Al-Kahf Castle in Tartous … an icon of charm carved into the rock by history

Al-Kahf  ( cave )  Castle is one of the most romantically situated of all castles in Syria, perched on a rocky mountain ridge between two gorges, steep cliffs offering a natural defense.

The castle  is one of the prominent archaeological sites in the city of Sheikh Badr in Tartus Governorate and  has a charming view on  a natural forest reserve that  distinguishes it from other monuments.

Director of  Sheikh Saleh Al-Ali  museum archaeologist  Tamam Merhej  told SANA  that this castle is located on a rocky hill  that takes a longitudinal shape to  east-west  direction .

He indicated that the castle is about 20 km  from the city of Sheikh Badr  with an area of about 4,400 square meters, and a length of about 600 meters where the center of the reserve is a cave that extends on a wide range.

Merhej pointed out that  its name is so because of  the large number of caves in the castle and the adjacent  hills, adding   that the surrounding reserve contains biological diversity and beautiful plant cover in addition to its richness in water resources.

The most  unique  archaeological features discovered,  were the stone walls, the carved bath under the ground, specified  holes for transporting water into the castle, three stone entrances , and  columns carved on one of them human heads and on the other geometric ornaments in addition to  two stone pieces on which a semicircular gate was erected inside which a  lion and some pottery pieces .

It is worth noting that the Al-Kahf  Castle was not mentioned in the ancient historical sources, but evidence and data indicate to its existence in the early eleventh century AD.

Rawaa Ghanam