The Jordan Valley and Petra . after tier of houses. At theeastern angle rose a mass of ancient fortress build-ino^s, oruardingr the eastern orate and the narrow neckof land which joined the spur to the surroundingmountains. At the western extremity was the greatcastle of Beibars, while behind and above the wholeexpanse rose the blackened walls of the great cas-tle of Kerak, completing a picture that has fewsituations to rival it in any land. The views from Kerak itself are circumscribedon the north, east, and south by the rolling tops ofthe mountains of Moab, but westward the out-look is subli
The Jordan Valley and Petra . after tier of houses. At theeastern angle rose a mass of ancient fortress build-ino^s, oruardingr the eastern orate and the narrow neckof land which joined the spur to the surroundingmountains. At the western extremity was the greatcastle of Beibars, while behind and above the wholeexpanse rose the blackened walls of the great cas-tle of Kerak, completing a picture that has fewsituations to rival it in any land. The views from Kerak itself are circumscribedon the north, east, and south by the rolling tops ofthe mountains of Moab, but westward the out-look is sublime. Fifty miles away as the crow flies,one can make out Jerusalem and the buildings onthe Mount of Olives, while between stretch the hillcountry of Southern Judea, the deep cleft of theArabah, and the waters of the Dead Sea, sleepingthe sleep of death in their grave at the border ofEdom. With stout hearts within the walls, withsupplies of grain and food within her granaries,with the everlasting fountains of pure water flowing. Kerak 333 in the valleys below, one does not wonder that thecity and fortress has been the envy of those whostormed, and the pride of those who stood withinher gates, while the centuries have rolled by. The complete history of the city has yet to bedug from her crumbling walls and heaps of debris,and from the dusty manuscripts of the references to it cover a period of nearly threethousand years, but there can be little doubt thatthe mountain-top was a dwelling-place before thedawn of history as we know it. While as yet theidentification of Kerak with the Kir Hareseth of2 Kings iii. is not complete, the whole weight ofevidence is in its favor. So that we are not fallinginto error when we connect Kerak with the grue-some story of Mesha who took his eldest son,that should have reigned in his stead, and offeredhim a burnt offering upon the wall (2 Kingsiii., 27). During the period of the Judges, theMoabites, whose capital seems to have been Kera
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