Ajlun Castle (Qala'at ar-Rabad)

What travelers say:

Ajloun Castle is one of the greatest examples of Islamic Ayyubid military architecture. The first stage of construction began ca.1184 by General Izzidin Usama, nephew of Salahuddin AL Ayyoubi, who built it on a hill 1100 meters above sea level.The initial structure consisted of a compact nucleus stronghold with four main towers. Subsequent enlargements followed immediately with the addition of two more towers between 1184 and 1193 AD.Between 1193 and 1218, during the times of AL Malek AL Adel, the second stage of construction was completed with enlargements by the castle governor Aybak Bin Abdullah. He added and the seventh tower, which wraps around the southeast corner of the building.