Qal'at al Hisn, a photo from Hims, South

Photographer's Note

Known as Krak de Chavaliers in the West, this is one of the most important preserved medieval military castles in the world. It was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. It was expanded between 1150 and 1250 and eventually housed a garrison of 2,000. The inner curtain wall is up to 100 feet thick at the base on the south side, with seven guard towers 30 feet in diameter. (thanks wiki)

This view shows it overlooking the town that has grown around its base.

scanned from a slide

s_lush, alftrek has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kschanna (6) 2008-11-20 22:30

Hi Steve

A bit of a minamilist composition with exceptional details. There seeme to be a bit of a blue cast on the image, or maybe its my eyes.

Thank for sharing
Kamran

skippy007 (12510) 2008-11-22 3:50

Hi Steve, A great deal of history you have captured here, looking at this image, reading your note & my interest in the Knights Templar has prompted me to do some research & I find that these two groups existed at the same time. Interesting. Good reproduction & certainly worth posting.
Cheers
Santo

alftrek (3270) 2008-11-24 6:13

Hello Steve

Looking at your photos feels like traveling from one country/continent to another, Indonesia, Australia, Tanzania, India, Pakistan, Syria and many others posted well before I joined TE. I wonder what took you to so many countries.

This photo seems to portray a strong symbolism of hierachy, in which the scattered dwellings below appear like subjects to the much larger castle. You have taken it with good lighting and exposure. The large proportion of blue sky in this composition helps to accentuate the prominence and height of the mountain.

Cheers
Alfred