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Dick Osseman | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> Kerak castle tree view | thumbnails | slideshow | map

Ajlun Castle | Amman | Buildings in the desert | Irbid | Jerash | Kerak castle | Madaba | Pella | Petra | Shobeq (Shaubak) castle | Tell Mar Elias | Umm Quais aka Gadara | Umm er-Rasas minus Stephen | Saint Stephen church at Umm er-Rasas | On the road | Roman theatres in Jordan grouped together

Kerak castle

From the Wikipedia: “Kerak Castle is a large crusader castle located in Kerak in Jordan. It is one of the largest crusader castles in the Levant. Construction of the castle began in the 1140s, under Pagan, Fulk of Jerusalem's butler. The Crusaders called it Crac des Moabites or "Karak in Moab", as it is frequently referred to in history books. Kerak should not be confused with Krak des Chevaliers" [see my pictures and be convinced of the difference]. And “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 arrow slits. 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 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. 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 Karak region – the land of Moab – from the prehistoric period until the Islamic era. The history of Crusaders and Muslims at Karak castle and town is introduced in detail.“
Navigating wasn’t difficult, but understanding what I saw was, so I’d appreciate any comment explaining the function of some things on my pictures. If you like castles, see my collection of pictures of major castles in Turkey, Syria and now Jordan.

A viewer let me know: " kerak photos.Original entrance was located at east end of north wall where wall bends/Postern gate was covered by re-entrant angle and led to a chamber which gave access in turn to the lower of the the large vaulted halls shown in photo 2471.This contained the stables.In addition both halls provided accommodation,access to galleries containing defensive arrow slits and provided shelter from incoming missiles from siege engines.The buildings shown in photos 2530/1 comprise a palace and a donjon and are later Muslim work"

For a clear view of the area covered use the map view. Note that a few gps data was wrong (taking the picture too early before the gps had settled and similar)
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Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2537.jpg
Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2537.jpg
Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2538.jpg
Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2538.jpg
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Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2539.jpg
Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2540.jpg
Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2540.jpg
Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2541.jpg
Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2541.jpg
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Jordan Karak Castle 2013 2542.jpg
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