View of Safita from Chastel Blanc.

The Tower.

Safita (Arabic: صا فيتا, transliteration: Ṣāfītā) is a city in north-western Syria, located to the southeast of Tartous and to the northwest of Krak des Chevaliers. The city has a population of 33,000. It is located on the tops of 3 hills and the valleys in between them, in the coastal mountain ranges of Syria. It was important during the crusades, and was inhabited by the Knights Templar of the castle Chastel Blanc while part of the County of Tripoli. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1068 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1068 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 1536 pixel, file size: 217 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Loris Fecit - marzo 2005 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 1536 pixel, file size: 217 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Loris Fecit - marzo 2005 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... “Arabic” redirects here. ... Due to the fact that the Arabic language has a number of phonemes that have no equivalent in English or other European languages, a number of different transliteration methods have been invented to represent certain Arabic characters, due to various conflicting goals. ... Location of Tartous Coordinates: Governorate Tartous  - Governor Wahib Hasan Zein Eddin Elevation 0 m (0 ft) Population (2006)  - City 160,000 Time zone +2 (UTC)  - Summer (DST) +3 (UTC) Website: City of Tartous Tartous (Arabic: طرطوس, also transliterated Tartus) is a city in Syria. ... Krak des Chevaliers, also transliterated Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military architectures in the world. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... Armenian Cilicia and Crusader States The County of Tripoli was the last of the four major Crusader states in the Levant to be created. ...

History

The city has been inhabited since the times of the Phoenicians, and several archaeological discoveries have been made, including Phoenician and Canaanite settlements. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon and Syria. ...

In 1102, Raymond IV of Toulouse began to take the land of the Banu Ammars Emirs of Tripoli. A four-year siege on Tripoli resulted in full control of the city and many lands surrounding it, including Safita. Mamluk Sultan Baibars captured the castle in 1271. Events Valencia is captured by the Almoravids. ... Raymond IV of Toulouse (c. ... This page refers to Tripoli, the city in Lebanon. ... A Mamluk cavalryman, drawn in 1810 A mamluk (Arabic: مملوك (singular), مماليك (plural), Turkish: Kölemen, owned; also transliterated mameluk, mameluke, or mamluke) was a slave soldier who was converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the Middle Ages. ... al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari (also spelled Baybars) (Arabic: ) was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria. ... For broader historical context, see 1270s and 13th century. ...

Chastel Blanc

Chastel Blanc (called by natives, 'Burj Safita' which means Safita Tower) was built by the Knights Templar during the Crusades upon prior fortifications. Constructed on the middle hill of Safita's three hills, it offers a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, and was a major part of the network of Crusader fortifications in the area. From the roof, one can see from the Mediterranean Sea to the snow-covered mountains of Lebanon, and Tripoli. From Chastel Blanc it would have been possible to see the Templar strongholds at Tartus and Ruad Island to the northwest, Chastel Rouge on the coastline to the southwest, Akkar to the south, and Krak des Chevaliers (the headquarters of the Syrian Knights Hospitallers) to the southeast. The tower is the remaining keep of the original castle. It has a height of 28 meters, a width of 18 meters, and a length of 31 meters. A large bell is on the western wall, and its sound can be heard up to 5 kilometers from Safita. The castle had to be restored in 1170 and 1202 following damages due to earthquakes. The keep in its current shape probably dates from the reconstruction after 1202. For other uses, see Knights Templar (disambiguation). ... Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Tripoli (Arabic: طرابلس Tarābulus) is the capital city of Libya. ... Tartous (Arabic: طرطوس, also transliterated Tartus) is Syrias second largest port city after Latakia, and capital of Tartous governorate. ... Harbor in Arwad Arwad viewed from the air Arwad – formerly Arado (Greek: Άραδο), Arados (Greek: Άραδος), Arvad, Arpad, Arphad, Antiochia in Pieria (Greek: Αντιόχεια της Πιερίας), Latin: Aradus, and also transliterated from Arabic as Ar-Ruad (ارواد) – located in the Mediterranean Sea, is the only island in Syria. ... Chastel Rouge, also called Qal’at Yahmur قلعة يحمر (Castle of Yahmur) is a small Crusader stronghold in the North West of Syria that belonged to the County of Tripoli. ... Akkar is a region in the northern part of Lebanon, characterized by the presence of a relatively large costal plain, with high mountains to the east. ... Krak des Chevaliers, also transliterated Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military architectures in the world. ... The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care...

St. Michael's Chapel on the ground floor of Chastel Blanc.

Considering the time of its construction during the Crusades, the tower served two purposes, as both a chapel and a fortress, with 3 meter-thick walls constructed of massive and carefully-fitted limestone blocks. The ground floor still contains a chapel, dedicated to St. Michael and used by the Greek Orthodox community of Safita. The second floor, which can be reached by a flight of partially destroyed stairs, served as a dormitory, and contains many small angled windows that were used by archers to defend the tower. Cut into the rock below the tower is a water cistern, an essential element in case of siege.^[1] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1022 KB) Picture i took, feel free to use. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1022 KB) Picture i took, feel free to use. ...

From the other fortifications of the castle, only a portal at 45 meters to the East of the keep can still be seen today. During French colonialism, efforts were made to restore the tower, causing great discomfort to the villagers that lived very close to it.

Sister Cities

• Marrickville, Australia^[2]

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Marrickville is an Inner West Local Government Area and suburb of Sydney, Australia. ...

Notes

For the Canadian equivalent of this channel, see History Television. ...

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 34°49′N, 36°07′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...