Wu'ayra Castle

Also known as al-Wu'aira, al-Wu'ayra, Castellum Vallis Moysis, li Vaux Moysi (Valley of Moses)

A small spur castle sitting on a narrow ridge about a kilometre north of the entrance to Petra, Wu'ayra — Latin *Castellum Vallis Moysis*, 'Castle of the Valley of Moses' — was founded by Baldwin I as a forward outpost of Montreal, thirty-four kilometres to the north. From its 1,050-metre perch it watched the approaches to Wadi Musa and the trade and pilgrimage roads that skirted the Sharah plateau. More dependent on sheer cliffs than on heavy masonry, its most striking survival is a gatehouse hewn directly into the living rock. Wu'ayra fell to Saladin's forces in 1188, shortly after Kerak, and was thereafter abandoned; a rectangular enclosure, corner towers and a small single-hall church still stand.

Coordinates: 30.3331°, 35.4658°

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