This text is for questions 17 to 20.

    "It is the Camelot of your dreams-the castle of every fairy tale." So said the 20th-century British travel writer H. V. Morton of the mighty Krak des Chevaliers, which sits majestically high above the rolling plains of western Syria. This monumental castle, built by Crusaders in the 12 th century, has often been likened to a ship, its prow nosing out high above a fertile expanse of vineyards, olive groves, farms, and villages.

    The castle was expertly positioned atop a rocky spur that dominates the Horns Gap, the only break in the long chain of mountains that runs parallel to the coast from southern Turkey into northern Israel. It thus dominated access routes between the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian interior, as well as the north-south passage between Damascus and Aleppo-lending it a strategic importance that remains as clear today as it did 900 years ago.

    The name Krak des Chevaliers, a mixture of Arabic and French, means "Fortress of the Knights." In 1144, the local Crusader lord, Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, handed control of what was then a small, simple fortress to the Knights Hospitallers-a religious order that took on military duties in the Crusader realms (as did its contemporary, the Knights Templar). The knights expanded the castle and added a 9-ft (3-m) thick encircling outer wall studded with towers to create a virtually impregnable ring of defenses, making it the Holy Land's largest and most sophisticated stronghold.

    Today, you cross the moat and climb a dark, twisting passage through to the inner courtyard, which contains a beautiful Gothic cloister and grand hall, complete with its original vaulting. Explore the Crusader kitchens andstorerooms, the austere 12 th-century chapel, the ramparts, and the Grand Master's apartments in the highest tower, which have elegant Gothic windows offering commanding views. You're likely to have the castle all to yourself

    Krak des Chevaliers was eventually taken by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars in 1271 . Around this time, Prince Edward of England was in the Holy Land as part of the Ninth Crusade and visited the castle. He. returned home in 1272 and, as King Edward I, set about conquering Wales: the castles he built at Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Harlech, and elsewhere-with their concentric rings of defenses-were all modeled on the Syrian original.

Adopted from: Anonymous, Off the Tourist Trail 1,000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives, London, Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2009

What does the castle look like?