Set high in the Jebel Daryous range inland from Lattakia Saladin’s Castle was once known as Saone, but was renamed in honour of the great Arab warrior to commemorate the capture of the fortress in 1199.

A fortress had been on this spot prior to the Crusades, but it was the Europeans who made it impregnable, or so they thought. Its location is unique, standing as it does on a rocky spur whose vertical walls rise above the junction of two fast-flowing streams.

As late as 1965 it was impossible to reach except on foot or on horseback by a difficult climb, first downhill and then up again after fording a stream. The fortress was completely isolated from the surrounding lands because of a deep gorge dug right through the connecting neck of land. In the centre of this gorge stands a pillar of rock to support a drawbridge – at 156m long and 18 m deep its creation was an amazing technical achievement.