Roughly 45 minutes from the city, this is often called the world's finest Crusader castle. First fortified in 1031 by the Mirdasid emir with a Kurdish garrison, it passed to the Knights Hospitaller in 1142 and was rebuilt into its present concentric form over the following century, holding out until falling to the Mamluk sultan Baibars in 1271. There's no separate on-site museum — the castle itself, largely intact despite some war damage, is the exhibit in and of itself. 

Read more in my post Syria Is Finally Free, but Is It Finally Ready to Visit Again? Plus 5 of Its Top Destinations.

Roberto and Bianca