Belvoir Fortress

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Belvoir Fortress was built by the Order of Hospitallers on land they’d purchased from a French nobleman in 1168 to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem from Muslim invasion. The massive fortress proved a challenge to overcome, and only fell in 1189 after being besieged for a year-and-a-half. Under Ottoman rule, the site was transformed into an Arab village, which was in turn demolished when Israel began renovating the castle in the 1960s. Belvoir’s excavation and restoration proved invaluable to the study of Crusader castles in Israel, standing as an early example of a concentric castle rather than the simple fort it was assumed to have been. Today, the impressive ruins high above the Jordan Valley stand as an imposing and influential reminder of medieval military architecture. Walking along the well-fortified ramparts, it’s easy to see why it took a long siege to conquer.