Crac de Chevaliers, Homs

Crac de Chevaliers is simply the best castle in the world - I think - I havn’t seen them all - but in this I am agreeing with T.E. Lawrance who said it was “perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world”. I think he said something more poetic about it as well, something about it being the stuff of childrens fairy tales - but I can’t find that one with a quick google search and I’m not going through Seven Pillars.
Everything about it is amazing. Just the adventure to get there on dodgy busses from Alleppo was exciting enough. I’m a “never pay for a tour if you can possibly avoid it” kind of traveller, so I was out there straining my Arabic and backside on the local transport.
It appears on top of a hill amidst barren undeveloped land, similar I guess to how it has looked for a thousand years.
Those crusaders must have really known their stuff because it sitll looks remarkably intact, especially being in an area hardly renound for its political stability or economic success.
The entrance fee is discounted 90% if you can prove you are a student. (They are rightly suspicious of dodgy student cards although I’m embarressed to admit mine worked)
The two well meaning guards that allow entrance to the castle were the only staff I saw in the entire complex. Coming from the west where every single hystorical monument of any significance is fenced off, guarded, restricted, put behind glass and covered with so many signs as to be invisible; the Crac de Chevaliers was actually a little scary. Maybe there were were people watching behind the scenes but it felt like you could go anywhere here and do anything. My mate and I spent hours just running around and exploring - pretending we were knights, trying to find secret passages. Amongst the many dangers were crumbling roofs and a moat that was not only full of water but absoloutly crawling with snakes and frogs.
I think there was one sign in the place - somewhere in the middle and I didn’t read it.
Obviously a bit of interpretion is what most people expect when visiting a world heritage cultural site - and money will need to be spent if this place is to be preserved - but what a joy to explore one of the wonders of the world without having to be silent, respectful, stand in line, pay lots of money, listen to a boring talk or otherwise behave like stuffy old adults.