Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

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I was soooo happy when I got Uncharted 3 for $30 on Black Friday. I saved myself $30 on a new game which had just come out, you see. Plus, this game promised me an adventure in the Arabian desert to boot.

We headed to a medieval castle in France, which pointed to a Crusader castle in Syria reminiscent of one of my bucket list destinations -  Krak des Chevaliers, the stronghold of the Knights Hospitaller. A couple of ordinary puzzles later and we're off to the Rub' Al Khali - literally the 'empty quarter' of the Saudi Arabian peninsula. (NOT on my bucket list. I saw the edge of that desert when I lived in the UAE. Close enough for me, thank you very much.)

Sand, sand, more shifting sand, and, oh yeah, the forgotten city of Ubar/Iram of the Pillars/Lawrence of Arabia's Atlantis of the Sands. (Lots of names for this place, apparently.) Since interesting mythologies and creature creations usually come with every Uncharted, I was excited to see what they would do with the djinn.

The big reveal?

It was a brass jar, supposedly with a djinn in it, sealed away centuries before by King Solomon himself. A brass jar? Aren't we going to OPEN it? Nope. Not this time. No curse of somebody or other to mutate the Spaniards (Uncharted One), or blue dudes that inhaled too much resin (Uncharted Two).

This time, Drake merely hallucinates an attack by a few enemies who have been turned into fiery guys - and then Sully wakes him up. I was especially disappointed because, as you know, anything to do with djinn is of interest to me.

So I'm off to play the new Assassin's Creed. It's set in Istanbul, remember? I hope it's not as disappointing.

Krak des Chevaliers

Image via WikipediaTurkey is an awesome place to live if you think castles are cool. The Knights Hospitaller (more on them later) and other crusaders sprinkled the Mediterranean coast with them in various shapes and sizes. There are so many that after a while, you think you've seen enough and they even fade to the background.  Don't make the same mistake I did - drag yourself into every one you come across! I missed some interesting things. (Granted, I was very tired and climbing around ruins is exhausting. I opted for the beach.)

For this week's field trip, we'll go farther along the pilgrimage route into Syria, near the border of Lebanon. There's no chance of missing the main base of the Knights Hospitaller, Krak des Chevaliers, there. The fortress is one of the most important preserved military castles in the world. 

Never heard of it, right? Me neither, until I started researching. (It was my wallpaper for a while because just looking at the impressive structure inspires me.) The castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and if it weren't for the location, I think it would be mobbed with tourists.

Krak des Chevaliers is the largest crusader castle in the Holy Land.  When the original inner castle was given to the Knights Hospitaller in 1142, they expanded it into a concentric castle.  The outer walls are at least 10 feet thick, even up to 100 feet thick at the base of the south side.  Numerous guard towers are as wide as 30 feet.

The Knights also built a gothic-style inner ward, along with stables for 1,000 horses and quarters for 2,000 soldiers.  Not only is the fortress strong, there is storage dug into the cliff underneath it.  That strategic planning meant the castle could withstand seige for up to 5 years. It was never taken by force, only through trickery and finally, because of the decline of the Knights' importance.

Other castles were built to emulate the style of Krak des Chevaliers, but none as large or effective.

Impenetrable castle + Crusader knights = Chapter 11!


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• History today: Syria & Lebanon (audleytravel.com)

Watch this video clip for an idea of the scale.