Crac des Chevaliers, Qalaát – al- Hosn
The crusader knights’ castle stands high upon the hill overlooking the break in Jebel Ansariyya- Homs Gap. The castle’s position helped to assure authority over inland Syria. In the 12th century the crusader knights rebuilt the castle which was originally a fortress built by the emir of Homs in 1031. Crac was able to resist sieges and attacks even one led by Saladin himself ( his castle is on the same coast line). This was due to Crac having an outer wall with 13 towers. Then a moat and an inside wall and central construction built on a rocky platform. It’s very impressive and you can understand when you walk around it why the castle never fell to the enemy. In fact when the Mamluk Sultan Beybars marched on the castle in 1271 the knights at Crac were a last outpost. Jerusalem was already lost and the retreat of the Christians was already underway. The last soldiers at Crac departed for Tripoli as they were surrounded by Islamic armies on each side. Thus the castle never fell nor got destroyed. The chapel was converted into a mosque after the Muslim conquest. Amber found this room and as we walked into it it did look like a church in its design but right in the middle was an Islamic Minbar (pulpit).
Tartus and Lattakia
We drove towards the Syrian coast. Firstly to Tartus in the hope of finding a hotel or camping near the sea and sands. Alas, this part of the Syrian coast is not really geared up for tourists and Tartus despite having a pleasant corniche is ramshackle, litter strewn and worn. Lattakia is similar although less ramshackle and more pavement cafes. A huge port occupies the coastline so we travelled further north to the blue beach. Still no campings! Disappointed we stayed at Le Meridian hotel because we wanted to swim and enjoy the beach and pool. This hotel was perfect for this, although the swimming pool also had salt water! Weird! Contrary to the rest of Syria this was not a friendly place. Staff were unhelpful and the mass of Arabic tourists from Oman, UAE, and Syria made it the busiest place we have seen so far on our trip in Arabia.
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