Southern Encounters I

It has been quite some time since I last posted some pictures from the south, from Samara-Karak to be exact. Now the pictures are back by popular demand, and I hope the briefings accompanying them proves to be useful. All pictures have been taken by me, in September, 2005 and are posted herein in no particular order. Nothing fancy, pure culture, untainted heritage, and personal attachment.

To the right is a picture of an old structure in Samara that I never really got to the bottom of. I do not what purpose it was erected to meet, and I should probably ask someone and return to you on that one. The thing I appreciate the most is that it still stands, that’s A, and B is the way in which tree trunks have been supporting the ceiling, which was made of mud and now is gone. The wood is obviously out of place now, but I have seen a complete edifice built in this way, with tree shafts supporting the ceiling; The Grand House.
On a lighter note, I enjoy visiting the remains of this structure because I like walking on the paths you can doubtlessly see clear in this picture.

Down here are other remains of another structure, the arch is obvious. I cannot tell what sort of a building this was though.

This is a house, possibly two facing eachother. Nobody lives here and I think it tragic that very few people appreciate the beauty of Samara, if for one thing only; it is authentic, a virgin village untouched.

Fire, lit by my father on a beautiful night. The fire itself is lit inside a metal ring, this ring is in turn placed in a metal container called in Jordanian “Mangal”. I cannot begin to relate to you how amazingly beautiful it is to sit by the fire on a cool Samara night, right there on the terrace overlooking the village’s minute lights, and up above the sky so clear you would not dare look away. The corner you’re placed in seems like a remote chapter of some history book, few cars exist and less pollution is there. It is beyond words.

Karak Castle, standing on top of a mountain, so proud. Note the multitude of houses populating parts of the castle to the right. It is said that the castle, in its original form, extended over the whole mountain top. But due to lack of control in years past, houses were built on large proportions of the area of the castle. Some towers were even turned into homes. I am unaware of any government projects to restore the areas once dominated by the castle to the place, indeed, that would mean they would have to shut down the whole city of Karak, since it is mostly stationed on that mountain. A good omen though is that there is a project underway for years now to restore this historical giant, perhaps you can catch glimpses of that project to the left of the picture. Karak Castle played a major role in the Crusades, any book about the Holy Wars in Outremer of your choice would speak of it.


Above these words is an old portal, back at Samara. Below, to the left, is the Valley of Karak – a green patch of agricultural activities to your right hand when you head for Samara or the Dead Sea from Karak city. To the right is a picture of an old tower at Karak Castle, note the “modern” house to the right of the tower, and the little boy who was trying to wave for me, upon request.

The visitors’ centre by the Castle, this is a civilized attempt at attracting toursists, I must bow to that. I loved seeing tourists, as you may see, about to enter the centre. I did not enter it myself, I was in a haste, but I certainly hope it offers quality information.

A positive remark should be made when it is called-for. I value the efforts that have been put to good use around the Castle, many a building has been established with the aim of appealing to tourists. I think there is a restaurant, an antiques’ shop, alongside the visitor centre. The architecture of those facades does not fall out of place, contrasting that of the Castle itself. That is smart.

Another function-unknown-building. How very inexcusably ignorant of me. A lovely aspect about this picture, and I am not entirely sure I should say this, is that the mountain in the background is owned by my family. We do not hire peasants to work for us unpaid, and we dont not enforce taxes on annual produce, so please do not associate that image to my profile. Family history has it that people in times gone would buy land to allocate it for their goat and sheep herds.

Those are simply homes I shot from the car as it was moving. Random houses close by the Castle, I found their positioning amusing. This is also close to the Christian neighbourhood in Karak city,as far as I know, a great number of Karaki people are Christians. My own family converted to Islam not many generations ago. There is also an Armenian and a Syrian minority in the city, and all live in harmony.

I still have some more pictures, but I will save them for later. Patience is virtue, and I like things serial. Abu Sinan, I hope you liked the pictures.