Syria · 12th century
Al-Kahf Castle ranks #5,517 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #28 of the 38 mapped in Syria. Founded 1120, it is older than 84% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 763 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,031 times in the last 60 days, more than 51% of the atlas. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Baniyas, 20 km away. It is one of the 105 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Levant. See how Syria compares in the castle statistics.
Al-Kahf Castle or the Castle of the Cave (Arabic: قلعة الكهف, romanized: Qalʻat al-Kahf) is a medieval Nizari Isma'ili castle located around 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Margat, in the al-Ansariyah mountains in northwest Syria.
The castle was built around 1120 by Saif al-Mulk ibn Amrun, and was sold to the Isma'ilis 1138 by his son Musa. It served as the base of the Chief Da'i of Syria Abu Muhammad. Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the Arab leader of the Isma'ili sect in Syria, used this castle initially as his base and hermitage. Sinan eventually died and was buried there in 1193. In 1197 the Regent of Jerusalem, Henry II, Count of Champagne, visited the castle to secure an alliance with Sinan's successor. The castle was the last Isma'ili stronghold in Syria to surrender to the Mamluks. Sultan Baibars finally captured it in 1273, and it remained in use until Ottoman times, when it served at times as a prison for important personages. The castle was finally destroyed in 1816 by Mustafa Agha Barbar, the Ottoman governor of Tripoli.
The castle sits on a ridge between two gorges. The only entrance to the castle runs along a narrow path halfway down the steep northern slope. The general direction of the castle is east–west, running along the spur of rock on which it was built. The castle is divided into three, or possibly four, main sections. At the west end lies a 170 metres (560 ft) long flat section. The section is clear of any buildings, except the outer walls and a bastion at the end. From the outer bailey the ground rises up towards the central citadel and fortifications. These buildings probably contained living quarters, storerooms and the water storage area with seven cisterns.
Text adapted from “Al-Kahf Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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