Salt

(Latin word Saltus means a wooded valley) was the ancient GADORA, and the Byzantine Saltus Hieraticus, which boasted a Bishop see. Later the city was destroyed by the Mongolians in 1260 and rebuilt by the Egyptian Mamlukes. The castle built by Sultan Maalik in 1220 was on Roman foundations. It was the chief town of the central Trans-Jordan area at the time of the Turks. The CMS opened a station here in 1873 and built schools, a church and a dispensary. It was also the first capital for the country of Trans-Jordan (1 920’s). Today it is a good size town and governate.