KERAK CASTLE, King’s Highway, Jordan
2006.05.19.
In a foggy afternoon of December 2016, gunfire broke the silence at the remnants of Kerak Castle. Following a series of attacks on police patrols and station in Al-Karak, five ISIS terrorists seek refuge at the 12th century Crusader castle as the Jordanian force was closing in. The government force besieged the castle and eventually killed all terrorists. 14 people were killed in the shootout, including one Canadian tourist. Terrorist attacks are not common in Jordan, but the 2016 siege of the Kerak Castle and the unstable conditions in Syria have hampered tourism of Jordan in recent years. Built in the 12th century, the former Crusader stronghold Kerak Castle was not stranger to military siege in history, with the siege of Saladin’s force in 1183 being the most famous. The siege by Saladin, the Muslim leader from Damascus, coincided with the royal wedding inside the castle between Humphrey IV of Toron and Isabella of Jerusalem. The siege ended when the force of Baldwin IV, the King of Jerusalem, came for rescue. The historical incident serves as the background for the 2005 movie Kingdom of Heaven.
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It was Friday, 19th of May in 2006, a weekend holiday for the Muslims. At Wahadat Station in Amman, buses were running on holiday schedule. It took us sometime to find a bus bounded for Kerak Castle. Our goal for the day was to make our way on the King’s Highway from Amman to Wadi Musa, the popular base for tourists visiting the splendid lost city of Petra. It was a two hour bus ride from Amman to the town of Al-Karak. When we got off the bus, the driver told us that there would not be any public transportation from Karak to Tafila on Fridays. Our original plan was to visit Kerak Castle, take a bus to Tafila, and then hire a taxi onwards to Shobak and Wadi Musa. Without public transportation, we had to settle with hiring a taxi driver for the day at 40 Jordanian Dinar, taking us uphill to Kerak Castle, and then to Shobak Castle and Wadi Musa.
Kerak Castle is one of the largest castles in the region. Compared to Krak des Chevaliers, Kerak has a simpler design and rougher craftsmanship. Kerak Castle has a nice little museum. I enjoyed reading a little about the history of the castle, the Crusades and the Muslim conqueror Saladin at the bookshop.
We were lucky to find a bus going to Kerak Castle that was running on the Friday holiday schedule.
The castle looked spectacular from the town of Al-Karak.
The scale of Kerak Castle is enormous when viewed from the town below.
The castle was empty, but a large portion of the structure remains intact for over 800 years.
Due to the large size, tourists dispersed all over the castle once inside the complex.
Kerak Castle contains many covered passages protected with thick defensive walls. During the 2016 terrorist attack, most tourists were hiding in a separate part of the castle to avoid contact with the attackers.
Al-Karak lies 140 km south of Amman, on a hilltop 1000m above sea level. The Dead Sea is visible from the castle. Beyond the Dead Sea, the Holy city of Jerusalem is just a short car journey away.
UMAYYAD MOSQUE, Damascus, Syria
2006.05.14.
Five days after entering Syria from Turkey, we finally reached the capital city Damascus, after a quick tour of Aleppo, Crusader castles near Hama, and the ruins in the Syria Desert. Also known as the City of Jasmine, Damascus is one of the most important cultural centre in the Arab world, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Large settlement within the city walls dated back to the second millennium BC. The city’s status rose to its peak when it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, the centre of the Islamic world, from 661 to 750 AD. Today, Damascus is the capital and largest city in Syria. Since ancient times, Damascus has been a melting pot of different Middle Eastern cultures and religions. While Islam is the prominent religion, Christians (Syriac Orthodox, Catholic, Greek Orthodox Church, etc) represent about one fifth of the population. There was also a small Jewish community dating back to ancient times. Nowhere in the Syrian capital can illustrate the complex religious traditions better than Umayyad Mosque, one of the largest, oldest and holiest mosques in the world.
After checking in at Al Rabie Hotel, we ventured out immediately to explore Damascus. We walked through the busy streets and congested traffic, passed by the citadel, stroll through a covered souk, and at last reached the Umayyad Mosque. We took off our shoes and reached the huge courtyard. The marble floor was clean and smooth but quite hot. The Umayyad Mosque (Great Mosque of Damascus) was built in early 8th century by the Umayyad Caliphate. In the Roman times, the site was home to a large and famous Temple of Jupiter. In the 4th century, Theodosius I converted the temple into a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. In 706 AD, construction work began to convert the church into Umayyad Mosque. Christian and Muslim pilgrims continued to come and pay respect to St. John the Baptist. The small shrine which housed John’s head still exists today inside the mosque.
Adjacent to the mosque we found our way to the Mausoleum of Saladin, the famous and powerful Muslim knight who fought off the Crusades and recaptured Palestine from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Mausoleum is a small stone building in which Saladin’s coffin is covered with a green textile.
Probably built in the 10th century, the Minaret of the Bride on the northern wall is the first minaret built for the Umayyad Mosque.
Located at the southwest corner, the 1488 Minaret of Qaitbay shows a strong Egyptian Islamic influence.
Completed in 715 AD upon alterations from the earlier church, the Umayyad Mosque was meant to establish a jama masjid (congregational mosque or Friday mosque). With a height of 118 feet, the Dome of the Eagle sits atop the main prayer hall.
It was said that about 12,000 craftsmen and workers from Coptic Egypt, Persia, India, Greece and Morocco served as the main construction force. Byzantine artisans were hired for the decorative and architectural details, including the mosaics.
The Umayyad Mosque is a rare example of mosque architecture still maintaining the original design features and structure since the 8th century.
In 1979, the old city of Damascus was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Out of the 125 monuments in the city, the Umayyad Mosque is considered to be the most spectacular.
Mosaic was a common form of art in the Roman and Byzantine era. Along with Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, the mosaics of the Umayyad Mosque is one of the best preserved mosaic art of the Umayyads in the world.
Due to various fire incidents in history, the surviving mosaics only represent a portion of the original mosaics. Most mosaics we see today were plastered over by the Ottomans. First uncovered in 1929, little has been changed to the mosaics since the 8th century.
There are three domes in the main courtyards, including the Fountain for Ablutions in the centre.
Constructed in 780, the Dome of the Clock or Zeynel Abidin Dome at the eastern end of the courtyard. Later erected by the Abbasids in 1247, the Minaret of Jesus (Isa) at the back is the tallest among the three minarets.
Built in 790s, the Dome of Treasury was used to house the mosque’s endowment funds and old manuscripts.
The courtyard is a pleasant open space even just for sitting around to absorb the historic atmosphere.
The outer columns of the main prayer hall contain some beautiful marble decorations.
Other than the main prayer hall, the courtyard is bounded by a series of colonnades.
Decorative marble inlays can be found at both exterior and interior of the mosque. Some columns in the complex were actually recycled from the earlier church at the same site.
This early mosque borrowed a number of features from earlier Roman and Byzantine designs, including the dome, vaults and colonnades. Beautiful windows provide another pleasant feature to the interior of the prayer hall.
The qibla wall with the mihrab niche indicates the direction to Mecca.
The main prayer hall contains three aisles stretching to east and west.
Serving as a pilgrimage site for both Muslims and Christians, the shrine of Saint John the Baptist (Prophet John in Islam), almost like a small building within the prayer hall, situates at the central aisle.
Blue Lapis Road 