Shobak is situated midway between Kerak and Petra and is 154 miles (248km) from Amman. It contains a large Crusader castle, built around 1115AD, which was repeatedly besieged by Salah al Din and eventually captured in 1189.

The castle commands an imposing position over a desolate landscape, but is in a poor state of repair. Little is left standing but the outer walls, the keep and a dungeon, carved with intricate inscriptions in Arabic. Restoration work on the castle is in progress.