Day 7 Shoubak Castle & Dana

Friday February 25^th.

Today we started off in our minibus and headed to a Crusader castle, called Shoubak, that was built in the 1100's during the first crusade. It is also called Castle Montreal, named by the French knights who built it. It was built atop a very defensible hill and survived an 18 month siege by the Arabs because it had a secret underground passage that lead to a source of water outside the castle walls. We walked around the ruins as our guide, Omar, told us a bit of the history. I asked why the Arabs didn't wipe out the crusaders as they were building the castle, because it was obviously not built quickly, but apparently the Arabs were not united and the tribes were fighting amongst themselves, which allowed the crusaders the window of opportunity. I would like to read more about the history of the times.

When we left we drove to Wadi Dana, which is one of the northern parts of the Great Rift Valley. We checked into the Dana Guesthouse, enjoyed a cup of sweet tea and then set out for another hike. The guesthouse is situated on an overlook that looks over the spectacular valley. It is built beside one of the oldest villages that is still standing in Jordan. It was built in the 1500's and abandoned in the 1900's.

We hiked for about an hour down into the valley. The road was gravel and very steep. We got nowhere near the floor of the valley but we hiked about three kilometres down. When we stopped and ate our felafel sandwiches, we could here a shepherd playing a pan flute. Then he came up and over the hill riding a donkey and leading a flock of sheep. We continued down a bit more to get a vantage point over a hill. Best line of the day belonged to Stemati (Sam) who said “If this was a group of Greeks, there is no way we'd do this because we are lazy!”

Then we began the long trek back up hill. I took my time, practising the pole pole pace of Kili in order to control the breathing, and keep going. Finally reached the guesthouse again. We had the rest of the day to relax, enjoy the lovely guesthouse and the view. Saw a griffon vulture soaring over the valley.

We had a lovely meal prepared for us that included lots of salads and spreads, as well as rice and chicken. We sat around and talked the evening away. I spent the evening talking to Graham about his profession, he is a pharmacist in a hospital. Then we talked about Monty Python and British humour.

Then off to our rooms, where I had another good chat with Cimel (Jemil).