Midlist Writer: Military History Photo Friday: Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle, Palmyra, Syria

Friday 29 May 2015

Military History Photo Friday: Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle, Palmyra, Syria

Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle, photo courtesy the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World.

This imposing castle is called the Qalat ibn Maan and overlooks the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. I visited way back in 1994 and just wrote about my experiences for Black Gate, reflecting on what's going to happen to the site now that ISIS has taken it over.

I have clear memories of this castle. As you can see from the top photo, there's a steep climb to get up there. I remember huffing and puffing in the desert sun to make it to the base of the wall, only to spot the other side, which you can see in the below photo. There was a road leading right up to it I could have walked on and saved myself the trouble!

As it was, I was stuck on a narrow ledge running around the base of the wall. As I inched my way around, a Syrian family strolling up the road gave me a friendly wave.

After making a fool of myself, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the castle and mounting one of the towers for a sweeping view of the oasis, the ancient site, and the surrounding desert. The castle was built around 1230 to protect this important caravan stop between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. Nowadays Palmyria is still strategically important. It was the scene of fierce fighting over the last few years between government forces and rebels, and just a couple of weeks ago ISIS swept in from the east and took it over. Reports indicate the castle has been battered by RPG, artillery, and small arms fire.

It's still standing, though, and now bears scars from another tumultuous era of the history of the Middle East.

Another view of the castle, courtesy Jerzy Strzelecki via Wikimedia Commons.

2 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...: You just wanted a challenge!
I assume it's on rock, but it looks like it's sitting atop a sand dune.; 29 May 2015 at 06:43
Sean McLachlan said...: Alex: It's craggy rock that catches the sand from the surrounding desert. Palmyra is an oasis in the middle of a big stretch of nothing. Not even many Bedouin hang out in this desert.; 30 May 2015 at 05:20

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The Case of the Purloined Pyramid

The Last Hotel Room

He came to Tangier to die, but life isn’t done with him yet. Tom Miller has lost his job, his wife, and his dreams. Broke and alone, he ends up in a flophouse in Morocco, ready to end it all. But soon he finds himself tangled in a web of danger and duty as he’s pulled into scamming tourists for a crooked cop while trying to help a Syrian refugee boy survive life on the streets. Can a lifelong loser do something good for a change? A portion of my royalties will go to a charity for Syrian refugees.

Warpath into Sonora

Arizona 1846: Nantan, a young Apache warrior, is building a name for himself by leading raids against Mexican ranches to impress his war chief, and the chief’s lovely daughter. But there is one thing he and all other Apaches fear—a ruthless band of Mexican scalp hunters who slaughter entire villages. Nantan and his friends have sworn to fight back, but they are inexperienced, and led by a war chief driven mad with a thirst for revenge. Can they track their tribe’s worst enemy into unknown territory and defeat them?

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2)

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?