Now that we've settled back into our home in Canada for the long COVID haul, we can crank out more BLOG posts - sorry for the brief hiatus.
No trip to Jordan would be complete without a visit to an ancient castle or two! We drove southward from Madaba down to Al Karak and, ultimately, to Dana. The southbound "King's Highway" (HWY 35) was a nice-to-have treat - this drive was more about its destinations!
 |
| A stunning drive |
Al Karak Castle
We really wanted to checkout this hilltop castle - its location is both picturesque and inaccessible.
 |
| Al Karak Castle |
As you can see, the castle's
remains are in excellent shape - its visitors aren't too shabby either :) We're normally pretty good about sticking together, but this castle is a kid's dream - it has pathways and hollows and staircases and chambers and kitchens... and all of it is accessible to visitors!
 |
| Parker at a doorway-with-a-view |
So, we split up - Nathan with me and the others with Cheryl... but... we didn't communicate a clear plan, so Nathan and I went nuts for an hour until we saw the others again - the castle is that big!
Nathan channeling his inner Indiana Jones
Once we'd rejoined the others, together, we discovered a lot of this castle... highlights included its massive chambers...
 |
| A great spot to sing! |
 |
| Narrow, dark passages |
 |
| Crawling around |
 |
| Cheryl taking in the fortifications |
 |
| The town of Karak, below - the only side of the castle not hanging off a cliff |
The castle - first built in 1132 - towers over its surroundings and has been both beautifully restored and artfully left alone. Many archways and anti-rooms are all-original - signs, presumably, of high build quality and a lack of earthquakes?!
Like most important buildings, this castle changed hands many times over its history and was added onto by several of its owners. Our kids especially enjoyed the kitchen, complete with an intact stone oven and grain mill!
 |
| So many rooms! |
Nathan and Parker were both impressed by and afraid of the armed guards stationed at the gate to ward off terrorists (there was an attack at this location a few years prior).
 |
| Caution! |
Dana
Outdoors enthusiasts will love Dana - it's a hole-in-a-cliff kind of place smack dab in the middle of a nature reserve that protects sandstone canyons, hoodoos, stacked rock formations and a ton of wildlife. If you blink a few times, you'd swear you were in Utah in the US.
 |
| Dana is in a mountainous region - driving vistas are stunning |
 |
| Look like Utah? |
The hotels in the area are either owned or operated by 1 of 2 families in the Dana village. Calling them "boutique" would be an understatement. They are unique - I'll give them that! We stayed at one of the oldest - the Dana Tower Hotel. They serve a mega buffet dinner - there's nowhere else to go!
 |
| Outdoor chow by the fire - Parker was almost in the fire... it was cold in the mountains! |
Cheryl's missing from this set of pics because she was feeling a bit under the weather, so she opted-out.
Improptu camp song struck up by guests and hosts
The hotel was built piecemeal, over the span of 30 years - it started as a 2-room guesthouse. It boasts great views and a truly unique style with impossibly narrow staircases, stone construction, trickling water pressure and an utter lack of insulation - like camping, but with benefits!
 |
| Rustic, castle-like feel... pretty to look at... but not without issues - there was a major mildew problem... so we ultimately switched rooms, oh... and I was electrocuted by the shower... ya know - another day in the travelers' life! |
The boys and I did some hiking in the valley below - we were all feeling ok... Chels also felt a little off, so she stayed home with mum.
 |
| Seriously - Utah or Jordan?! |
The boys and I spied a tour bus full of hiker-type people racing down a cliffside road, so we did a 180 and followed them, hoping to either learn something or barnacle ourselves onto their adventure... and we succeeded! We hiked into the valley with a tour group of Dutch people - it took us 1.5min to ditch our car and haul our lunch and gear onto our backs and we were off. We made some friends and got a guided tour of the valley - altogether unplanned - my kind of day!
Our Bedouin guide - a 20th century kind of guy
Our guide gave personal, historical accounts of Bedouin life. He bemoaned the social reform happening in Jordan that granted women more say in family affairs - specifically, he disliked that women could file for divorce and had become more educated (and as a result, valued) than their male counterparts. The balance of power, he says, shifted abruptly in 2000, in lock-step with changes of law.
This guy was not into #metoo - groans from the crowd highlighted the cultural disconnects. I used it as a learning opportunity for my boys, who quietly observed and asked the important questions later, in private.
 |
| Colours, hues and topography made this descent very interesting - not to mention the antics of our Bedouin guide and the cultural exchanges with our new Dutch friends! |
Thr group we joined was a bit older - averaging at maybe 55 years old... so my scampering, physically confident boys were something of a breath of fresh air... and a source of concern and even some parental scorn. All to be expected - it's easy to forget how agile young people really are and... they don't know Parker - he was a mountain goat in a former life - his judgement is excellent.
 |
| As is typical for my kids, they raced to the front of the pack where there is a sense of freedom and discussion with the guide is accessible |
 |
| The boys being guided |
 |
| Elephant rock |
 |
| So many cracks, canyons and nooks to explore |
 |
| These guys were such asses - they blocked up the whole path! |
 |
| Rugged beauty - the real Jordan |
 |
| Triumph |
After exchanging some contact info, our Dutch crew abandoned us in favour of their comfy, albeit packed, bus... so we hiked up out of the valley on foot... nothing personal, I'm sure :)
We were treated to a set of free-running horses making their way down the valley - sometimes at full gallop, but more often in grazing mode... which is were we caught up with them.
An assertive horse...
We got home to find the ladies feeling better but starving... so we shared the remainder of our lunch with them, order some hummus and
Shrak and tackled some school work.
 |
| Daily Hummus, Shrak , Turkish Delight and SCHOOL WITH A VIEW |
 |
| The boys are becoming savvy chess players - Nathan challenged a random 35yr-old to a game - his confidence is growing |
 |
| The hotel's sunset view |
As you can see, Dana, Jordan is like Utah in the US, without the guardrails... in so much of the non-Western world, if you do a dumb thing, you will get hurt - perhaps a more Darwinian approach, or perhaps a lack of funding... either way, being able to interact, unhindered, with nature was a real gift.
Stay tuned - more posts to come!
Comments
Post a Comment