The atlas
109 landmarks in the atlas.
The Castlemap atlas charts 30 castles, 31 fortresses, 9 palaces & châteaux and 39 ruins in the Levant. They span from 1800 BC to 1995.
The best known is Masada, #22 of 7,738 worldwide.
Country pages: Syria · Israel · Jordan · Lebanon.
Amman · Jerusalem · Beirut · Damascus · Irbid · Tel Aviv · Nablus · Nabatieh
See them on the map →Ruin · 1st century BC · #22 worldwide · #1 in Israel
Masada is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel.
Castle · 11th century · #47 worldwide · #1 in Syria
Krak des Chevaliers (French: [kʁak de ʃvalje]; Arabic: قلعة الحصن, romanized: Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn, Arabic: [ˈqalʕat alˈħisˤn]; Old French: Crac des…
Castle · 12th century · #162 worldwide · #1 in Lebanon
Beaufort or Belfort Castle, known locally as Qal'at al-Shaqif or Shaqif Arnun, is a Crusader fortress in Nabatieh Governorate, Southern Lebanon,…
Fortress · 2nd century BC · #199 worldwide · #2 in Israel
The Tower of David, also known as the Citadel, is an ancient citadel and contemporary museum, located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of…
Fortress · 7th century · #275 worldwide · #1 in Palestine
The Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy is the only eastern gate of the Temple Mount, and one of only two Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem that used to…
Fortress · 1st century BC · #303 worldwide · #3 in Israel
The Walls of Jerusalem surround the Old City of Jerusalem. In 1535, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent…
Fortress · 12th century · #308 worldwide · #2 in Syria
The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria.
Castle · 12th century · #1 in Jordan
Kerak Castle is a large medieval castle located in al-Karak, Jordan. It is one of the largest castles in the Levant.
Palace & château · 8th century · #2 in Jordan
Qusayr 'Amra or Quseir Amra, sometimes also named Qasr Amra, is the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan.
Ruin · 1st century BC · #3 in Jordan
Machaerus was a Hasmonean hilltop palace and desert fortress, rebuilt by Herod and now in ruins, in the village of Mukawir in modern-day Jordan.
Fortress · 16th century · #2 in Palestine
The Damascus Gate is one of the main Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side and connects to a…
Ruin · 13th century · #4 in Israel
Montfort is a ruined Crusader castle in the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, about 22 miles northeast of the city of Haifa and 10 miles south…
Ruin · 1st century BC · #5 in Israel
The Antonia Fortress was a citadel built by Herod the Great and named for Herod's patron Mark Antony, as a fortress whose chief function was to…
Fortress · 10th century · #3 in Syria
Castle of Saladin, also known as the Sahyun Castle, is a medieval castle in northwestern Syria.
Fortress · 16th century · #3 in Palestine
Jaffa Gate is one of the seven main open gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. The name Jaffa Gate is currently used for both the historical Ottoman…
Fortress · 16th century · #4 in Palestine
Lions' Gate, also St Stephen's Gate, is one of the seven open Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It leads into the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.
Palace & château · 20th century · #4 in Syria
The People's Palace, known in English as the Presidential Palace until 2024, is the official residence of the president of Syria.
Ruin · 12th century · #4 in Jordan
Montreal, or Qal'at ash-Shawbak in Arabic, is a castle built by the Crusaders and expanded by the Mamluks, nestled amid the mountains of Edom just…
Castle · 11th century · #5 in Syria
Margat Castle, also known as Marqab Castle, is a castle near Baniyas, Syria, which was a Crusader fortress and one of the major strongholds of the…
Ruin · 18th century BC · #5 in Jordan
The Amman Citadel on Citadel Hill is an archaeological site on an L-shaped hill towering over Downtown Amman, in the central part of the capital of…
Ruin · 8th century · #5 in Palestine
Hisham's Palace, also known as Khirbat al-Mafjar, is an important early Islamic archaeological site in the city of Jericho, in the West Bank in…
Ruin · 20th century · #6 in Israel
Apollonia, known in the Early Islamic period as Arsuf and in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem as Arsur, was an ancient city on the Mediterranean…
Ruin · 12th century · #7 in Israel
Belvoir Castle, also called Coquet by the Crusaders, also Kochav HaYarden and Kawkab al-Hawa, is a Crusader castle in northern Israel, on a hill on…
Fortress · 16th century · #6 in Palestine
The Dung Gate, also known as Bab al-Maghariba, Mughrabi Gate, Moroccan Gate or Silwan Gate, is one of the Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Ruin · 12th century · #6 in Syria
Qal'at Ja'bar is a castle on the left bank of Euphrates Lake in Raqqa Governorate, Syria.
Castle · #7 in Syria
Masyaf Castle is a medieval structure in the town of Masyaf in Hama Governorate, Syria, situated in the Orontes Valley, approximately 40 kilometres…
Palace & château · #7 in Palestine
Mukataa is an Arabic word for headquarters or administrative center, particularly in Palestine.
Fortress · 11th century · #8 in Syria
The Citadel of Damascus is an Ayyubid-era medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria.
Palace & château · 18th century · #9 in Syria
Al-Azm Palace is a palace in Damascus, Syria, built in 1749. Located north of Al-Buzuriyah Souq in the Ancient City of Damascus, the palace was built…
Fortress · 16th century · #8 in Israel
Zion Gate (Hebrew: שער ציון, Sha'ar Zion, باب النبي داود, Bab an-Nabi Dawud), also known in Arabic as Bab Sahyun or Bab Harat al-Yahud, is one of the…
Fortress · #10 in Syria
The Nimrod Fortress, also called Nimrod Castle, is a castle built by the Ayyubids and greatly enlarged by the Mamluks, situated on the southern…
Castle · 12th century · #6 in Jordan
Ajloun Castle, medieval name Qalʻat ar-Rabad, is a 12th-century Muslim castle situated in northwestern Jordan.
Castle · 8th century · #7 in Jordan
Qasr al-Harrana, sometimes Qasr Harrana, Qasr al-Haranah, Haraneh, Hraneh, Harana, Qasr al-Kharana or Khauranee, is one of the best-known of the…
Castle · 4th century · #8 in Jordan
Qasr al-Azraq is a large fortress located in present-day eastern Jordan. It is one of the desert castles, located on the outskirts of present-day…
Castle · 13th century · #9 in Israel
Château Pèlerin, also known as Atlit and Magdiel, is a Crusader fortress and fortified town located about 2 kilometres north of the modern Israeli…
Ruin · 12th century · #2 in Lebanon
Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus.
Ruin · 8th century · #9 in Jordan
Mshatta, also known as Qasr al-Mushatta, is the ruin of an Umayyad winter palace, probably commissioned by Caliph Al-Walid II during his brief reign.
Castle · 13th century · #3 in Lebanon
Sidon's Sea Castle was built by the crusaders in the thirteenth century as a fortress of the Holy Land.
Fortress · 19th century · #8 in Palestine
Herod's Gate is one of the seven open Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It connects the Muslim Quarter inside of the old city to the eponymic…
Palace & château · 20th century · #10 in Jordan
Raghadan Palace, the first Hashemite structure in Jordan, was built by King Abdullah I, the founding monarch of the country.
Palace & château · 19th century · #4 in Lebanon
Beiteddine Palace is an 18th-century palace in Beiteddine, Lebanon, built by Bashir II.
Ruin · 12th century · #5 in Lebanon
Byblos Castle is a Crusader castle in Byblos, Lebanon. In Crusader times it was known as the Castle of Gibelet , also spelled Giblet, which belonged…
Fortress · #9 in Palestine
Alexandreion, or Alexandrium, called Sartaba in the Mishna and Talmud and Qarn Sartaba in Arabic, was an ancient hilltop fortress constructed by the…
Fortress · 12th century · #6 in Lebanon
The Citadel of Tripoli is a 12th-century fortress in Tripoli, Lebanon. It was built at the top of a hill "during the initial Frankish siege of the…
Ruin · 13th century · #10 in Palestine
Qasr al-Basha, also known as Pasha's Palace Museum, Radwan Castle, and Napoleon's Fort, was a historic building in the Old City of Gaza, Palestine.
Ruin · 8th century · #11 in Syria
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi is a Syrian desert castle or qasr located 80 km south-west of Palmyra on the Damascus road.
Castle · 8th century · #12 in Syria
Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi is a castle in the middle of the Syrian Desert. It was built by the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 728-29 CE in an…
Ruin · 12th century · #10 in Israel
Chastelet also known as Beytulahzan was a castle located beside Jacob's Ford, a ford of the upper Jordan River in Israel.
Ruin · #11 in Israel
Qula was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, located 15 km northeast of Ramla.
Fortress · 12th century · #11 in Jordan
The Aqaba Castle or Aqaba Fort, also known as the Mamluk Castle of Aqaba, Jordan, is a Mamluk and Ottoman fortified caravanserai on the pilgrimage…
Fortress · #13 in Syria
Qalaat al-Madiq is a town and medieval fortress in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama.
Palace & château · 1st century BC · #12 in Israel
Herod's Palace at Jerusalem was built in the last quarter of the 1st century BC by King Herod the Great of Judea from 37 BC to 4 BC.
Ruin · 6th century · #14 in Syria
Qasr Ibn Wardan is a hamlet and 6th-century archaeological site located in the Syrian Desert, approximately 60 kilometres northeast from Hama and…
Palace & château · 18th century BC · #15 in Syria
The Royal Palace of Mari was the royal residence of the rulers of the ancient kingdom of Mari in eastern Syria.
Palace & château · 20th century · #7 in Lebanon
Baabda Palace, is the official residence of the President of Lebanon. The palace was built in 1956 on a hill in the mountain town of Baabda…
Castle · 13th century · #16 in Syria
Palmyra Castle, also known as Fakhr-al-Din al-Ma'ani Castle or Tadmur Castle, is a castle overlooking Palmyra in the province of Homs, Syria.
Ruin · 12th century · #13 in Israel
Migdal Afek, also Migdal Tsedek, is a national park on the southeastern edge of Rosh HaAyin, Israel.
Castle · #17 in Syria
Chastel Blanc is a medieval structure in Safita, western Syria. It was built by the Knights Templar during the Crusades upon prior fortifications.
Ruin · #18 in Syria
Abu Qubays is a former medieval castle and currently an inhabited village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate,…
Ruin · 13th century · #19 in Syria
Al-Rahba, also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates…
Ruin · #20 in Syria
Fortress · 17th century · #12 in Jordan
Fortress · #14 in Israel
Fortress · 13th century · #15 in Israel
Ruin · 13th century · #21 in Syria
Fortress · 17th century · #8 in Lebanon
Castle · 8th century · #13 in Jordan
Fortress · 7th century · #22 in Syria
Ruin · 11th century · #23 in Syria
Ruin · #16 in Israel
Ruin · 10th century · #17 in Israel
Ruin · 13th century · #9 in Lebanon
Ruin · 12th century · #24 in Syria
Castle · 20th century · #10 in Lebanon
Castle · 12th century · #25 in Syria
Castle · #26 in Syria
Ruin · #27 in Syria
Fortress · 14th century · #11 in Lebanon
Castle · #28 in Syria
Ruin · #14 in Jordan
Ruin · 9th century · #18 in Israel
Ruin · 13th century · #19 in Israel
Fortress · 10th century · #12 in Lebanon
Ruin · #15 in Jordan
Ruin · #20 in Israel
Castle · #29 in Syria
Fortress · 20th century · #21 in Israel
Ruin · 12th century · #13 in Lebanon
Castle · 12th century · #14 in Lebanon
Ruin · #30 in Syria
Fortress · 7th century BC · #16 in Jordan
Ruin · #31 in Syria
Castle · #32 in Syria
Castle · #17 in Jordan
Ruin · 12th century · #22 in Israel
Fortress · 1st century · #18 in Jordan
Ruin · #23 in Israel
Castle · #15 in Lebanon
Castle · #33 in Syria
Castle · #34 in Syria
Castle · 3rd century · #35 in Syria
Castle · #36 in Syria
Castle · #24 in Israel
Fortress · #19 in Jordan
Fortress · #25 in Israel
Castle · #20 in Jordan
Fortress · #21 in Jordan
Fortress · 12th century · #37 in Syria
Castle · #22 in Jordan
The Castlemap atlas charts 30 castles, 31 fortresses, 9 palaces & châteaux and 39 ruins in the Levant. They span from 1800 BC to 1995.
The best known is Masada, #22 of 7,738 worldwide.
Amman Citadel — 1800 BC.
