The secret passage
Steps in the rock down to a spring.
xorge — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · xorge — CC BY-SA 2.0
A Crusader castle on the summit of an isolated conical hill above a deep valley, built in 1115 by Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem, who named it Montréal, the royal mountain, to watch the caravan and pilgrim road between Damascus, Egypt and the Hejaz. It held out against Saladin through a long siege until it surrendered in 1189, two years after the Battle of Hattin. The Mamluks restored and enlarged it and left large Arabic inscriptions on its towers that are still clear in the stone; most of the towers, gates and vaults you see today are theirs, along with two Crusader churches and the remains of a palace and a bathhouse. What thrills most visitors is a secret passage cut into the rock that descends hundreds of steps inside the hill to a spring at the bottom, which kept the castle in water during sieges. It is dark and slippery, needs a torch and good shoes, and parts are sometimes closed. Shobak is far quieter than Petra and an easy stop on the King's Highway on the way to or from Petra; the view of the castle on its hill from the road is one of the finest sights on the route.
Steps in the rock down to a spring.
Large Arabic texts on the towers.
A striking view from the road.
Shobak, Ma'an Governorate, about 30 km north of Wadi Musa
It surrendered in 1189 after a long siege, two years after Hattin; the Mamluks later restored and enlarged it.
Yes. It is about half an hour north of Wadi Musa on the King's Highway, an easy stop on the way to or from Petra.