The King’s Highway

The King’s Highway is an ancient trade route that linked ancient civilizations across the Middle East and offers a rich tapestry of historical sites and scenic landscapes. During the drive from Amman to Petra, several interesting places are worth visiting, including Madaba, Mount Nebo, and the Crusader Castles of Kerak and Showbak.

Thirty minutes’ drive to the south of Amman, Madaba is a small bustling town noted for its exquisite Byzantine mosaics. St. George’s Church houses Madaba’s most famous mosaic, a 6th-century map featuring biblically important sites in the Holy Land. The Madaba archaeological park preserves several recently discovered masterpieces, including the fantastic mosaics from the Church of the Virgin and the Hippolytus Hall. The Church of the Apostles, at the southern entrance to Madaba, contains the Personification of the Sea mosaic, one of the town’s most beautiful.

The church of Lot and Procopius at nearby Mt. Nebo has further fine mosaic floors and superb views over the Dead Sea and West Bank. Not a great deal survives at the hilltop fort of Mukawir (ancient Machaerus), but the site is biblically significant as it was once a stronghold of Herod the Great. It was here that Salome performed the Dance of the Seven Veils, which ultimately led to the beheading of John the Baptist.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Umm ar-Rasas (ancient Kastron Mefaa) is a short drive from Madaba and was an important frontier station in classical times. The Church of St. Stephen houses beautiful mosaics dating back to 785 AD, demonstrating that churches were being built in Jordan well into the Islamic period.

The huge Crusader and Mamluk castle of Kerak, with its awe-inspiring ring of walls and towers, has been a fortress since Biblical times. The Crusaders took 20 years to fortify the site, which became the seat of the Lord of Oultrejordain, one of the most important fiefs of the Crusader Kingdom. After withstanding several sieges in the 1170s, Kerak came under the control of Raynald de Chatillon, one of the more daring and controversial of the Crusaders. Chatillon frequently broke treaties made by the King of Jerusalem with the Arab princes and used the castle as a base to loot passing caravans of merchants and pilgrims bound for Mecca.

South of Kerak, a short distance from Petra, Shobak Castle was commissioned by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1115 AD and named Montreal. It was the first castle built in Oultrejordain, but the strong walls and towers you see today mainly date to the Mamluk period.