Areimeh Castle

South-east of Tartus, on a rock plateau a hundred and eighty metres above the Akkar plain. The castle went up in the 12th century on older Byzantine remains and changed hands repeatedly: Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, then Bertrand of Toulouse, then the Knights Templar. Nur ad-Din Zengi took it in 1167, the earthquake of 1170 damaged it, the Templars had it back in 1177, and Saladin held it for a time in 1187. It passed to Muslim hands for good in 1291.

Getting there

Twenty-five kilometres south-east of Tartus, south-west of Safita and north-west of the town of Safsafa. There is no public transport; hire a car and driver in Tartus or Safita. The last stretch is narrow and steep, and hard going after rain.

How long it takes

An hour and a quarter. The castle runs three hundred metres and is made of two courtyards with ditches between them. You walk it on stone and uneven ground.

What to see

The two towers are the soundest thing still standing. The south-western one reaches about thirty metres and is broken on its north face; both are solid inside, which means they were built for watching rather than living. Two building phases can be read: basalt from the early 12th century, limestone from the late 12th or early 13th century, the second most likely the work of the Templars. Below are wide vaulted halls, arched doorways, and arrow slits narrow outside and wide within.

What most people miss

Climb a tower and look at the horizon. From here the White Tower of Safita, Yahmur Castle and the direction of Tripoli are visible to the naked eye. The castles signalled to one another with smoke by day and fire by night, and Areimeh was a link in that chain. The building was raised to see rather than to hold, and its plan says so.