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The third castle in my series on crusader castles is, like St. Hilarion, located on Cyprus. Its foundations stretch back before the crusader period, but it played an important role in crusader times. It is also shrouded in mystery and legends in addition to being located in a spectacular landscape.  The view up to the castle. Kantara is located on the tip of a long, narrow ridge as the Kyrenia mountain range comes to an abrupt end overlooking the plain of Karpas. It sits 630 meters (2,067 feet) above the Mediterranean.  And the View Down to the Sea Although the fundamental structure was constructed under the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus  after the Greek Empire re-established firm control over the island of Cyprus, the name is thought to derive from Arab the words "kandara" (high building) or "kandak" (castle).  This suggests there may have been an earlier structure, an outpost or watch tower, that occupied this strategic location before the Comnenus Emperor ...

In writing about Medieval Cyprus it is impossible to overlook the most powerful and dramatic of all the medieval fortresses: St. Hilarion. It is the setting of several key historical episodes that inherently fall within the framework of my novels -- and I couldn't resist using it for fictional episodes as well. Below is a brief history. The castle stands 700 meters (2275 feet) above sea level on the narrow ridge of the Kyrenia range just slightly southwest of the port of Kyrenia.  It was built by the Byzantine governor of the island after the Comnenus emperors re-established full control over Cyprus in the late 10th. Constructed between 1102 and 1110, it was called Didymos by the Byzantines for the twin mountain peaks between which the upper castle sits.  The crusaders, however, preferred to call it the castle of "Dieu d'Amour" (the God of Love) and the locals continued to refer to it as St. Hilarion because the saint of that name had built a monastery, been buried an...

The Castle of Kerak has become inextricably associated with the infamous Reynald de Châtillion, the Lord of Oultrejourdain in the late 12 th century. Indeed, the Arabs referred to Châtillion as “al-Karak”— of Kerak. The castle, however, is greater than its most famous lord, serving both the Ayyibs and the Mamlukes as a center of power as well. Today it is a still impressive reminder of Crusader military architecture.   The construction of Kerak (also Karak, Kerak in Moab and Karak al-Shawbak) began in 1142 in the reign of King Fulk and Queen Melusinde. The construction was undertaken by Payen (also Pagen) the Butler, Lord of Montreal and Oultrejourdain.   It was constructed on Roman foundations, but its design was mostly dictated by geography.   It was built on the very tip of a promontory or spur formed by two steep gorges. To the east, south and west, the land dropped almost vertically to the valley floor some 3,000 feet below. To the north, as the spur of the ridge w...