THE CROWS FORTRESS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 183, 23 April 1918, Page 7

THE CROWS FORTRESS

" KERAK-M0A8"

A LAND MARK IN THE WAR FIELDS OF PALESTINE

(Published by authority of tho War Office per -favour of the Royal Colonial Institute.)

The victorious advance of tho Egyptian Expeditionary i'orco up lo and beyond Jerusalem, on the west, of the remarkable earth, depression of the Ghor, is' being supported ami supplemented by tho advance of the King of Arabia's troops, south and east of that historic region. Tho two expeditions emphasise the"ptiysical fact- that tho Ghor, which 'contains tho Dead Sua and the Jordan, naturally divides Palestine into cast, and jvost, each with its own peculiar features and history. The province of Moab consists of four narrow strips. of land running north and south almost parallel with the Ghor. Host western of the four strip.i of land in Moab is the wild, rugged escarp-, mont of the Dead Sea, which is high upraised, and from winch this part of Palestine slopes down, with rolling: hills, ruddy from the plough, or gold with waving haivests, on its way east to desert waste.. .

Seen from tho west, from the far 6hore of the Dead Sea, this mighty escarpment rises up, a great mountain wall, with slope and sheer precipice sometimes, to four thousand feet; its projecting headlands grandly inuiressire, suggestive of the lufinite. Mouth of this the view extends to where the promontory of El Lisan thrust its head northward) and, in the bay at which it forms, tho Wadi Korak empties its waters, a crystal stream against the darkening sea. Even from below the eye wanders instinctively to .the frowning precipice above,, searching for castle or keep. There, thousands of feet above the sea, entirely separated from the mountain side (save for a liarrow neck of rock), on a strange triangular ridge stands the r.est in the rock.of Jloab-ICcruk, the Crow's Portress, tho Kisr Moab of Isaiah, the capital of tho province on whose ancient walls King Meslia sacrificed his eldest son to propitiate his god, Cliemosh, in his war against Israel and Judas.

North of Tafile, and but three days'; march from Shobek, it was ono of the : world's hh-oiig-ist uaiuia! iortrcsses. It j probably had several entrances through' tunnels bored in Ul9 lock itself, one' of ' which was hollowed out into an impres-) sive entrance hall. It lias rock-hewn ro- j servoirs,.conduits, and cisterns; the Mos-»; lem tradition is that Payon, King Eulk's j cup-bofirer built it; it has traces not j only of Roman and Byzantine occupation, : but of much earlier periods. It was j the residence of the Grand Master of the • Hospitallers; Malek-er-Daher, Sultan of ! 'Egypt, took it from him and restored i it. It shows European design ana in- ! fluence,' the rounded towers projecting! considerably from tho wall exhibiting a French origin, though the main walls are older; they increase from above in thickness as a protection against sapping. ;

The walls of the. keep rise from a moat inside the front line of fortifications, the Christian chapel now being used as a mosque. There is a b&autiful Gothic banquetting hall; and along the top of the wall runs a passage leading to a magnificent chamber and round tower witii pointed windows. The Latin Kings of Jerusalem occupied it, and increased its fortifications, for it guarded tie caravan routes from Egypt and Arabia to Damascus. It became the chief town of the Crusading Seigneurie of Korak de Montreal, which included also' Hebron. When Rij'naud de Chatillon held it, Saladin repeatedly laid Biego to it, taking, it in .1188, > It. was this Re naund who was the provoking cause of the fatal termination of the Great Crusade by the battle of Hattin, Saladin .offered Renaud his life if he would become a Moslem, but he refused, and so Moab passed into Moslem hands. It was- ixi 1238 that the Emir of Kerak captured Jerusalem, aid thus drove out' the Knights. Abul Fida, who was born m.Daiaascus .in 1373, states there was a thermal spring and bath in tho valley-below Keraii,. aJid tiiut about the city there .'.were t-apy beautiful orchards of- apricots, pears, a-id pomegranates, Keraic to-day has a population of about eight thousand, a large number of whom live in the buiidingu nhUer tlie great keep, while.a Turkisii garrison occupies the upper towers. ■ •

Like the re9t of the western portion of Moab-in whioh it is situated, the district round Kerak is capable of great agricultural development. Stretches of wheat and millet may be seen, while cattle are bred both there rrd' further east. Some attemps have been made to place sailing vessels and a 6team ferry upon the Dead Sea, so that the products of Moab may reacli Jerusalem, its natural outlet, instead of being dispersed by the long, tedious, caravan routes round the north and south of the Dead Sea. Thg Hedjas railway is of some service, but neccssai7 connections are still wanting. The spasmodic efforts which the venal Turkish 'garrisons of the neighbourhood inake to control marauding tribesmen, merely increase the exusperation caused to the. fellahin. Seeing the advantages which have accrued to the dwellers on the west side of the Jordan from the advent of (he Egyptian Expeditionary Force, the dwellers in Moab are eagerly hoping that the King of Arabia's forces will effect for them a like liberation from the oppression and ncglect'of tho/Osinanli Turks.