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Al-Marqab
Margat, also known as Marqab ( ar, قلعة المرقب, ''Qalaat al-Marqab'', lit=Castle of the Watchtower), is a castle near Baniyas, Syria, which was a Crusader fortress and one of the major strongholds of the Knights Hospitaller. It is located around from the Mediterranean coast and approximately south of Baniyas. The castle remained in a poor state of preservation until 2007 when some reconstruction and renovation began. Fortress History Margat is located on a hill formed by an extinct volcano high about above sea level on the road between Tripoli and Latakia, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. According to Arab sources, the site of Margat Castle was first fortified in 1062 by Muslims who continued to hold it within the Christian Principality of Antioch in the aftermath of the First Crusade. When the Principality was defeated at the Battle of Harran in 1104, the Byzantine Empire took advantage of their weakness and captured Margat from the Muslims. A few years lat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baniyas
Baniyas ( ar, بَانِيَاس ') is a Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, northwestern Syria, located south of Latakia (ancient Laodicea) and north of Tartous (ancient Tortosa). It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and its export of wood. North of the city is an oil refinery, one of the largest in Syria, and a power station. The oil refinery is connected with Iraq with Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline (now defunct). On a nearby hill stands the Crusader castle of Margat (Qalaat el-Marqab), a huge Knights Hospitaller fortress built with black basalt stone. History In Phoenician and Hellenistic times, it was an important seaport. Some have identified it with the Hellenistic city of Leucas (from colonists from the island Lefkada), in Greece, mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium. It was a colony of Aradus, Strabo, ''Geographica'', 16.2.12Greek sourcean and was placed by Stephanus in the late Roman province of Phoenicia, though it belonged rather to the provinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
