Chastel Blanc

Coordinates: 34°49′14″N 36°07′01″E / 34.82056°N 36.11694°E / 34.82056; 36.11694
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Chastel Blanc
Safita, Syria
Chastel Blanc's keep
Chastel Blanc is located in Syria
Chastel Blanc
Chastel Blanc
Coordinates34°49′14″N 36°07′01″E / 34.82056°N 36.11694°E / 34.82056; 36.11694
TypeCastle

Chastel Blanc (

Akkar to the south, and Krak des Chevaliers (the headquarters of the Syrian Knights Hospitallers
) to the southeast.

History

The region was initially controlled by the Crusaders by 1110, and was mentioned the first time in an Arab chronicle in 1112.

Baibars in 1271.[5]

The tower served both as a chapel and a fortress, with 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick walls constructed of massive and carefully fitted limestone blocks. The ground floor still contains a chapel, dedicated to

St. Michael
and used by the Greek Orthodox community of Safita. The second floor, which can be reached by a flight of partially destroyed stairs, served as a dormitory, and contains many small angled windows that were used by archers to defend the tower. Cut into the rock below the tower is a water cistern and a former weapons cache, essential elements in case of siege.

From the other fortifications of the castle, only a portal at 45 metres (148 ft) to the east of the keep can still be seen today. During the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, efforts were made to restore the tower, causing great discomfort to the villagers that lived very close to it.

In 1946, when the castle's keep threatened to collapse, architect Pierre Coupel undertook an intensive programme of repairs.[6]

Structure

The structure base dates back to the Phoenician era.[7] However, the tower visible today is the remaining keep of the original castle. It has a height of 28 metres (92 ft), a width of 18 metres (59 ft), and a length of 31 metres (102 ft). A large bell is on the western wall, and its sound can be heard up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Safita. The castle had to be restored in 1170 and 1202 following damages due to earthquakes. The keep in its current shape probably dates from the reconstruction after 1202.

Gallery

  • Chastel Blanc as it appeared in 1905 (photographed by Gertrude Bell)
    Chastel Blanc as it appeared in 1905 (photographed by Gertrude Bell)
  • Chastel Blanc circa 1935, by Pierre Antoine Berrurier
    Chastel Blanc circa 1935, by Pierre Antoine Berrurier

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chastel Blanc.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Chastel Blanc, Safita". Templar de Paris (in French).
  2. ^ Boas 2006, p. 221
  3. ^ Murray 2015, p. 231
  4. ^ Murray 2015, p. 232
  5. ^ Boas 2006, p. 236
  6. ISBN 0-521-42068-7
  7. ^ "برج صافيتا الأثري.. معجزة هندسية تحاكي السماء بلمسات الإبداع". SANA (in Arabic). 17 September 2019.

Bibliography

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