Sit a top of the summit of Mount Kalakh, with commanding views towards the Djebel Libani and the mouth of the Beqaa Valley to the south, the traces of the imposing Crusader castle Krak des Chevaliers still overshadow the fertile plain of Bukeia, some four hundred and fifty meters below it. The Homs Gap, has become substantial crucial gateway throughout Syrian history, offering the sole practicable channel of communication between the inland desert and valleys of Orontes, Homs, and Hama to the east and the Mediterranean coast between Tartus and Tripoli to the west, as this break in the mountain chains is known. To secure this critical gap in the innate defenses of the coastal belt, the Crusaders constructed five castles, of which Krak des Chevaliers is undeniably the most reinforced.
Krak de Chevaliers until this day remains one of the best preserved and most awe-inspiring medieval castles in the world. Built in the mountainous localities of southern Syria nearby the castle at Safita, Krak des Chevaliers was built using the landscape to develop its defensibility. It was constructed on a hill-top over 640 meters high and surrounded on all sides by relatively lofty slopes. Yet its area measured nearly 140 by 210 meters, making it one of the biggest of the Crusaders castles.
How it all Began
Between 1100 and 1300, the major Crusaders took place. As soon as they took place in the Middle East, they started to erect castles and other stockades. They came from France, England, and other western European countries. They were experts in building castles and aware that castles were god fortresses. A few hundred knights in a castle could hold off an army of thousands of enemy soldiers.
A set of crusaders arrived in Syria in about 1150. They called themselves the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, or the Knights Hospitaller. Near the modern city of Homs, Syria, they found an ancient fortress. It was more than a thousand years old. The knights took over the fortress. They developed the building and turned it into a European-style castle the Krak des Chevaliers.
The name means Castle of the Knights. (Krak means fortress in an ancient Middle Eastern language. Des chevaliers is French for of the knights.).
The Castles Protection
The Krak de Chevaliers was surrounded by an outer wall 100 feet (31m) thick. Three sides of the wall were right on the edge of a stiff cliff. Inside the outer wall was a second wall. There was a moat, or trench, filled with water between the two walls and a drawbridge crossed this moat. The knights could lower or raise the bridge to let friends enter and keep enemies out. The inner wall had guard towers where soldiers stood for defense.
There were stone buildings behind the inner wall. The buildings had enough living space for about two thousand people. There were also stables large enough to house hundreds of horses. Other structures included a church, a meeting hall, and a giant storage building. The knights dug extra storage chambers for food in cliffs behind the castle. A pipe brought freshwater form the mountains into caves underneath the castle. These caves served as water storage tanks.
Soldiers in the castles could easily spot enemies coming through the mountains. They lit big bonfires on top of the castle walls when lookouts in one castle see an enemy army. Lookouts in the next castle could see the signal fires from far away at night. They lit their own bonfires to pass on the signal to the next castle, which passed it farther along. The soldiers also used bonfires to call other castles for help when their castle was under attack.
Defeated at Last
Muslim armies laid siege to the Krak des Chevaliers at least twelve times over a span of 150 years, but the Kraks defenses were too strong. The Krak withstood siege after siege. Muslim armies could never break through.
In 1271 an Egyptian king named Baybars I led his army against the Krak. During that time, only three hundred knights were stationed inside the castle. One story says that King Baybars besieged the Krak for a month with no sign that its soldiers would ever surrender.
The king was frustrated about this. He then tried a new tactic. He wrote a letter ordering the knights of the Krak to surrender. He signed the letter with the name of their commander. The knights thought the letter was real, so they surrendered without a fight.
After the knights left, King Baybars and other Muslim rulers reconstructed damaged parts of the castle. They added new guard towers then used the Krak as their own fortress until modern times.
The Castle Today
Visitors to modern Syria can still marvel at this ancient wonder. The government of Syria protects and maintains the Krak as a tourist attraction. The Krak is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can tour the castle and its grounds. They can see that the Krak is significantly well preserved. It looks almost as it did hundreds of years, when knights in armor defended it from sieges.
The landscape surrounding Krak des Chevaliers is beautiful low, rolling, emerald-green hills, shaded with foliage. The high elevation cools the temperature and the small villages and towns such as Amar, Dreikish, Mashtu Helu, and Safita which dot the hilltops are popular summer resorts, not just with native Syrians but with many thousand who now live overseas and return yearly for vacations. Other than the keep at Safita, the areas main sight is St. Georges Monastery, which lies in a valley a few kilometers northwest of the Krak. Unfortunately, theres no way of getting around by public transport, so the only way to see this highly attractive part of the country is to hire a car or sign up for an organized tour in Hama or Tartus.
Krak de Chevaliers until this day remains one of the best preserved and most awe-inspiring medieval castles in the world. Built in the mountainous localities of southern Syria nearby the castle at Safita, Krak des Chevaliers was built using the landscape to develop its defensibility. It was constructed on a hill-top over 640 meters high and surrounded on all sides by relatively lofty slopes. Yet its area measured nearly 140 by 210 meters, making it one of the biggest of the Crusaders castles.
How it all Began
Between 1100 and 1300, the major Crusaders took place. As soon as they took place in the Middle East, they started to erect castles and other stockades. They came from France, England, and other western European countries. They were experts in building castles and aware that castles were god fortresses. A few hundred knights in a castle could hold off an army of thousands of enemy soldiers.
A set of crusaders arrived in Syria in about 1150. They called themselves the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, or the Knights Hospitaller. Near the modern city of Homs, Syria, they found an ancient fortress. It was more than a thousand years old. The knights took over the fortress. They developed the building and turned it into a European-style castle the Krak des Chevaliers.
The name means Castle of the Knights. (Krak means fortress in an ancient Middle Eastern language. Des chevaliers is French for of the knights.).
The Castles Protection
The Krak de Chevaliers was surrounded by an outer wall 100 feet (31m) thick. Three sides of the wall were right on the edge of a stiff cliff. Inside the outer wall was a second wall. There was a moat, or trench, filled with water between the two walls and a drawbridge crossed this moat. The knights could lower or raise the bridge to let friends enter and keep enemies out. The inner wall had guard towers where soldiers stood for defense.
There were stone buildings behind the inner wall. The buildings had enough living space for about two thousand people. There were also stables large enough to house hundreds of horses. Other structures included a church, a meeting hall, and a giant storage building. The knights dug extra storage chambers for food in cliffs behind the castle. A pipe brought freshwater form the mountains into caves underneath the castle. These caves served as water storage tanks.
Soldiers in the castles could easily spot enemies coming through the mountains. They lit big bonfires on top of the castle walls when lookouts in one castle see an enemy army. Lookouts in the next castle could see the signal fires from far away at night. They lit their own bonfires to pass on the signal to the next castle, which passed it farther along. The soldiers also used bonfires to call other castles for help when their castle was under attack.
Defeated at Last
Muslim armies laid siege to the Krak des Chevaliers at least twelve times over a span of 150 years, but the Kraks defenses were too strong. The Krak withstood siege after siege. Muslim armies could never break through.
In 1271 an Egyptian king named Baybars I led his army against the Krak. During that time, only three hundred knights were stationed inside the castle. One story says that King Baybars besieged the Krak for a month with no sign that its soldiers would ever surrender.
The king was frustrated about this. He then tried a new tactic. He wrote a letter ordering the knights of the Krak to surrender. He signed the letter with the name of their commander. The knights thought the letter was real, so they surrendered without a fight.
After the knights left, King Baybars and other Muslim rulers reconstructed damaged parts of the castle. They added new guard towers then used the Krak as their own fortress until modern times.
The Castle Today
Visitors to modern Syria can still marvel at this ancient wonder. The government of Syria protects and maintains the Krak as a tourist attraction. The Krak is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can tour the castle and its grounds. They can see that the Krak is significantly well preserved. It looks almost as it did hundreds of years, when knights in armor defended it from sieges.
The landscape surrounding Krak des Chevaliers is beautiful low, rolling, emerald-green hills, shaded with foliage. The high elevation cools the temperature and the small villages and towns such as Amar, Dreikish, Mashtu Helu, and Safita which dot the hilltops are popular summer resorts, not just with native Syrians but with many thousand who now live overseas and return yearly for vacations. Other than the keep at Safita, the areas main sight is St. Georges Monastery, which lies in a valley a few kilometers northwest of the Krak. Unfortunately, theres no way of getting around by public transport, so the only way to see this highly attractive part of the country is to hire a car or sign up for an organized tour in Hama or Tartus.
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