The third- largest city in Syria, Homs is known for its industry
and is the site of Syria's first oil refinery. Of historical
interest is the mausoleum of Khaled Ibn al – Walid
Crac des Chevaliers
65 km (40 miles) outside Homs, a
Crac des chevalier is the most famous crusader castle in the world.
A stronghold of the Hospitallers during the days of the Latin
kingdom of Jerusalem (1100-1290) it maintained a garrison of a
couple of thousand soldiers in peacetime.
The castle, rising from an altitude of 670 m (2200ft)
was protected by watch-towers and supplied with food from the
surrounding fertile countryside. The crusader castles of Salaheddin,
near Lattakia and Markab, near Banyas, also merit a visit
