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CITADELS & CASTLES |
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| DAMASCUS CASTLE |
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Re-built in 1202, an impressive citadel with imposing walls and a dozen colossal turrets surrounding it; there were three-hundred arrow slits and enormous parapets all round. In the following centuries, it suffered devastation and neglecting, recently, the western walls of the fortress came into full view. Restoration work is underway; when completed the citadel will become a war museum, and a center for various cultural activities |
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| CITADEL OF ALEPPO |
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The Citadel of Aleppo is a masterpiece of medieval Islamic fortress architecture. Its massive ovoid shape and extensive defences enclose an area of approximately seven hectares. The natural hill upon which the Citadel was built has long been used as a stronghold (including evidence of a Hittite temple from the first millennium BC). During the Hamdanid reign of Aleppo under Sayf al-Dawla in the AH 4th / AD 10th century, early constructions of a citadel took place. The Citadel's strategic importance was reactivated by the time the Crusades began. |
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| CRAK DES CHEVALIERS |
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The castle is located between the Port of Tartous and the City of Homs, sprawling on the southern buttresses of the Jabal Ansariyya, at an altitude of 650 m, where it kept watch on the Pass of Homs, the main passageway between the hinterland of the Bilad al-Sham held by the Muslims, and the coastline possessed by the Crusaders. |
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| CITADEL OF ALMARQAB |
| Located on a high hill overlooking the sea directly dates back to the crusade era with a beautiful church, and the tower from the Ayoubite era |
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| CITADEL OF SALADIN |
| one of the most elaborate castles in the region, featuring the main characteristics of Byzantine, Frankish, Ayyubid and Mamluk architectural styles, including a variety of military, civil, religious and palatial types. The castle is located on the northern buttresses of the Jabal Bahra Mountain, overlooking the minor road that intersected the mountain between the town of Latakia and the northern Ghab plain. For the most part, the castle played the role of a manorial residence for the Crusaders, the Ayyubids |
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| CITADEL OF FAKHREDIN |
| located onj a hill overlooking the ancient city of Palmyra, built by Prince Fakhredin II in the 17th centaury |
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| MYSIAF |
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Dates back originally to the Roman era very well preserved |
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| JAABAR CASTLE |
| While occupied since the Byzantine period, the site gained considerable strategic significance during the AH 5th / AD 11th century as a major crossing point on the Euphrates River. The site was acquired by an individual called Jabar ibn Sabiq al-Qushayri (d. AH 464 / AD 1071–2), after which it is presently named Qalat Jabar. Between AH 458 / AD 1065 and AH 564 / AD 1169, Jabar remained under the rule of the Uqailids – a local dynasty nominally responsible to the Seljuq amirs of Aleppo while maintaining important alliances with the newly created Crusader states to the west. |
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