Journal entry - Shobak Castle

 We were heading towards Petra town now, and stopped for lunch (all organized as a pit-stop for the regular tours) - choice of food was buffet or sandwich.  I opted for sandwich, which was cooked lightly spiced chicken in a grilled thick pitta, accompanied by chips and a lovely fresh salad.  Then on to Shobak Castle - a Crusader castle in a wild and remote landscape, dating from 1115, when it was built by Crusader King Baldwin I.  It sat imposingly in the arid winter landscape.

What an amazing situation.   It withheld an 18 month siege in 1189, and defended numerous attacks from Saladin. There is apparently a secret passageway (375 steps down) and you need a torch and good nerves for tight spaces, which leads to a subterranean spring.  Just like our lovely Carreg Cennen castle back in Wales (near Llandeilo).

Goats (always Anglo-Nubian) finding something to eat on the seemingly-bare slopes.

Basically, this had been a pile of rubble for a good long while, but was being rebuilt (obviously for tourists).  Even so, it was a building site and Health and Safety would have had 40 blue fits! There were sheer drops, half finished pathways and uneven steps and. . .

This was one of the Crusader Castles that Lawrence of Arabia visited and wrote about in his Dissertation (he was at Oxford).

. . . a large hole in one ceiling had been blocked with large stones jammed together.

Gabby with the Castle Cat.

As you can see, the rebuilding was a bit haphazard and would not have passed the exacting standards the likes of the National Trust have in place.  I think this is the reconstructed Mamluk watchtower.

Then on to Petra town and a 5 star hotel (other one was only 4 star).  We had a good room and lovely food.  The restaurant was upstairs, to take advantage of the lovely view across the town and towards the Petra mountains.  It was a "dry" hotel (no alcohol served or allowed in rooms), so some desperate souls went in search of the Cave Bar, near the entrance to Petra.  We had a lovely view of the sunset over the Petra mountains, and all the lights on in the town.