Crac des Chevaliers

We’ve hired a private bus to bring us to Crac des Chevaliers.  The drive is uneventful but on the way we pass the turn off to Iraq and we contemplate hitching a ride to Baghdad.  In the end we decide it might be better to stay on the trip we’ve already signed up for and pile back into the bus :)

(Just kidding mum)!

We get here in time to see the sunset and rest up a bit before enjoying a delightful dinner at our hotel.  I have a room with a view and what a magnificent view it is.

I thoroughly enjoy exploring the castle the next morning.  We’ve come armed with torches and have great fun creeping through secret passageways and learning the history of the Crusader knights who built and expanded this magnificent place.  I can see why Lawrence of Arabia called this the finest castle in the world.  It is in a spectacular setting and is a stunning castle. The Knights being monks were celibate and hence the castle was very much a man’s world.  One solitary tower was reserved in the event visitors arrived with their wives. 

The castle was like a small city, completely self sufficient with enough supplies to last 45 days if under siege.   There is a church, baths, a huge kitchen that fed the hundreds of Knights that lived here, stables that housed their horses and of course a round table where they sat to discuss their future plans.  An aqueduct supplied water to the moats around the castle and rain water was harvested for drinking.   The level of sophistication shown in the construction of these castles is quite amazing for the times! 

We have a local guide who tells us his family lived in the castle till about the 1930’s when they together with the other 19 families who had also made this place their home were relocated.  As he shows us around, he takes us to the section his dad called home for quite some time.  Fascinating!

Our visit is over and we enjoy a Turkish coffee in the scenic cafe outside before boarding our bus for Aleppo, our last destination in Syria!

 There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms.  ~George Eliot