Margat

Also known as Marqab, Margat Castle, Qal'at al-Marqab

Margat — 'the watchtower' — is the second great Hospitaller castle of the Syrian coast, built of black basalt on a 360-metre volcanic spur overlooking the sea between Latakia and Tartus. The Mazoir family fortified the site in 1117 and sold it to the Hospitallers in 1186, who rebuilt it on a vast scale: a massive double curtain wall, a circular keep, a Gothic chapel, and barracks for a thousand-strong garrison with provisions enough for a five-year siege. After the fall of Krak in 1271 it became the chief Hospitaller seat in Syria. Sultan Qalawun finally took it in May 1285 after his sappers brought down one of the great corner towers; the defenders were granted safe passage to Tripoli. Most of the Crusader fabric still stands, and the chapel preserves remarkable thirteenth-century frescoes.

Coordinates: 35.1525°, 35.9447°

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