|
 
(550m - 80km from Beirut)
Chqif is the Syriac word for Beaufort (Belfort) Castle which means High
Rock. At first sight, the fortress seems inaccessible, but it can be easily
reached from the village of Arnoun. In front of it,
the visitor will see a large water cistern and the ruins of an ancient
village contemporary with the citadel. There is no direct evidence of
the building date or the builder of this castle. According to William
of Tyre, it was erected by the crusaders, but some scholars are of the
opinion that it is older. It has been suggested that the monument was
already standing when the crusaders arrived.
The fortress lies on a 700 meter high rocky hilltop. Its plan had to
follow the relief and topography of the site and resulted in a
quasi-rectangular shape. To the east, it overlooks the 300 meter deep Litani River Valley. On the other three sides, it is surrounded by a
moat. In spite of its very bad state of preservation, some of its
elements are still standing and are easy to identify.
|
