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BANIAS
The beautiful town is at 55km south of
Lattakia it is an old Phoenician town and harbor. Was known during the
Hellenistic period under the name of ”Palania”.
It is surrounded by green orchards and has
many beautiful beaches. The mountains, with their green woods, rise
abruptly above it. It has become now an important industrial town, with
huge oil refinery, and oil export and import terminal.
Al-Marqab Castle:
Know by the crusaders under the name of “
Al-Marqab’, it stand 6 km south east of Banias on a high hill, at an
elevation of 500m. above the sea level, but directly overlooking the sea.
A huge and strong fortress, looking from the sea as an immense ship, it
has 14 towers in addition to the keep. The road to it through olive and
pomegranate trees with many turns, is very picturesque. Gothic style
vaults are used to support the ceiling of its big rooms. The castle was
able to house more than one thousand soldiers with enough supplies to
withstand five years and was directly connected to the sea by an
underground tunnel. It was one of the last crusaders strongholds,
liberated by the Mamluk Sultan Kalawoon in 1285 AD. some inscriptions in
Arabic, celebrating this victory may be found in one of the towers. The
whole castle is in a relatively well-preserved state.
Missiaf:
At 50 km east of Banias, but separated
from it by a high mountain range through which passes a picturesque road,
its elevation is 400m. above the sea level. As befits its name ( which
means “summer resort”), it lies in a very beautiful countryside at the end
of the mountain and the beginning of the plain . it has a huge citadel
surrounded by orchards of pomegranate, fig almond trees.
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Know by the crusaders under the name of “
Al-Marqab’, it stand 6 km south east of Banias on a high hill, at an
elevation of 500m. above the sea level, but directly overlooking the sea.
A huge and strong fortress, looking from the sea as an immense ship, it
has 14 towers in addition to the keep. The road to it through olive and
pomegranate trees with many turns, is very picturesque. Gothic style
vaults are used to support the ceiling of its big rooms. The castle was
able to house more than one thousand soldiers with enough supplies to
withstand five years and was directly connected to the sea by an
underground tunnel. It was one of the last crusaders strongholds,
liberated by the Mamluk Sultan Kalawoon in 1285 AD. some inscriptions in
Arabic, celebrating this victory may be found in one of the towers. The
whole castle is in a relatively well-preserved state.
Missiaf:
At 50 km east of Banias, but separated
from it by a high mountain range through which passes a picturesque road,
its elevation is 400m. above the sea level. As befits its name ( which
means “summer resort”), it lies in a very beautiful countryside at the end
of the mountain and the beginning of the plain . it has a huge citadel
surrounded by orchards of pomegranate, fig almond trees.
