Below the Ajlun Castle lies the Jordan Valley. Ajlun (Ajloun) is a forested and mountainous Jordanian state on the east bank of the Jordan River about halfway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and about 50 miles from Amman. The mountains reach a height of 5,500 feet and are snow- covered October through April, an unexpected bit of information. Most of the 130,000 residents are Christian farmers with a high incidence of college degrees, another interesting fact.

Ajlun Castle was built on the site of a Christian monastery in 1184 AD by one of Saladin's (Salah ad- Din) generals (his nephew Izz ad- Din Usama)) to control the road between Damascus and Egypt. The Kurdish Muslim Saladin recaptured Palestine from the Crusaders and eventually controlled most of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Arabia. Richard the Lionheart praised Saladin for his principles of chivalry when he returned to England with his tail between his legs.

The castle dominated a wide stretch of the Jordan Valley and controlled the nearby iron mines where Saladin forged his weapons. Its thick walls and four towers were surrounded by a deep moat 15 yards wide.

The Ajlun Castle is made of stone and brick and sits on a 5,500 foot high mountain overlooking the Jordan Valley. Mongol hordes ransacked the castle in 1260 AD. The Mamluks restored it and used it as a storehouse for crops. The Ottoman Turks quartered 50 soldiers in the castle to guard the construction of their Damascus to Mecca railway, but eventually abandoned it to local Christians who still till the soil around it. The castle proper is owned by the Jordan Department of Antiquities.

I walked through the castle, not large by European standards, and admired the sturdy stone and brick walls and convex ceilings. From the parapets I saw the Jordan River to the west, the skyscrapers of Amman to the east, and once again realized the closeness of the Holy Land. Since the arrival of Moses, the invasion of the Crusaders, the conquests of Saladin, the creation of the Nation of Israel, and still today, close neighbors who worship the same God/ Jehovah/Allah fight and kill each other to gain land and a place in heaven. A real shame but a cruel reality.

At the top of the Ajlun Castle wall, Saladin's soldiers guarded the road from Damascus to Egypt and stopped the Christian Crusaders. Next week: Conclusion

After the tour of Ajlun Castle, we enjoyed a delicious Jordanian meal at a nearby restaurant. Ajlun is also spelled Ajloun from the French. The name in Arabic is Qala'at ar- Rabad. This is one of the four watchtowers that once rose from the castle walls.