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Areimeh Citadel
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Qalaat
Areimeh (Areimeh Citadel): Areimeh; about 20 km south east from Tartus;
was built as a crusader castle, to help
safeguard the routes between Tortosa and
Tripoli, to protect the coastal plain
leading to the Homs Gap and to strengthen
the outer defenses of Tortosa (Tartus). Little remains of the original fabric though
the scale of the defenses can be seen and
part of the walls shows the quality of the
Frankish work. The dates of the original
construction are not known but it was
presumably begun even before 1177 when the
Templars were given responsibility for the
security of the region around their base at
Tortosa. Certainly the castle was there in 1149 when
Bertrand of Toulouse seized it from Raymond
III, Count of Tripoli, whom he suspected of
having murdered his father. Unur, a Muslim
ruler of Damascus, in turn sought the
support of Nur al-Din and the two Muslim
leaders dislodged Bertrand and went on to
destroy and sack the castle. Bertrand was
sent into captivity to Aleppo and Raymond
was captured a while later. The ruins cover an area of 80 m by 300 m on
the crest of a small rise. The land falls
away steeply to the east. Located in
beautiful Olive-growing country, on a good
day the castle enjoys breath-taking views
towards the usually snow-clad peak of Mount
Lebanon well to the south. |