Some people will never learn. About a week after I found the Krak des Chevaliers closing early for Ramadan I went to the Qalaat Saladin (قلعة صلاح الدين, Saladins Castle of Château de Saône) only to find it closed too at precisely the moment I arrived. Here too the warden was kind and let me look around for half an hour, so these pictures were taken in a great hurry, and I definitely could not visit everything I wanted to see, let alone take the pictures I intended to. If you want to see more crusader castles check my Marqab gallery or Krak des Chevaliers gallery. And as for castles anyway check some of my Turkey ones.

A quote from the (excellent beyond praise) “The monuments of Syria” by Ross Burns may suffice “The castle represents the flamboyance of the Crusader enterprise – perhaps folly is a better word – in a raw and beautiful location softened today by the peaceful setting.” I Used his book and gps to locate the majority of the pictures. Note that there is an extensive area to the west of the main defensive part, that I did not visit. One can see it on some pictures taken from a distance.