Krak de Chevaliers

ottobre 11th, 2010 | Posted by dokk in Siria - (3 Comments)

Krak de Chevaliers

The crusader castle par excellence.

Walls and towers

<<The castle is located east of Tartus, Syria, in the Homs Gap, atop a 650-metre-high hill along the only route from Antioch to Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of many fortresses that were part of a defensive network along the border of the old Crusader states. The fortress controlled the road to the Mediterranean, and from this base, the Hospitallers could exert some influence over Lake Homs to the east to control the fishing industry and watch for Muslim armies gathering in Syria.>>

Wikipedia

Internal fortress

Open gallery

View from the top

The castle at dawn:

The castle at dawn

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I Meghazil di Amrit

ottobre 10th, 2010 | Posted by dokk in Cose sparse - (4 Comments)

To the south of Tartus, from where I move in a day-trip, there is Amrit, a village with Phoenician origin. And these are the meghazil:

Meghazil

They were tombs beneath the surface of which lie the burial chambers:

Burial chamber

Burial chamber

On a side of a meghazil there are carved lions:

Lion at the base of meghazil

On the other side of the site another monument stands:

Another monument in the distance

Monumento nei pressi della base militare

Hey but do check there on the left?!? Yes, it’s a cannon…

And finally:

Meghazil face

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