raynald used the castle to attack the rich caravans that had previously been allowed to pass unharmed; he also built ships there, then transported them overland to the Red Sea, planning to attack Mecca itself. This was intolerable to the Ayyubid sultan Saladin, who invaded the kingdom in 1187. After capturing Jerusalem, later in the year he besieged Montreal; during the siege the defenders are said to have sold their wives and children for food, and to have gone blind from "lack of salt." Because of the hill Saladin was unable to use siege engines, but after almost two years the castle finally fell to his troops in May 1189. (The defenders' families were returned to them.)The Mameluks later captured and rebuilt it.


The Shobak area is charged with the magic of Southern Jordan, its valleys meandering through an unspoiled landscape with sites of undiscovered mystery and charm. Located at the pointed tip of a fertile crescent, where the land of Arabia begins, this is a terrain of vivid contrasts - a Mediterranean-like landscape dissolving into the desert.

The castle commands an imposing position over a desolate landscape, but is in a poor state of repair. Little is left standing but the outer walls, the keep and a dungeon, carved with intricate inscriptions in Arabic. Restoration work on the castle is still under progress.

more about Crusader castles see link below




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Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist : Shobak Castle (Vote or comment on this photo)

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist (Vote or comment on this photo)

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist (Vote or comment on this photo)

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist (Vote or comment on this photo)

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist (Vote or comment on this photo)

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

Shobak Castle
Shobak Castle submitted by motist

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 2.1km SSW 210° Al-Shobak Dolmen* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 8.3km ENE 69° East of Dana Nature Reserve* Ancient Village or Settlement
 10.2km WNW 281° Small Wadi Malaqa Petroglyph* Carving
 10.3km W 277° Wadi Malaqa Petroglyphs* Carving
 12.6km NNW 328° Wadi Feinan* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
 15.1km ENE 71° Jabal Al-Aswad* Hillfort
 15.7km NE 36° Big Circle J3 Misc. Earthwork
 15.8km NE 52° Khirbat Dabur* Ancient Village or Settlement
 17.6km SSE 167° Big Circle J6 Misc. Earthwork
 20.3km SSW 211° Siq al-Barid-Little Petra* Ancient Village or Settlement
 20.5km NW 324° Khirbat en-Nahas* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
 20.9km SSW 211° Beidha* Ancient Village or Settlement
 22.7km S 174° Big Circle J5 Misc. Earthwork
 24.2km N 10° Botzrah* Ancient Village or Settlement
 24.6km SSW 211° Jabal Fatouma Dolmen* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 25.2km SSW 207° Petra, Nabataean Town* Ancient Village or Settlement
 27.9km N 3° Sel'a* Hillfort
 29.5km ENE 63° Big Circle J4 Misc. Earthwork
 36.8km SW 219° Wadi Masoudah - David Roberts Rock* Rock Cut Tomb
 38.7km W 265° lower wadi 'Ashosh* Ancient Temple
 43.2km NW 316° Ein Hatseva fortress* Hillfort
 43.2km WSW 242° Kipat 'Eshet rock shelter* Ancient Village or Settlement
 43.8km WSW 252° Ramat Tsofar early Islamic settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
 44.0km NNE 18° Khirbat Al-Dharieh* Ancient Temple
 44.5km WNW 292° Wadi Marzeba Crenellation Line* Ancient Temple
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Siq al-Barid-Little Petra

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"Shobak Castle" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Shobak Castle by motist on Sunday, 19 September 2010
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Crusader castles link :

http://nabataea.net/crusades.html
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