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Crac des Chevaliers

The most famous medieval citadel in the world, Crac des Chevaliers (Qal'at Al-Hosn in Arabic) is 65km west of Homs and 75 south-east of Tartus.

It was built in order to control the so-called 'Homs Gap', the gateway to Syria. It was through this passage that Syria communicated with the Mediterranean.

In ancient times the importance of this strategic corridor was immense. It was of crucial importance to the Crusaders and other foreign invaders in their conquest of the coast. Conflict over the Crac des Chevaliers continued through the ages. It was a fierce and bloody dispute, but in the end, Sultan Beybars managed to recover it in 1271 through a military trick after one month of fighting

Crac des Chevaliers was built on the site of a former castle erected by the Emirs of Homs to accommodate Kurdish garrisons; Crac is a modification of the Arab word Qal'a, which means citadel. The citadel covers an area of 3000 square meters and has 13 huge towers, in addition to many stores, tanks, corridors, bridges and stables. It can accommodate 5000 soldiers with their horses, their equipment and provisions for five years.

Dura Europos

Dura Europos is the greatest of all the 3rd millennium Euphrates kingdoms founded by Alexander's Lieutenant, Seleucus Nicator.

The town was closely linked with Palmyra, serving as an important forward line of defense against Persians. It was captured and destroyed by the Sassiness in 256 AD shortly before the fall of the great Syrian Metropolis itself.

The site did not attract significant attention until 1921, when some mural paintings were discovered in one of the sixteen temples dedicated to the various gods of Palmyra. Many other discoveries followed, notably frescoes dating from 235 AD which were in a remarkable state of preservation.