RpB in Near East 2005 - Syria - Qalaat Saladin

This castle is reached from town by walking 2km steeply upwards, 2km steeply downwards, and 2km steeply upwards...

First climb:

Really nice countryside...

First view of castle:

The valleys here are steep:

A Cave:

My attempt to make a shortcut on my way down ended in this cave...

The way down (seen from the castle):

The moat:

The crusaders were mad about protection and cut this moat out of solid stone... they were invaded within 24 hours from the other side of the castle...

Inside the castle:

I climbed down a dark slippery staircase into utter darkness. When I dared no longer I stopped and took a picture with flashlight...

This is probably been used to press olive oil...

They say this place still smells of horses, I would say its people who cant find the toilet...

Castle and Landscape:

The bridge:

I took a picture of the bridge, which formerly was the only entrance to the castle... then I decided to get to the other side, which took me 45 minutes (in each direction) through fields and undergrow...

Plants:

Whenever I am fascinated by a place, I start taking pictures of plants... this is explained psychoanalytically as follows: I cannot stand the grandness of the surroundings, so I have to concentrate on simple things.

Physics / Robert Buras / 10.05.30