Krak des Chevaliers Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
Crusader castle near Homs, Syria
About Krak des Chevaliers
Krak des Chevaliers was the easternmost of five Crusader fortifications guarding the only major pass (known as the 'Homs Gap' in the Orontes river Valley) betweenAntakyainTurkeyandBeirutin theLebanon. The castle was built and expanded atQal'at al-Hisnby the Order of the Knights of St John in the years between 1142 and 1271. It covers 3 hectares in area and, at the height of its powers, it housed a garrison of up to 2000 men. The castle held out against several fierce attacks (including one by the famous Saladin), and was rumoured to be impregnable. The Krak, however, was eventually lost by the naive crusaders to the Mamluk Sultan Baybars in 1271, who tricked the defenders into abandoning the castle by means of a faked letter from the Crusader Count of Tripoli. The castle has two main parts
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Krak des Chevaliers Travel Guide Sections
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