The atlas
106 landmarks in the atlas.
The Castle Map atlas charts 26 castles, 19 fortresses, 10 palaces & châteaux and 51 ruins in the Levant. They span from 1800 BC to 1985.
The best known is Masada, #27 of 9,079 worldwide.
Country pages: Syria · Israel · Jordan · Lebanon.
Amman · Jerusalem · Damascus · Beirut · Irbid · Nabatieh · Sidon · Homs
Travelling rather than browsing? The Crusader castles of the Levant puts 7 of them in travel order, the Syrian coast to southern Jordan.
See them on the map →Ruin · 1st century BC · #27 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 · #50 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 · #167 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 · #205 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 · 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 · #310 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.
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.
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…
Ruin · 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 · #1 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 · #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…
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 · #2 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 · #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…
Fortress · 13th century · #8 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…
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…
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.
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…
Ruin · 1st century BC · #3 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 · #4 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.
Ruin · 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 · #9 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 · 12th century · #10 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…
Ruin · 1st century BC · #11 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.
Fortress · 12th century · #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 · 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…
Palace & château · 18th century BC · #14 in Syria
The Royal Palace of Mari was the royal residence of the rulers of the ancient kingdom of Mari in eastern Syria.
Ruin · 6th century · #15 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…
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 · #12 in Israel
Migdal Afek, also Migdal Tsedek, is a national park on the southeastern edge of Rosh HaAyin, Israel.
Castle · 12th century · #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 · 13th century · #18 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 · #19 in Syria
Abu Qubays is a former medieval castle and currently an inhabited village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate,…
Ruin · #20 in Syria
Chastel Rouge, also called Qal’at Yahmur, is a small Crusader stronghold in the North West of Syria that belonged to the County of Tripoli.
Fortress · 3rd century · #12 in Jordan
Qasr Bshir is an ancient Roman fortification in what is now Jordan. Isolated in an area of the desert rippled with shallow valleys that drain into…
Fortress · #13 in Israel
The Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre is a monumental complex founded by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights…
Ruin · 13th century · #14 in Israel
The Citadel of Safed is a now-defunct fortress castle situated on the peak of the mountain housing the modern city of Safed.
Fortress · 17th century · #8 in Lebanon
The Mseilha Fort is a historic fortification located in Northern Lebanon, strategically positioned on the right bank of Nahr al-Jaouz river, in…
Palace & château · 18th century · #21 in Syria
The Azm Palace is an 18th-century Ottoman-era palace in Hama, Syria at the center of the city on the banks of the Orontes River, about 400 meters…
Ruin · 13th century · #22 in Syria
Shmemis also ash-Shmemis, ash-Shmamis) is a castle located in Syria. It is located 3 km north west of Salamiyah and 30 km south east from Hama.
Castle · 7th century · #23 in Syria
Castle · 8th century · #13 in Jordan
Ruin · 11th century · #24 in Syria
Ruin · #15 in Israel
Ruin · 10th century · #16 in Israel
Ruin · 13th century · #9 in Lebanon
Ruin · 12th century · #25 in Syria
Ruin · 15th century BC · #26 in Syria
Ruin · 3rd century · #14 in Jordan
Castle · #10 in Lebanon
Castle · #27 in Syria
Castle · 12th century · #28 in Syria
Ruin · 3rd century · #29 in Syria
Palace & château · 17th century · #11 in Lebanon
Fortress · 15th century · #12 in Lebanon
Castle · 12th century · #30 in Syria
Ruin · 7th century · #15 in Jordan
Ruin · 12th century · #17 in Israel
Fortress · 10th century · #13 in Lebanon
Ruin · 9th century · #18 in Israel
Ruin · #16 in Jordan
Ruin · #19 in Israel
Castle · #31 in Syria
Fortress · 20th century · #20 in Israel
Ruin · 12th century · #14 in Lebanon
Ruin · 12th century · #15 in Lebanon
Ruin · #32 in Syria
Fortress · 7th century BC · #17 in Jordan
Fortress · 18th century · #16 in Lebanon
Ruin · #33 in Syria
Castle · 11th century · #34 in Syria
Castle · #18 in Jordan
Ruin · 12th century · #21 in Israel
Ruin · 1st century · #19 in Jordan
Ruin · #22 in Israel
Castle · #17 in Lebanon
Castle · #35 in Syria
Castle · #36 in Syria
Ruin · #20 in Jordan
Castle · #37 in Syria
Ruin · #23 in Israel
Ruin · #5 in Palestine
Castle · #21 in Jordan
Fortress · #22 in Jordan
Castle · 12th century · #38 in Syria
Castle · #23 in Jordan
The Castle Map atlas charts 26 castles, 19 fortresses, 10 palaces & châteaux and 51 ruins in the Levant. They span from 1800 BC to 1985.
The best known is Masada, #27 of 9,079 worldwide.
Amman Citadel — 1800 BC.
