General information
Program details
Pick up from your hotel in Amman, we head to visit Madaba, a city best known for the famous 6th century Mosaic map of Jerusalem & Holy Land and for its spectacular Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land.
Madaba is located 30 kilometres (19 miles) south-west of the capital Amman. Proceed to Mt. Nebo (10km from Madaba), a city mentioned in the bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the promised land that he would never enter. We now head further down to the southern part of Jordan to visit Kerak Castle, around 100km from Madaba). Kerak Castle is a Crusaders’ Castle built on a triangular plateau dating back to the 12th century. The castle extends over a southern spur of the plateau. It is a notable example of Crusader architecture, a mixture of west European, Byzantine, and Arab designs. Its walls are strengthened with rectangular projecting towers and long stone vaulted galleries are lighted only by arrowslits.
The castle has a deep moat that isolated it from the rest of the hill on the West. Such a moat is a typical feature of spur castles. The steep slopes of the spur are covered by a glacis. While Kerak Castle is a large and strong castle, its design is less sophisticated than that of concentric crusader castles like Krak des Chevaliers, and its masonry is comparatively crude.
The lower court, In the lower court of the castle is the Karak Archaeological Museum, which was newly opened in 2004 after renovation work. It introduces local history and archaeology of the region around Kerak Castle – the land of Moab – from prehistory until the Islamic era. The history of Crusaders and Muslims at Kerak Castle and town is introduced in detail.
Upon completion, transfer to your hotel in Amman for drop off.
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