3-043-824 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Kala'at El Husn, in the Syrian Desert, 1872. 'The ancient fortress of the Crusaders in the Syrian Desert, named Kala'at el Husn, or Husn el Akrad, is situated nearly half way from Damascus northward to Antioch, upon a spur of the Lebanon. It was lately visited by Captain R. F. Burton and Mr. Charles Tyrwhitt Brake, in their topographical and antiquarian researches through that country, which led them to examine the remains of more than fifty old buildings, some of much historical interest, doomed before long to disappear from the face of earth. The Circassian immigration will make a great change. This castle, which resembles the Border keeps of Europe in the Middle Ages, was one of a chain of strong holds between Antioch and Palestine, constructed for the defence of the Holy Land against the Moslem foe'. Krak des Chevaliers is one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, to the order of the Knights Hospitaller. It remained occupied by them until it was reconquered by the Muslims in 1271. From "Illustrated London News", 1872.