Smar Jbeil Castle

Also known as Castle of Smar Jbeil

Twelfth-century Crusader castle above the Batroun district with deep pre-Crusader history — Maronite Patriarch St John Maron took refuge here in 685 CE. Built in three phases over a Roman-period necropolis as a tower-and-bailey fortress: central donjon on a rock podium, curtain walls, four corner towers, a rock-cut ditch and a barbican at the entrance. It later passed to the Khazin family; damaged in the 1630 earthquake and restored the following year.

Coordinates: 34.2772°, 35.7167°

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