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Show Ha The Salt Lake Tribune TRAVEL Sunday, December 26, 1999 WHERE ARE YOU? Crusader Castle: Centerpiece of Syrian Tourism BY DONNA BRYSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AHLWASH, Syria — From a distance, the Crac des Chevaliers looks ephemeral white, brooding like winter clouds over the olive orchards of west-central Syria. The colors change to Tuscany pinkup close, and the towers and battlements lose that fairy-tale magic and take on the force of ‘Mark Humphrey/The Associated Press history. The Crusadercastle stands out even in a country crowded with monuments stretching back thousandsof years. After visiting it during a sum- Where Music Bloomed meroff from Oxford in 1909, T-E. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is a notable honky-tonk wherefuture country-music stars Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, amongothers, came to play and make a namefor themselves. Lawrence called it “perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world.” Nine years later, “Lawrence of Arabia” returned to Syria at the headof an Arabrevolt against the But whereis it? Hint: Robert Altman directed film by the same name.Still clueless? The answeris in the map, below. While youareat it, namethat state. (See answers on H-5). £1986, The H.M. Gousha Co. Turks. Decades after Lawrence, tourists exploring the Cracstill find it “T come from Britain, where there are a lot of Norman castles, but this is the biggest and the best,” says Elaine Smith, carefully picking her way over paving stones worn by the centuries. Tourism officials say that every year as many as 130,000 visitors Map courtesy the H.M. Gousha Co. Getting Lost: down a creek drainage into a When Nature TurnsSinister to take compass sightings on certain topographical features and, in combination with the map, determineourposition. There were lifted somewhat and we skied clearing. From there we wereable @ Continued from H-1 some doubtful moments, but in time wefound the road and skied out to the car, exhausted butrelieved. Let's be honest: We were writes tracker and author Hannah Nyala in her book Point Last Seen, practically moved to tears when the enginefired. “but it is quite often nothing of the sort. Two steps off the trail for was responsible for our welfare ButI also felt embarrassed. I cometo the Crac,located about 80 miles north of Damascus. Tancred,prince of Antioch, ar- rived at the head of a Crusader force in 1110to find a small Kurdish fort standing on a volcanic ridge in the only gap in a moun- tain range that runs from Turkey to Lebanon. The Crusaders took over and began a renovation and construction project that lasted 160 years, the final structure reflecting an architectural mix of Europe and Asia. Local black basalt forms the foundation. Pink and white lime- whateverreason . . . and youcan and mycarelessnesshadcost us a be as lost as if somebody had dropped you 50 miles from the risked considerably more. The long, cold night in the open and stone was draggedfrom village 3 miles away for muchoftherest of the complex, a rough rectangle of temptation, ofcourse,is to laughit off in the retelling, to say to yard-thick walls spread over three confused.” But deep down I know Ancient scribes compared the Cracto a white pigeon perched on nearestbuilding ~ If the process is simple, it is also common. In every season, across the country, newspapers are peppered with stories of people missing in the wilderness. In October, a search was called off after failing to find a 3-year-old boy who becameseparated from his group on a day hike near the Cache La Poudre River in Colorado. In July, a group of tourists wereairlifted from a box canyon onAlaska’s BaranofIsland after they becamedisoriented. In May, aman becamelost on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. He was rescued after alerting a passing helicopter by waving metal pans overhis head. In the mostbizarrecase in recent memory, a man claiming to be lost in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, N.M., stabbed his companion to death. The two were dehydrated and desperate, he says, and did not expect to be res- cued. The act, he says, was a mercykilling. Thereis something almost biblical about getting lost, something that taps into some dread we have of the wild. You may seek the idyllic in the outdoors, but when you'relost, the indifference of nature can suddenly seem sinister.It is no mistakethat twoofthe scar: iest movies — “Deliverance” and “Blair Witch Project” —are setin the woods. Take the occult out of the latter and youstill have a scary movie — one simply about beinglost in the wilderness. Backbelowtree line that night on MountSt. Helens, the world was thoroughly unfamiliar, yielding no clues as to our whereabouts. After hours of searching wefinally had to admit it: We were lost. What was supposed to be an enjoyable two-day outing had suddenly becomean epic, an experiencethat, if you live through it, will be indelibly stamped in your memory. For shelter that night on the mountain, we dug a snow cave with a cooking pot and used our packs as cushions to keep our butts off the snow. After an interminable time spent tinkering with the stove, we madehottea to fill our water bottles. We drank from the bottles but also used them as radiators, tucking them into our jackets for warmth, The down would act as an insulator, trapping the heat and keeping our core temperatures stable. friends,‘I wasn’tlost, just a little thatif the stove hadfailed to work, if we had left behind our down jackets for whatever reason, the situation could have becometruly dire. Thelesson, then, is to pay attention; pay attention and be prepared. Backcountry travel requires planning. Start by leaving youritinerary with someone you trust. “Think ofit as a flight plan,” says Jim Unruh, chief ranger at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. “Lay out your destinations and your schedule, and thenstick to it.” Don’t assumethat signingin to a trail register is an assurance of rescue. Thea Nordling, chief naturalist at Capitol Reef, points out: “Since we don't ask people to sign out, we have no way of keeping track of everyonein the park. We mayinitiate a search if a car has been at a trailhead for days on end,butfriends and family are the most likely way that we would find out you're missing.” Always carry a map and compass, and know howto use them. Asfor the latest technology, be aware ofits limitations. Ken Phillips, search and rescue coordinator at Grand Canyon National Parkin Arizona,stressesthatcell Phones have saved lives, but they're generally useless in canyonsor even beneath forest canopies. Don't carry one in lieu of other essentials. Likewise, GPS systemsoperatebestin wide open areas where reception is unhindered, And with any electronic instruments, bear in mind that batteries tendtofalter in extreme cold. Last, if you do become lost, don’t panic. Mary Hinson, a search and rescue coordinator at Yosemite National Park in California, recommendsthree strategies for lost people: One, try to re- trace your steps back to the last place that was familiar;thatis, the place where youfirst became lost. Two, try to get to an open area a black stone. It kaleidoscopes from white to pink to gray depending on the light and the viewer's perspective. Tourism officials have provided no explanatory signs, or even much inthewayoflighting. While some mightfind thatfrustrating, the romanticwill see it as license tolet the imagination take over. Entering from the gloom ofthe main passage into the brightness of the inner keep,it’s almost possible to see the Crac bustling with the 4,000 soldiers and 400 mounted knights from England, France, Germany andItaly who heldit eight centuries ago. Medieval prayers must have reverberated in the castle chapel with something of the highminded fervorthatled the knights to inscribe their meeting hall with the Latin motto:“If grace, wisdom and beauty are givento you, pride alone can tarnish all these qualities.” Rain stored in 21 cisterns kept the castle’s knights, soldiers and slaves alive. They ground wheat with a windmill built in one of the 18 towers, and baked it in roomsized ovens. The sweet steam of bread must have mingled with the stench of horses andfighting men — water was precious, and the only sign of sanitary facilities are Fred Glick/The Associated Press Tourists explore the Crac des Chevaliers in Ahlwash, Syria. The castle stands out even in a country crowded with monumentsstretching back thousandsof years. T.E. Lawrence called it “perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world” aftervisiting it in summerof 1909. failed. In 1188, the great warrior Saladin decidednotto try, passing the Crac by on the way to conquestsfurther north. Finally, an Egyptian, the Mameluke Sultan Baibars, arrived in 1271. “He didn’t capture this castle by fighting,” says Walid Murad, a Tourism Ministry official as- signed to the Crac. “He made a siege — some say one and a half months, some say two.” Starved, the Christians surrendered, and Baibars allowed them to live — provided they leave Muslim lands. The sultan then added his own touches to the castle’s Euro-Arab appearance, adding a pulpit facing Mecca in the chapel, and inscribing a blessing from the Koran over the entrance along with the flourish of his full name: Al-Malek as-Zaher Rukh ad-Dunya wad-Din Abu al-Fath Baibars. rowsofstone-walled latrines. With two moats and two walls protecting the inner citadel, the Under the Arabs, the Crac, known in Arabic as Qalaat al- Crac was impregnable. At its peak, the men of the Knights Hospitalers, dedicated to making the and an important garrison. Over Holy Land safe for Christians, foughtoff assailants with arrows, boiling oil and catapult stones. A few basalt samestones remainin the entry pas: sage, ready to be hurled against the enemy. A series of earthquakes from 1110 and 1200 shook but did not topple the Crac, The sultan of Damascusattacked in 1163 and Hosn — Castle of the Knights — becametheseatof the vice sultan the centuries,it graduallyfell into ciate, andlocal villagers moved iy played here when I was a child,” says Murad, whose squatter parents were born in the Crac. By the time Murad was born, French colonial officials had moved his family and other squatters to nearby towns. The French declared the Crac their own national treasure, though where you can be seen from the air. And three, failingall else, stay put. “If you're hopelessly lost,” she says, “stay where you are. By stumbling around aimlessly, you're only expending precious energy and risking injury. You're better off staying where you are In the morning the weather had towers and Gothic arches and 3- hectares. AMIGO RAVEL-801-352:2025 roe Soin 1-877-GEYSERS (439-7377) Gy i leaving home. From Damascus, government-owned Karnak Toursruns buses to Crac, orpublic buses can be taken to the town of Homs, where anotherbusor taxi can be taken the 37 miles westto the Crac. Europcar in Damascus rents self-drive cars for a minimumofthree days,so it may be more practical to take a chauffeured rental car for about $110 for the day. The Crac is about 80 miles north of Damascus on a hilltop overlooking the village of Ahlwas! Lodging: Several hotels are springing up around the Crac as the government and private entrepreneurs work to strengthen tourism in Syria. Visitors may prefer to stay in Damascus, taking day trips from there to the Crac and othersites, local children continued to see it as a fairy tale-come-to-life playground. Since independence in 1946, capital’s grand Frenchrailway station. The Orient, built in 1928, offers remnants of Art Deco charm along with clean and basic doubles with breakfast for $38. Exploring the Crac: The castle is open every day but Tuesdays and public holidays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.in the winter and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the summer. The entrance fee for foreigners is 300 Syrian pounds, about$6.50. A guide or a guidebookis suggested, as no explanatory signs are pro- vided in the castle. Guide fees are negotiable — aim for 500 pounds. The gift shop near the entrance sells a brochure for 200 pounds that includes a bit of the castle’s history and a do-it-yourself tour. Information: Go to the "8 Ministry of Web site: www.syriatourism.org. Syrian antiquities and tourism ‘ials have cared for the castle as a monumentto their own com plex national history. 414.7 AIRLINE T £2. ras he eC WAY TO TRAVEL Double ride rates start at $122 quad. oce. Single ride rates start at $153 quad. oce. Full Service Restaurant in the Hotel! carriers do. Most foreigners will need to get visas before night. 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