Safita

Safita (Arabic: صا فيتا‎ Ṣāfītā) is a city in northwestern Syria, located to the southeast of Tartous and to the northwest of Krak des Chevaliers. The city has a population of 33,000. It's situated atop three hills and the valleys between them, in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range. Safita grew prominent during the Crusades, and was inhabited by the Knights Templar of the castle Chastel Blanc, while a part of the County of Tripoli. The city has been inhabited since the times of the Phoenicians, and several archaeological discoveries have been made, including Phoenician and Canaanite settlements. In 1102, Raymond IV of Toulouse began to take the land of the Banu Ammars Emirs of Tripoli. A four-year siege on Tripoli resulted in full...