Practical Information, Accommodations, and Food From the Karak Castle, walk downhill and take your first right. Above the Castle Hotel is a genial but useless tourist office (open Sat.-Thurs. 8am-2pm). The police station is located down the street and on the right, next to the huge radio tower. The post office (open Sat.-Thurs. 7:30am-7pm, Fri. 8am-l :30pm) is across the street from the Castle Hotel. Karak’s Italian Hospital (tel. 35 10 45 or 35 11 45), is downhill from the turn-off up to the Castle, next to the public park. The Housing Bank, located uphill from the Italian Hospital, will change traveler’s checks and cash (open Sat-Thurs. 8am-12:30pm). The telephone code for Karak is 03.

Occasional minibuses make the trip to Karak from Wadi Musa (near Petra) for a few hundred fils. Service (JD 1.070) and buses (750fils) from Wahadat Station in Amman are more reliable but less scenic—they run directly to Karak via the Desert Highway, skirting the gorgeous wadis north of Karak. There are several ways to get from Karak to Petra: Continue down the Kings’ Highway to Tafllah by bus and see more evocative scenery (76km, 480111s), or catch a faster bus to Ma’in via the Desert Highway (JD1.100) and a service from there to Petra. If you’re going as far as Aqaba, you can take the Wadi Araba Highway (bus from Karak leaves at 2:30pm, 3.5hr., JD2.360). You must receive permission to use the highway from the police in Karak by presenting your passport (if you’re driving it’s done while you wait). No hitching is allowed in Wadi Araba.

Accommodations in Karak are limited but adequate. The rooms at the government Rest House (tel. 35 11 48) are acceptable and have private baths and fans. (Singles JD13. Doubles JD15.4OO. 10% service charge.) The best and cheapest lodging is the Castle Hotel (tel. 35 24 89; singles JD5, doubles JDS.) The manager is also more helpful than the tourist office. A couple of tiny hotels near the center of town offer less comfortable rooms for less.

The prosperous modem town of Karak extends away from the castle on its northern and eastern slopes and serves as an ideal resting place for travelers on the Kings’ Highway. A snack or meal at the government Rest House (tel. 35 11 48), near the entrance to the castle affords you a view of the Jordan Valley’s descent to the Dead Sea. (Beer JD2, hummus 35Ofils, full lunch or dinner JD3.850. Open until 10pm.) To avoid these inflated prices, try the Fida Restaurant (tel. 35 26 77), across the street from the police station and the radio tower. (Hummus 220fils. kabab JD1.200, coffee 150fils. Open daily 8am-10pm.) True budgeteers picnic atop the sublime ruins.