The underground galleries
Rock-cut halls, stables and stores — stay on the surface and you have not seen it.
Berthold Werner — CC BY 3.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammad hajeer — CC BY-SA 4.0
The largest Crusader castle in Jordan, standing on a rock spur with valleys on three sides — a principal stop on the King's Highway between Amman and Petra. The Crusaders built it in 1142 to control the caravan road between Damascus and Egypt, and its name is bound to Reynald de Châtillon, the lord of Karak who broke the truce and raided caravans and pilgrims — which drove Saladin to besiege the castle twice and then to Hattin. Saladin executed Reynald by his own hand after the battle, a story well known in the Arabic sources. The castle fell in 1188 after a long siege, and the Mamluks later enlarged and added to it. What distinguishes it is what lies below rather than above: rock-cut passages, vaulted halls, stables and storerooms, dark, cool and extensive, and exploring them by phone torch is an essential part of the visit. Anyone who stays on the surface has not seen the castle. The architectural difference from Ajloun is plain: Karak is Crusader work in huge dressed stone with long galleries, while Ajloun is Ayyubid, smaller and more compact. From the walls there is a view over Wadi Araba and the Dead Sea to the north-west. About two hours from Amman, and the natural stop on the way to Petra.
Rock-cut halls, stables and stores — stay on the surface and you have not seen it.
Huge dressed stone, entirely unlike Ajloun's Ayyubid construction.
From the north-west walls, reaching the Dead Sea when clear.
Karak, on the King's Highway south of Amman
It depends which way you are going. Ajloun is north of Amman and pairs with Jerash in a day. Karak is south on the Petra road, so anyone heading down sees it in passing at almost no extra cost. Karak is bigger and more exciting for its dark passages; Ajloun has the better setting and view.
The old mountain road linking Amman to Petra via Madaba, Karak and Tafila — about two hours slower than the Desert Highway but far more beautiful, and it passes all the sites. The Desert Highway is faster and emptier, and is what people take when heading straight to Petra.
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