Krak des Chevaliers

Krak des Chevaliers, also known as Hisn al-Akrad in Arabic, is a Syrian castle erected for the Emir of Aleppo in 1031 AD and later used as the headquarters of the famous Crusader Knights Hospitalier in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The castle, which stands atop a 650-meter-high natural fortress between Tartus and Tripoli, was built in 1031 on the site of an older fort by the Emir of Aleppo.

Krak des Chevaliers, possibly the best surviving Crusader bastion in existence today, is an awe-inspiring example of medieval military architecture and was thus designated a World Heritage site in 2006.