Karak is dominated by its castle, which sits on a spur above the town and looks as stern now as it did eight centuries ago. The Crusaders built it in the 1140s, under the kings of Jerusalem, to control the road between Damascus and Egypt and the pilgrim route to Mecca, and for a few decades it was one of the most important strongholds of the Latin East. Its most notorious lord, Reynald of Châtillon, raided Muslim caravans from here, and the dark vaulted corridors and cellars are a good place to imagine the sieges. In 1188, after a long blockade that followed the Battle of Hattin, Saladin took the castle, and it later passed to the Mamluks, who added their own towers and halls.
The town around it is a lively market place of about twenty thousand people, with the old stone buildings and narrow lanes of the old centre spreading across the hill. It is also the home of Jordan's national dish, mansaf, a feast of lamb cooked in a sauce of dried fermented yoghurt, served on a bed of rice and flatbread, and eaten with the right hand at weddings and celebrations. Karak is considered one of its heartlands, and a plate is a fine reward after the ride.
The road here is the Kings Highway, an ancient track that runs along the spine of the Transjordanian plateau. It is more scenic than the desert highway nearby, as it crosses deep wadis and climbs high ridges, with sweeping views toward the Dead Sea far below. The riding is a mix of smooth tarmac and patched sections, with plenty of tight bends, steep descents and the occasional goat or sheep on the road. Vehicles may overtake in unexpected places, so keep your guard up, and watch for sand and gravel on the surface. In winter the plateau can be cold and wet, and occasionally snowy, while summer heat is intense in the valleys.
Karak is a large enough town to have fuel stations, banks, shops and simple cafes. The castle is open daily, and a couple of hours is enough to explore it. Evening is a lovely time to be on the ramparts, when the stone turns gold and the call to prayer rises from the town below. From here, the road south leads past Dana and the crusader castle at Shobak to Petra, a long and spectacular day.