Certain castles are to be found around the world constructed over the vertical walls of ravines, such as Alcazar at Toledo to mention only one.
Beaufort
Castle stands on a rocky crest above soaring 300-metre
precipices amidst enchanting countryside, not far
from Mount Hebron and overlooking the Litani River
in South Lebanon, south-east of Saïda and one
hundred kilometres from Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
Beaufort Castle, in Arabic Qalaat el-Shekif, is a
mighty fortress standing on a strategic site on the
roads of Tyre and the South, but is first and foremost
a military stronghold defending the extreme north
of the kingdom of Jerusalem.
The view all around is panoramic and enough to take
anyone's breath away.
The Crusaders took possession of it in 1139, and there
are traces there of earlier Arab construction.
Beaufort was entrusted to Renaud de Sagette, a Frankish
knight having an attractive personality and withall
a man of culture and intelligence, speaking Arabic
as well as he spoke French.
To isolate the fortress on the western side of the
plateau, deep and wide excavations were dug into the
living rock. The castle was impregnable and able to
hold out indefinitely against any kind of siege or
attack. It measured 150 metres along its greater length
and had many passageways, impressive underground rooms,
and towers from which fire could be aimed down. There
were rooms for storage, and a great inside water reservoir,
with others dug out of the rock. A spacious hall built
by the Templars was almost certainly a chapel.
Beaufort changed hands several times.
From 1139 to 1190 the castle was held by the Franks.
From 1190 to 1240 it was occupied by Saladin and the
Muslims. From 1240 to 1268 it was again in the hands
of the Templars.
It passed once more into the hands of the Arabs and
in 1610 Fakhredin II, Emir of Lebanon, strengthened
its fortifications and made it a storehouse for his
treasures.
It was largely destroyed by Jarkass Pasha.
In 1629, Emir Fakhredin II asked plans for its reconstruction
and restoration from the Grand Duke of Florence.
During the recent unhappy troubles in Lebanon, it
passed into the hands of the Israelis, who invaded
the South in 1982, and then into those of Lebanese
combatants and resistance fighters who freed South
Lebanon from Israeli occupation, so that now it is
the property of the Lebanese State.
Beaufort is part of the national heritage. One may
visit and admire this unique site, and go round it
to see it from the eastern and north-eastern sides
from the road that goes to Marjeyoun.
Despite the exterior ruin and the damage caused throughout
the long years, the inside is well preserved and in
any case the view is superb. The castle is a storehouse
of our history.
- Arnoun, The Beaufort Citadel of Shkif: >>
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Beaufort Citadel of Shkif - Inside: >> View
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