Saladin Castle UNESCO Heritage
Visit Saladin Castle (Qalaat Salah al-Din), the UNESCO World Heritage Crusader fortress in the mountains inland from Latakia, where the extraordinary engineering of the Byzantine and Crusader fortifications includes the largest rock-cut defensive ditch in the medieval world.
- 1
Castle Approach
Approach Saladin Castle through the forested mountain landscape, the castle visible on its dramatic spur between two deep ravines that provided natural defensive barriers on three sides, the site chosen by the Byzantines for its extraordinary natural defensive position.
- 2
Rock-Cut Ditch
See the extraordinary rock-cut ditch on the accessible northern side of the castle, 156 meters long, 18 meters wide, and 28 meters deep, the medieval engineering achievement that isolated the castle from the plateau and is the largest such defensive ditch in the medieval world.
- 3
Byzantine Towers
Examine the Byzantine towers of the castle where the 10th and 11th century fortifications were later strengthened by the Crusaders, the layered construction visible in the different building techniques of the successive Byzantine, Crusader, and Ayyubid occupations.
- 4
Crusader Great Hall
Enter the Crusader Great Hall within the castle complex where the vaulted spaces of the military architecture are in good preservation, the domestic and administrative buildings of the Crusader garrison visible in the architectural remains of the castle interior.
- 5
Forest Panorama
Enjoy the panoramic view from the castle towers over the forested mountain landscape, the medieval garrison able to observe movements across the coastal mountain range from this elevated position that controlled the passes between the Syrian coast and interior.
- 6
Ayyubid Additions
See the additions made by the Ayyubid rulers after Saladin captured the castle from the Crusaders in 1188, giving the castle the name it carries today, the Islamic modifications to the Crusader fortifications visible in the changed building traditions.