Kerak Castle and the Dead Sea

 Kerak Castle and the Dead Sea 

We left Wadi Mousa and drove north up th main road towards Amman. Some way along the road, we turned left off the main road to head west to the edge of the long rift valley and the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth.

Before we reached the Dead Sea, we stopped at Kerak Castle. 

It is one of the largest castles in the Levant. Construction began in 1140s under Fulk, king of Jerusalem. The Crusaders called the castl Crac de Moabites. Because of its position east of the Dead Sea, the castle was able to control bedouin herders in the area and the trade routed from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca.

A view from the crusader entrance bridge to the Ottoman entrance along the dry moat.

Just one of many internal constructions.

Some of the surface structures....

...a view across a bastion and the valley far below...

...and a view of the route up to the castle from the other side.

More internal structures...

...a well preserved area.

A view of some of the outer walls from part way down the hill on which the castle stands.

And then we left Kerak Castle and drove down a winding road to reach the Dead Sea. There are spas and resorts further along the coast but at the southern shores, the terrain is too rugged and steep with little or no beach area.

We stopped at one of the few places that are free to park and enter before the coast is littered with upmarket resorts.

Some of the beach deposits along the shores of the Dead Sea, just short of Wadi Mujid and a large bridge across the wadi.

Bathers in the salty waters...

...and some of the salty deposits along the shore.