We left Rocky Mountain Hotel at about 8.45 a.m., headed north for Madaba along the King's Highway. The sky was grey and outside we could see the trees being buffeted by the bitterly cold wind. Inside the 4WD, which we had chosen because of the dubious weather (and in particular the threat of snow), we were warm and snug.
After around 20 minutes of meandering upwards through the hills we arrived at Shobak, a 12th Century Crusader castle. Our driver asked rather hopefully whether we wanted to stop just for a quick photo, but we insisted on braving the elements. We climbed down from the 4WD and were instantly assailed by the freezing gale. We made our way through the gates of the castle, whose walls were crumbled in parts but still attested to its past glory. We were greeted by a few guards, huddled around a fire inside a small shack, who wished us luck. We spent 15 minutes or so wandering around the wonderfully atmospheric ruins, trying to imagine what it was like in the 12th century (and on a sunny day).
Returning gratefully to the warmth of the car, we continued north towards Dana, a 14th century village perched on the edge of a gorge. A large part of the village had been destroyed by an earthquake, and our driver was again surprised and evidently disappointed that we wanted to stop to have a look around. On a clear day the view would have been magnificent, but the clouds limited us to a very vague idea of the chasm beneath.
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| Walking among the ruins of Dana |
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| Not the greatest view of the gorge |
From Dana we headed back towards the King's Highway, the picturesque road running through the middle of Jordan's western plateau, linking Amman with Madaba, Dhiban, Karak, and Petra. By now the rain was pouring down, and our driver's earlier suggestion that we should skip Karak because of the weather began to increase in volume. We were stubborn: Karak was the main reason for hiring a car rather than taking the quick bus straight to Amman; we had paid extra for a 4WD to take the weather out of the equation; and frankly a little rain did not seem to be a big deal. Just as we were having this discussion, a guy called him to say that it had started to snow in Karak, but lightly. We decided to press on and see what the weather had in store.
There were indeed brief flurries of snow as we entered the junction town of Tafila, where the single lane road was congested. We drove past the small Tafila castle on the way, but it was closed (and not particularly inspiring) so we didn't even hop out. The weather oscillated between rain, sleet, and snow as we followed the winding King's Highway across damp sandstone hills towards Karak. On the outskirts of town we sat snared in traffic again as the snow continued to fall gently. Our driver pulled in quickly and a friend of his ran out and stuck three packages through the window. They turned out to be falafel sandwiches, a tasty and perfectly timed snack; impressive takeaway service ordered by phone as he drove. He also told us that his friend had offered to host us in case the road ahead was closed!
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| The front of Tafila castle |
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| A drenched King's Highway |
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| Snow outside Karak |
We reached Karak at around 12.30, by which time the sleet was slanting viciously with the wind. We left our driver to sulk and scurried up to the famous Crusader castle to explore. A guide met us at the gate and led us quickly around the walls and inside the underground galleries of the castle. He showed us through the dark, damp, dripping bowels of the castle, from cavernous arched hallways to cramped barracks and smoke-scarred kitchens. We scampered out into the open again for a couple of minutes before retreating from the sleet pelting our numb cheeks.
Before leaving Karak we stopped by a restaurant to dry off while sipping at a cup of tea (we hadn't thought to put on our waterproof trousers, which we at the bottom of our rucksacks). Our driver said that the TV was reporting that the road ahead was closed, so he phoned someone to check. It seemed implausible that some rain would shut down all three major roads running the length of Jordan, but we could see that drainage was not their forte. Good news: one of the roads to Madaba was still open, so we drove off as quickly as possible.
We veered off from the King's Highway, heading west towards the Dead Sea Highway, which runs - you'll never guess - alongside the salt lake that inhabits the lowest point on Earth. We wound down alongside a deep gorge from the hills of Karak towards the Dead Sea, 420 metres below sea level. Ahead we could see the sun shining down on the Israeli/Palestinian shore through a small gap in the dark cloud cover, illuminating the Promised Land just as one imagines Moses might have seen from Mount Nebo nearby.
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| Winding down through spectacular scenery towards the Dead Sea |
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| Sunlight on the Promised Land across the Dead Sea |
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| The cliffs near Masada, Israel |
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| Heading north alongside the Dead Sea |
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| Dark clouds ahead, near Madaba |
We passed by the entrance to Wadi Mujib, a vast gorge that runs from west to east across the middle of Jordan, which is apparently beautiful but will have to wait for our next trip to the Levant (wrong time of year; it's at its best from April to May). We climbed back up to Madaba, around 800 metres above sea level, and after asking several people directions our driver finally found our hotel, the Mariam. We settled into our tiny but comfortable and well-heated room, then headed out for a bite to eat. We went slightly overboard in ordering a kebab sandwich (which came with salad and a pile of chips), a haloumi sandwich, and a falafel sandwich, but it all disappeared. We blamed it on the cold.
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