Hosn (castle) of Suleiman

To view the massive carved rocks of up to 5 metres in length that surrounded the site at the old Phoenician temple of Baal was a wonderful experience. The castle of Suleiman was once the centre of a cult similar to the worship of Baal at Ugarit and the presence of astronomical and astrological symbols indicated an interest in the stars and the sun. It was originally built by the Persians in the first century AD and in later years was converted to a temple of Zeus, first by the Greeks and then by the Romans.
In the centre of the ruins lay the remains of what once was an altar that housed the statue of a God. The ceremonies took place in the open air.
The children enjoyed climbing the rocks and playing hide and seek among the ruins oblivious to the history behind the giant stones. There was an entrance placed centrally on each of the four outside walls that surrounded the relics. The castle was built high in the An Nusreyah mountains east of the Mediterranean coastal town of Tartus.

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Marqab Citadel

During one of our summer excursions to the coast, we visited one strikingly beautiful castle called Marqab Citadel. The fortress was built by Muslims in 1062 on the remains of an extinct volcano and has survived many conquests, including the Byzantines and Crusaders (1117-1118) and was one of the main strongholds for the Knights Hospitaller (a western Christian military order whose allegiance was to the Pope and based at a hospital in Jerusalem and charged to defend the Holy Land). In 1285 it was recaptured by the Mamluk sultan of Egypt.
The castle overlooks the Mediterranean sea about 2km from the seaside town of Banyas. During one of my visits to the castle I drank from the same well that the original occupants of the fortress would of used many centuries ago. An old metal bucket attached to a lengthy chain was lowered into the ancient well and filled with cool, pure spring water.

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Citadel of Shayzar

The castle of Shayzar, also spelt as Shaizar, stood overlooking the fertile plains of the Gharb. It was situated half way between Skelbieh and Hama. Like Skelbieh, Shayzar belonged to the governorate of Hama. It had a long history of occupation, with the original settlement by one of Alexander's Thessalonian cavalry forces in the first century BC. The medieval fortress was ruled by the 12th century Banu Munqidh dynasty.
Prince Usamah Mundqidh was known as a poet and a writer and wrote many poetry anthologies and a book titled Kitab al-I'tibar. He wrote about the life of Shayzar in the 12th century, portraying Muslim life at that time. An earthquake at Shayzar in 1157 killed most of his family. He was exiled from Shaizar by his uncle in 1131 and died in 1188 in Damascus at the age of 93.
The castle's structure suffered greatly from two major earthquakes and the ravages of time. It bordered on the northern side of Skelbieh's Greek Orthodox twin sister town of Mahardah.

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