Travel Guide Al-Kahf - QAlaat Al-Kahf

For those who have time and who want to discover the beauties of the interior country while visiting vestiges, Al-Kahf is a true paradise for the romantic or Indiana Jones. This visit is possible from Lattakia or Tartous.This castle was originally built by a notable of the region that in 1132-1133 sold it to ismaili. From 1164 until 1190, the Ismaélien leader Rachid al-Din Sinan (better known as «Old of the Mountain») from this lair hidden in the plis of Jebel Ansariyé. In 1197, Henri de Champagne, regent of Jerusalem, sought to join the successor of Sinan in order to repel the Muslims. He was invited to the ismaélien lair where, to prove the fanatical devotion of his followers, the leader of the Killers ordered two of them to throw themselves from the top of the parapets, which they did without hesitation. Al-Kahf was the last fortified point to fall under the control of Baïbars in 1273. In Ottoman times, the fortress was used as a military post.