John Elkington

I had wanted to visit Kerak (aka Al-Karak) Castle ever since reading Ronald Welch’s novel Knight Crusader when I was perhaps 10 or 11, back in the early 1960s. It was hugely sympathetic to the people the Crusaders called Saracens – and had a huge influence on how I viewed both the Crusaders and their enemies, the Seljuk Turks.

Having since read many accounts of the experiences on all sides during that seemingly endless and often bitterly fought conflict, I felt a magnetic pull towards such castles as St Hilarion, which we visited several times while living in Cyprus in the late 1950s, and Syria’s Krak de Chevaliers, which Elaine and I visited in 2002.

Two other other castles I had long since known about turned out to be on the menu today: Kerak, which I largely knew because of the vile activities of Raynald de Châtillon, and Shobak (Qal’at ash-Shawbak in Arabic), which I had known as Montreal – and hadn’t realised until today would be on our itinerary.

De Châtillon has had a bad press since he died – partly because some of the histories were written by his enemies. But he truly was one of history’s villains. Indeed, his perfidy resulted in Salah al-Din having his head struck off after the Crusaders’ disastrous defeat at the Battle of Hattin, an event which features prominently in Knight Crusader.

There were many reasons for my feeling uncomfortable at Kerak today, splendid though its military architecture may be – and I was delighted to get a good shot of the glacis that had struck me when I first saw a photograph of the castle back in the early 1970s. Shobak’s later role as a particularly grim prison no doubt lent an additional edge to the sombre mood, but – after driving another 130-odd kilometres – we found walking around Montreal/Shobak Castle as the sun set a real delight.

So here is the final front cover for the new book, developed with Neil Gonzalez at Greenleaf Publishing/Fast Company Press as we have travelled around Jordan. I’m delighted with it. And thanks to all those – family and team members – who commented on the various options.

Some completely unexpected joys today, from the typos at breakfast in the Holiday Inn (see photograph below), to a visit to Bethany beyond the Jordan, the reputed site of Jesus’s baptism, where I saw a heron snaking its way through remnant marshes, and then Mount Nebo – where Moses is meant to have seen the Promised Land before dying, knowing he would never find his own way there.

We also saw the sites of historical places with deep historic resonance, among them Jericho and Moab. After the surrounding semi-desert, the sight of the oasis around the Bethany beyond the Jordan site was profoundly refreshing, though the scale of the irrigation was indicative of the pressures that are increasingly strangling the Jordan River.

The smell as you entered the site was a strange mixture of water, damp soil, disturbed earth and cement. Perhaps it had to do, too, with the current haze. Certainly the air smelled thicker. But the closer you got to the river, the fresher the air seemed.

I was profoundly moved by seeing the river, though I can’t help but see the Abrahamic religions as complicit in the destruction of nature. The sense that the only worthwhile destination for human life was some version of the afterworld or Heaven radically undervalues our living planet – with implications that are only too clear.

Meanwhile, the levels of plastic in the environment here beggar belief. As we approached Madaba there was one open waste tipping site that was spreading plastic debris across the mountains all around.

More positively, we visited a social enterprise backed by the Queen Noor Foundation where they produce mosaic versions of everything from the Tree of Life to images more reminiscent of Andy Warhol on a bad day. Lovely, dedicated people. And the history of mosaic-maing in the region is impressive, including the 6th century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holiday Land, which we saw in the small church of St George.

This may sound like a menu, but they’re simply the names of two species we spotted today at Jerash, of which more in a moment.

Today we visited Ajloun Castle, one version of which was built by a general of Salah ad-Din‘s, Izz al-Din Usama, and then drove on to the Roman city of Jerash. Buried for centuries under sand, Jerash is the only one of ten cities of the so-called Decapolis to have survived to any great degree.

Intriguingly, though, much of the ancient city is now underneath buildings constructed in recent times – with the cost of demolishing them and rehousing the inhabitants prohibitive for the archaeology world.

Blown away by Ajloun Castle – where the internal lighting is spectacularly well done. The place is a bit like a Tardis, turning out to be much bigger on the inside than it appears from the outside.

When we arrived in Jerash, Elaine was embraced by a Jordanian bagpiper in the theatre, though he seemed to be embracing anyone who came in arms’ length.

When we got to the Temple of Artemis, one of our group spotted a large bird hovering not far away. A local man said it was an eagle, though I said I didn’t think eagles hovered in this way. Then he said it was looking for fish, over what seemed like an urban desert. But that should have been the clue. An osprey – and they do hover. Made me even happier that we helped Sacha Dench with her Flight of the Osprey project.

A question that has become very difficult to ask in the UK recently is asked by everyone you meet here in Jordan: Where are you from? With genuine interest, and no pre-judgement, as I had always asked the question.

At Yarmouk University this morning, we visited the Museum of Jordanian Heritage. A group of girls studying variously anthropology and archaeology interviewed Elaine on camera, clearly revelling in the use of English and engaging with an alien species. Us, not specifically Elaine.

When Elaine and I walked around the campus, we were engaged by young men studying variously archaeology, economics and electronic engineering, most of whom were keen to now how they could come to London to work. We had to say it was increasingly difficult, but gave some suggestions.

After Irbid, we drove across to Umm Qais and the amazing citadel of Gadara, which is in various stages of dereliction and reconstruction. Black basalt stone is conspicuous everywhere. The views of the Sea of Galilee were glorious, though this week there is a haze over the region, closing in the horizons somewhat.

Ever since my younger years, in Cyprus and then briefly in Israel, I have loved places at high elevation – even if I suffer from vertigo. Today’s visit to the ancient city of Gadara was magical in that respect. And we had a wonderful lunch of mezzo, with a home-made lemon and mint drink.

We sat at small tables in the shade of a great arch, while looking out over the distant Sea of Galilee – with swallows roiling around in the blazing blue skies. Small bees showed a healthy interest in our creamy mahalabiya desserts, made with rose water and cardamom, while what I’m pretty sure were hornets showed a predatory interest in the bees.

Then on to the ancient Roman city of Pella, or at least its ruins. We dipped down into the site a bit, but didn’t explore it in any detail. Then, in the evening, we drove up to the Ajloun Forest Reserve, high in the mountains, a site run by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation.

Had a fascinating walk around the reserve as the sun set, with evidence of owl and deer on the winding path. Among the more unusual animals to be found here, apparently, are the Striped Hyena, Crested Porcupine and Stone Marten.

Loved the smell of the forest and was impressed by the standard of the cabins within the reserve. A little digging, however, suggests that the RSNC, founded by King Hussein back in 1966, has been dogged by a number of controversies.

Our site was overlooked by a spectacular building housing the Royal Academy for Nature Conservation, which I understand was party a means of regenerating an old quarry. The academy was apparently the first in the Arab world to focus on nature conservation.

As we have travelled today, I have been liaising by email with Greener Publishing/Fast Company Press in Austin, Texas, about a number of options they have sent through for the cover of Tickling Sharks. Have asked for iterations of a couple of them, and also tested the options with family and team members. There’s a growing convergence, happily.