Customize Your Dream Vacation
Get in touch with our local experts for hassle-free trip planning.
Shobak Castle
Need help in building your itinerary?
Contact us and unlock an unforgettable adventure with the help of our local experts.
Menu
Jordan Attractions
General Information
- Things to Know About Jordan - Top 5 Topics
- Why Visit Jordan?
- 8 Must-Know Facts About Jordan
- Best time to visit Jordan | Jordan Climate and Weather
- Jordan Traditions and Customs - How is Jordan influenced by Europe and America?
- Jordanian Food you have to Try | Jordanian Cuisine
- About Dos and Don'ts in Jordan
- Ramadan in Jordan
- Religion in Jordan
- Shopping in Jordan
- History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Getting Around Jordan
- Water Activities in Aqaba
- Language of Jordan
- Christmas Traditions in Jordan
Madaba Attractions
Kerak Attractions
Petra Attractions
Jerash Attractions
- The City of Jerash
- Hadrian’s Arch of Jerash Jordan
- The Jerash Hippodrome
- Oval Plaza of Jerash Jordan
- The Cardo Colonnaded Street of Jerash Jordan
- The Cathedral of Jerash Jordan
- Nymphaeum Temple of jerash
- North Theater of Jerash Jordan
- South Theater
- Jerash Archaeological Museum in Jordan
- Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts
Join Our Newsletter
Suggested Tours
A lonely reminder of former Crusader glory is Shobak Castle, less than an hour north of Petra. Once called "Mont Real," Shobak dates from the same turbulent period as Karak. It is perched on the side of a mountain, with a grand sweep of fruit trees below. The castle's exterior is impressive, with a foreboding gate and encircling triple wall. Despite the precautions of its builder, the fortress fell to Saladin only 75 years after it was raised. Inscriptions by his proud successors appear on the castle wall.
While the Crusaders called it “Le Krak de Montreal”, the current name of Shawbak refers to the castle as well as to its surrounding group of ten villages. The recent history of the castle is directly connected to these villages. People of Shawbak still remember when the castle was inhabited (till the 1950s), they would tell a story where each tower was occupied by one of the clans, and how the people spread around the castle in villages like Al-Jayeh, Mugar’ieh, Nijil, Al Mansura, Shammakh, and others.
At the castle entrance, on the eastern elevation, is one of the towers with beautiful Arabic calligraphy, using big size letters braded in the Mameluke style and dated to the later rebuilding works of the 1290s.
Walking in the ruined parts of the castle you can notice some architectural elements of European style, almost gothic, while other parts are reminiscent architecture from Mameluke Cairo.
The castle plays with its surroundings in an amusing way, windows whistling in the wind, partially collapsed openings squeezing the outside glare to draw shadows on flooring stones, and rooms where the end wall has fallen into the deep valley below. The effects of time are both stunning and entertaining.