Masyaf Castle

Masyaf is the best known of the castles held by the medieval Nizari Ismailis in the coastal mountains, a compact fortress on a rock above its town, restored enough to walk its gates, halls and towers. From here the community's leaders - famous in European legend under their sheikh known as the Old Man of the Mountain - held their own against every neighbouring power through diplomacy and reputation as much as walls. The castle is a museum of that remarkable chapter, and the town below still has a strong Ismaili community.

Background

The castle occupies the Orontes Valley approximately 40 kilometres west of Hama and sits on a raised platform, about 20 metres higher than the plain around it. The site commanded trade routes to inland cities such as Banyas and stood on the way to the other Ismaili castles of Jabal Ansariya, the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range. Rashid ad-Din Sinan ruled from here from 1166 to 1193. From the mid-12th century to the close of the 13th, Masyaf and its town were the capital of a Nizari Ismaili emirate. Later levels came from the Isma'ilis, Mamluks and Ottomans, but most surviving remains belong to Rashid's 12th-century Nizari building phase. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture began funding restoration in 2000.

Source: Wikipedia, "Masyaf Castle"

What to look for

• The gatehouse - the bent entrance through the outer wall.
• The halls and cisterns - the restored interior spaces.
• The towers - the wall-walk views over town and orchards.
• The mountain edge - the line of hills the castles guarded.

When to go

March to May and October to November are mild. Spring blossom fills the orchards below. Summer is manageable at this altitude.

Before you go

Restoration is partial and some areas are closed. Opening hours are informal. The legends attached to the place are better treated with scepticism than repeated as fact.

Nearby

Qalaat al-Kahf is deeper in the mountains, and Hama is east.

Key facts