top of page
Russell Roy

Infamous Crusader Castle at Karak Jordan

Updated: Mar 22, 2021


Though largely in ruins, it still is easy to be impressed by this historic structure. It was located at a key strategic point east of Jerusalem and gain notoriety from a bitter siege in which Saladin's Muslim armies defeated king Baldwin of Jerusalem in AD 1183.

It is almost regretful that our approach to the castle did not give us a clear perspective of just how imposing a structure it is nor how high it actually stands.


A better perspective that we were able to get is a panorama from the top looking down.



Up close it is easy to appreciate the scale of the ramparts. After scaling a mountain, you would still have these walls to overcome. It's amazing that castle was eventually overthrown by force.


Incidentally, the staircase in the photo above happens to be the location of my Facebook profile photo.

The best standing structures within the castle wall lie to the north and south. Within each there is a grand hall and a number of other passages that lie on several levels above, and below ground. They can all be explored. Many were too dark to bother with taking photos, but still interesting never the less.




In the final photo, I am standing in one of the gun portals of the grand hallway. I have my hands extended for scale to show the thickness of the walls. This place was built to be defended for a long time but still managed to fall to a determined foe.


bottom of page