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Wednesday 2004-05-12 - Krak des Chevaliers, Syria
Largest castle I’ve ever seen
On the way to Aleppo our first stop is at Krak des Chevaliers: An enormous castle built by the crusaders in 1110 on the spot of an older fort occupied by a garrison of Kurd troops. It’s hardly imaginable such a stronghold was ever taken, and indeed two sieges in 1163 and 1172 were fought off. However, a century later, in 1271 the Mamelukes came with much improved siege equipment and succeeded in taking the stronghold. Later, locals lived for many years in the castle which is now being restored again. One can roam around for quite some time through stables, storage areas, chapel, large rooms, and climb the command tower to oversee it all. On a clear day one should be able to see the Mediterranean from here — but alas not today.
