[p.416] Cairo to the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon, a journey of twelve days,
undertaken in the summer of 1812, cost for guides only, four thousand
piastres.
August 19th.In the morning I went to the castle of Shobak, where I
wished to purchase some provisions. It was distant one hour and a
quarter from the encampment, in a S.E. direction. Shobak, also called
Kerek el Shobak (Arabic), perhaps the ancient Carcaria,[Euseb. de locis
S.S.] is the principal place in Djebel Shera; it is situated about one
hour to the south of the Ghoeyr, upon the top of a hill in the midst of
low mountains, which bears some resemblance to Kerek, but is better
adapted for a fortress, as it is not commanded by any higher mountains.
At the foot of the hill are two springs, surrounded by gardens and olive
plantations. The castle is of Saracen construction, and is one of the
largest to the south of Damascus; but it is not so solidly built as the
castle of Kerek. The greater part of the wall and several of the
bastions and towers are still entire. The ruins of a well built vaulted
church are now transformed into a public inn or Medhafe. Upon the
architraves of several gates I saw mystical symbols, belonging to the
ecclesiastical architecture of the lower empire. In several Arabic
inscriptions I distinguished the name of Melek el Dhaher. Where the hill
does not consist of precipitous rock, the surface of the slope is
covered with a pavement. Within the area of the castle a party of about
one hundred families of the Arabs Mellahein (Arabic) have built their
houses or pitched their tents. They cultivate the neighbouring grounds,
under the protection of the Howeytat, to whom they pay tribute. The
horsemen of the latter who happen to encamp near the castle, call
regularly every morning at one of the Medhafes of Shobak, in order to
have their mares fed; if the barley is refused, they next day kill one
of the sheep belonging to the town.