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Derbent

Derbent (Дербе́нт; Кьвевар, Цал; Дәрбәнд; Дербенд), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second-most important city of Dagestan. Derbent occupies the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian Steppe to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south; covering an area of 69.63 km2, with a population of roughly 120,000 residents.

Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia, with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BC, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, and Shirvan kingdoms. In the 19th century, the city passed from Persian into Russian hands by the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813.

Etymology
Derbent is derived from Persian "Darband" (, from dar "door/gate" + band "barrier/dam", lit., "gate in the barrier" ), referring to the eastern-most pass in the high Caucasus Mountains (whence the putative "barrier/dam") on the beaches of the Caspian Sea. (The other pass, the Darial Pass, is in the Central Caucasus Mountains, and likewise carries a Persian name, standing for "the Alan Pass/gate" – with the Alans being the modern Iranic Ossetians.)

It is often identified with the Gates of Alexander, a legendary barrier supposedly built by Alexander the Great in the Caucasus. The Persian name for the city came into use at the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century AD, when the city was re-established by Kavadh I of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia, but Derbent was probably already in the Sasanian sphere of influence as a result of the victory over the Parthians and the conquest of Caucasian Albania by Shapur I, the second shah of the Sassanid Persians. The geographical treatise Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr written in Middle Persian mentions the old name of the fortress – Wērōy-pahr (The Georgian Guard): šahrestan [ī] kūmīs [ī] panj-burg až-i dahāg pad šabestān kard. māniš [ī] *pārsīgān ānōh būd. padxwadayīh [ī] yazdgird ī šabuhrān kard andar tāzišn ī čōl wērōy-pahr [ī] an ālag. (The city of Kūmīs of five towers Aži Dahag made it his own harem. The abode of the Parthians was there. In the reign of Yazdgird, the son of Šabuhr made it during the invasion of the Čōl, at the boundary of the Georgian Guard.). -Wėrōy-pahr: "The Georgian Guard" The old name of the fortress at Darband;... In Arabic texts the city was known as "Bāb al-Abwāb" (بَاب ٱلْأَبْوَاب), simply as "al-Bāb" (ٱلْبَاب) or as "Bāb al-Hadid" (بَاب ٱلْحَدِيد). A similar name meaning "Iron Gate" was used by Turkic peoples, in the form "Demirkapi".

History
Derbent's location on a narrow, three-kilometer strip of land in the North Caucasus between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus mountains is strategic in the entire Caucasus region. Historically, this position allowed the rulers of Derbent to control land traffic between the Eurasian Steppe and the Middle East. The only other practicable crossing of the Caucasus ridge was over the Darial Gorge.

Persian rule
A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC; the site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and is traditionally identified with Albana, the capital. The modern name is a Persian word (دربند Darband) meaning "gateway", which came into use in the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century AD, when the city was re-established by Kavadh I of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia, however, Derbent was probably already into the Sasanian sphere of influence as a result of the victory over the Parthians and the conquest of Caucasian Albania by Shapur I, the second shah of the Sassanid Persians. In the 5th century Derbent also functioned as a border fortress and the seat of a Sassanid marzban.

The 20 m walls with thirty north-looking towers are believed to belong to the time of Kavadh's son, Khosrau I, who also directed the construction of Derbent's fortress.

Some say that the level of the Caspian was formerly higher and that the lowering of the water level opened an invasion route that had to be fortified. The chronicler Movses Kaghankatvatsi wrote about "the wondrous walls, for whose construction the Persian kings exhausted our country, recruiting architects and collecting building materials with a view of constructing a great edifice stretching between the Caucasus Mountains and the Great Eastern Sea". Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid Empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

During periods when the Sasanians were distracted by war with the Byzantines or protracted battles with the Hephthalites in the eastern provinces, the northern tribes succeeded in advancing into the Caucasus. The first Sasanian attempt to seal off the road along the Caspian seacoast at Darband by means of a mud-brick wall has been dated in the reign of Yazdegerd II (438–457 AD).

Movses Kagankatvatsi left a graphic description of the sack of Derbent by the hordes of Tong Yabghu of the Western Turkic Khaganate in 627. His successor,

As mentioned by the Encyclopedia Iranica, ancient Iranian language elements were absorbed into the everyday speech of the population of Dagestan and Derbent especially during the Sassanian era, and many remain current. In fact, a deliberate policy of “Persianizing” Derbent and the eastern Caucasus, in general, can be traced over many centuries, from Khosrow I to the Safavid shahs Ismail I, and ʿAbbās the Great. According to the account in the later "Darband-nāma", after construction of the fortifications Khosrow I “moved much folk here from Persia”, relocating about 3,000 families from the interior of Persia in the city of Derbent and neighboring villages. This account seems to be corroborated by the Spanish Arab Ḥamīd Moḥammad Ḡarnāṭī, who reported in 1130 that Derbent was populated by many ethnic groups, including a large Persian-speaking population.

Arab conquest
In 643, Derbent was captured by the Arab Muslims, who called it the Gate of Gates (Bab al-Abwab), following their invasion of Persia. They transformed it into an important administrative center and introduced Islam to the area. The impression of antiquity evoked by these fortifications led many Arab historians to connect them with Khosrow I and to include them among the seven wonders of the world. The Darband fortress was certainly the most prominent Sasanian defensive construction in the Caucasus and could have been erected only by an extremely powerful central government. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. The Sassanids had also brought Armenians from Syunik to help protect the pass from invaders; as Arab rule weakened in the region at the end of the ninth century, the Armenians living there were able to establish a kingdom, which lasted until the early years of the thirteenth century. The Holy Saviour Armenian Church still rises up in the skyline, though it is used as the Museum of Carpet, Arts and Crafts today due to the decline in the Armenian population. There was also a second Armenian church and two Armenian schools which served the Armenian community, which numbered about 3,000 in the census of 1913.

Excavations on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea, opposite to Derbent, revealed the Great Wall of Gorgan, the eastern counterpart to the wall and fortifications of Derbent. Similar Sassanian defensive fortifications there—massive forts, garrison towns, long walls—also run from the sea to the mountains.

The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lived in Derbent and brought it into great repute as a seat of the arts and commerce. According to Arab historians, Derbent, with a population exceeding 50,000, was the largest city of the 9th century in the Caucasus. In the 10th century, with the collapse of the Arab Caliphate, Derbent became the capital of an emirate. Emirate of Derbent often fought losing wars with the neighboring Christian state of Sarir, allowing Sarir to manipulate Derbent's politics on occasion. Despite that, the emirate outlived its rival and continued to flourish at the time of the Mongol invasion in 1239. In the 14th century, Derbent was occupied by Timur's armies.

Shirvanshah era
The Shirvanshahs dynasty existed as independent or a vassal state, from 861 until 1538; longer than any other dynasty in the Islamic world. They were renowned for their cultural achievements and geopolitical pursuits. The rulers of Shirvan, called the Shirvanshahs, had attempted, and on numerous times, succeeded, to conquer Derbend since the 18th Shirvanshah king, Afridun I, was appointed as the governor of the city. Over the centuries the city changed hands often. The 21st Shirvanshah king, Akhsitan I, briefly reconquered the city. However, the city was lost once again to the northern Kipchaks.

After the Timurid invasion, Ibrahim I of Shirvan, the 33rd Shirvanshah, managed to keep the kingdom of Shirvan independent. Ibrahim I revived Shirvan's fortunes, and through his cunning politics managed to continue without paying tribute. Furthermore, Ibrahim also greatly increased the limits of his state. He conquered the city of Derbend in 1437. The Shirvanshahs integrated the city so closely with their political structure that a new branch of the Shirvan dynasty emerged from Derbend, the Derbenid dynasty. The Derbenid dynasty, being a cadet dynasty of Shirvan, inherited the throne of Shirvan in the 15th century.

In the early 16th century, the kingdom of Shirvan was conquered by Shah Ismail of the Safavid dynasty. As Shah Ismail incorporated all the Shirvan possessions, he also inherited Derbend.

Russian conquest
Derbent stayed under Iranian rule, while occasionally briefly taken by the Ottoman Turks such as in 1583 after the Battle of Torches and the Treaty of Constantinople, till the course of the 19th century, when the Russians occupied the city and wider Iranian-ruled swaths of Dagestan.

Being briefly taken by the Russians as a result of the Persian expedition of 1722–23 by Peter the Great, the 1735 Treaty of Ganja, formed by Imperial Russia and Safavid Iran (de facto ruled by Nader Shah), forced Russia to return Derbent and its bastion to Iran. In 1747, Derbent became the capital of the Derbent Khanate of the same name.

During the Persian Expedition of 1796, Derbent was stormed by Russian forces under General Valerian Zubov, but the Russians were forced to retreat due to internal political issues, making it fall under Persian rule again. As a consequence of the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and the resulting Treaty of Gulistan of 1813, Derbent and wider Dagestan were ceded by Qajar Iran to the Russian Empire. (For background, see Russian conquest of the Caucasus.)

In the 1886 census of Dagestan Oblast, as part of Russia's Caucasus Viceroyalty, people of Iranian descent (персы) were still an absolute majority at 8,994 out of 15,265, or 58,9%.

Geography
The modern city is built in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe; near the western shores of the Caspian Sea, south of the Rubas River, on the slopes of the Tabasaran Mountains (part of the Bigger Caucasus range). Derbent is well served by public transport, with its own harbor, a railway going south to Baku, and the Baku to Rostov-on-Don road.

To the north of the town is the monument of the Kirk-lar, or forty heroes, who fell defending Dagestan against the Arabs in 728. To the south lies the seaward extremity of the Caucasian wall (fifty metres long), otherwise known as Alexander's Wall, blocking the narrow pass of the Iron Gate or Caspian Gates (Portae Athanae or Portae Caspiae). When intact, the wall had a height of 29 ft and a thickness of about 10 ft and, with its iron gates and numerous watch-towers, defended Persia's frontier.

Climate
Derbent has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk).

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Derbent serves as the administrative center of Derbentsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the City of Derbent—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the City of Derbent is incorporated as Derbent Urban Okrug.

Demographics
According to the 1897 census, Derbent had 14,649 inhabitants, 9,767 of whom were Tatar (later known as Azerbaijani) speakers (66.7%) and 1,004 were Russian speakers (6.9%).

In 1916, Derbent had a population of 31,168 consisting of 7,919 Shia Muslims (25.4%), 7,567 Russians (24.3%), 6,879 Jews (22.1%), 5,138 Caucasian highlanders (16.5%), 2,604 Armenians (8.4%), and 1,061 Sunni Muslims (3.4%).

According to the 2021 Census, the main ethnic groups in the city are:
 * Lezgins (36.4%)
 * Azerbaijanis (35.1%)
 * Tabasarans (12.2%)
 * Dargins (5.0%)
 * Russians (3.0%)
 * Aghuls (3.0%)
 * Rutuls (0.8%)

Jewish community
Jews began to settle in Derbent in ancient times. During the Khazars' reign, they played an important part in the life of the city. The Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela mentions Jews living in Derbent in the 12th century, and Christian traveler Wilhelm of Rubruquis writes about a Jewish community in the 13th century. The first mention of Jews in Derbent in modern times is by a German traveler, Adam Olearius, in the 17th century.

Derbent's Jewry suffered during the wars in the 18th century. Nadir Shah of Persia forced many Jews to adopt Islam. After the Russian conquest, many Jews of rural Dagestan fled to Derbent, which became the spiritual center of the Mountain Jews. The Jewish population numbered 2,200 in 1897 (15% of total population) and 3,500 in 1903. In the middle of the 20th century, Jews constituted about a third of the population of Derbent. In 1989, there were 13,000 Jews in the city, but most emigrated after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 2002, there were 2,000 Jews with an active synagogue and community center. The chief rabbi of Derbent, Obadiah Isakov, was badly injured in an assassination attempt on July 25, 2013, sparking concerns of further acts of antisemitism targeting the Jewish community. In 2016, the Jewish population was down to 1,345. In the 2024 Dagestan attacks, a synagogue in Derbent was set on fire by armed gunmen, possibly affiliated with ISIS.

Economy and culture
The city is home to machine building, food, textile, fishing, and fishery supplies, construction materials, and wood industries. It is the center of Russian brandy production. The educational infrastructure includes a university as well as several technical schools. On the cultural front, there is a Lezgin drama theater (named after S. Stalsky). About two kilometers (2 km) from the city is the vacation colony of Chayka (Seagull).

The Soviet novelist Yury Krymov named a fictional motor tanker after the city in his book The Tanker "Derbent".

Theaters
Derbent has 3 state and 1 municipal theaters.
 * State Azerbaijan Drama Theater
 * State Lezgin Music and Drama Theater named after S. Stalsky
 * State Tabasaran Drama Theater
 * Judeo-Tat Theatre

Citadel of Derbend
Derbent resembles a huge museum and has magnificent mountains and shore nearby, and therefore possesses much touristic potential, further increased by UNESCO's classification of the citadel, ancient city and fortress as a World Heritage Site in 2003; however, instability in the region has halted development.

The current fortification and walls were built by the Persian Sassanian Empire as a defensive structure against hostile nomadic people in the north, and continuously repaired or improved by later Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan, and Iranian kingdoms until the early course of the 19th century, as long as its military function lasted. The fortress was built under the direction of the Sassanid emperor Khosrow (Chosroes) I.

A large portion of the walls and several watchtowers still remain in reasonable shape. The walls, reaching to the sea, date from the 6th century, Sassanid dynasty period. The city has a well-preserved citadel (Narin-kala), enclosing an area of 4.5 ha, enclosed by strong walls. Historical attractions include the baths, the cisterns, the old cemeteries, the caravanserai, the 18th-century Khan's mausoleum, as well as several mosques.

Religious monuments
As of 1865, the city had: 1 - Russian and 1 - Armenian church; 1 - Sunni and 16 - Shiite mosques, as well as 3 synagogues.

Mosques

 * Juma Mosque is the oldest mosque in Russia and the CIS. Built over a 6th-century Christian basilica; it has a 15th-century madrasa.
 * Bala-mosque is a mosque at the gates of Orta-kapa. In 1796 it was destroyed during the siege of the city by General Zubov. Restored in 1812.
 * Kilis-mosque is a mosque. It is located in the 7th district. In 1823-1853 the mosque served as a church. Now it is called Tovba Mesjidi.
 * Kyrhlyar-mosque is a mosque at the gates of Kyrhlyar-kapa. Built in 1626-1627 by order of Shah Abbas. Another name is Shah Abbas Mesjidi. Rebuilt several times.
 * The Minaret-mosque is the only mosque in the city with a minaret. Construction dates back to the XIII-XIV centuries. Rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century. The minaret is 11.5 meters high.
 * Chertebe-mosque is a mosque in 1 mahal. Construction dates back to the 17th century. Rebuilt at the end of the 19th century. Completely demolished in the 1960s.

Churches

 * Armenian Church of the Holy All-Savior is an architectural monument of the XIX century. Built in 1860. After the completion of the overhaul and restoration work, in May 1982, a museum of fine arts (a branch of the republican museum of fine arts) was opened in it. The museum became part of the State Museum-Reserve as a department of "Carpets and arts and crafts".
 * Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin is an Orthodox church. Built in 1899, opened in 1900.
 * Cathedral of St. George the Victorious of Derbent was the main Russian Orthodox Church in the city of Derbent. Demolished in 1938.
 * Crossed-dome temple of Derbent is a temple of the 4-7 centuries. It is located in the northwestern part of the citadel Naryn-Kala.

Synagogues

 * The Derbent Synagogue is the only synagogue in the city. The center of the spiritual life of the Jews of Derbent. Built in 1914. In 2009 the synagogue building was reconstructed. It was reopened on March 22, 2010.
 * On June 23, 2024, terrorists burned the Jewish synagogue in Derbent.

Cemeteries

 * Kyrkhlyar is an old and revered cemetery established in the 7th century. It is the oldest active Muslim cemetery in Russia. The name means "the forty" and refers to the 40 companions of Muhammad who were killed there in 20 AH (640-641 CE) during the early Muslim expansion.

Lighthouse

 * Derbent Lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse in Russia. The lighthouse is included in the list of protected monuments of Russia and UNESCO.

Notable people

 * Shahriyar of Derbent (7th century), Sasanian commander
 * Yuno Semyonov (1899–1961), prose writer, playwright and artistic director
 * Boris Gavrilov (1908–1990), writer and poet
 * Mishi Bakhshiev (1910–1972), writer and poet
 * Daniil Atnilov (1913–1968), poet
 * Manuvakh Dadashev (1913–1943), poet
 * Sergey Izgiyayev (1922–1972), poet, playwright, and translator of Mountain Jewish descent
 * Tamara Musakhanov (1924—2014), sculptor and ceramist
 * Mikhail Gavrilov (1926–2014), writer and poet
 * Yagutil Mishiev (1927—2024), writer
 * Zoya Semenduev (1929–2020), poet
 * Mushail Mushailov (1941—2007), artist and teacher
 * Igor Yusufov (born 1956), politician
 * Bella Nisan (born ca.1957), ophthalmologist
 * Israel Tsvaygenbaum (born 1961), artist
 * Suleyman Kerimov (born 1966), businessman, investor, and politician
 * Sevil Novruzova (born ca.1977), lawyer

Twin towns – sister cities
Derbent is twinned with:
 * 🇦🇿 Ganja, Azerbaijan
 * 🇺🇸 Yakima, United States
 * 🇮🇱 Hadera, Israel
 * 🇷🇺 Kronstadt, Russia

title: Derbent


text:
Ted Allen

Edward Reese Allen (born May 20, 1965) is an American author and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the Bravo network's television program Queer Eye, and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series Chopped since its launch in 2009, as well as Chopped Junior, which began in mid-2015. On April 13, 2014, he became the host of another Food Network show, originally called America's Best Cook. A retooled version of that show, retitled All-Star Academy, debuted on March 1, 2015. In early 2015, he also hosted a four-part special, ''Best. Ever.'', which scoured America for its best burgers, pizza, breakfast, and barbecue. He is a longtime contributing writer to Esquire magazine, an author of two cookbooks, and regularly appears on the Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay and other television cooking shows.

Early life and education
Allen graduated from Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana in 1983 and was inducted into the school's Alumni Hall of Fame in 2011. He received a degree in psychology from Purdue University in 1987. Subsequently, he enrolled in Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of Management but left to accept a job as a copy editor at the Lafayette, Indiana, Journal & Courier.

He later returned to graduate school, earning an MA in journalism from the Science and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University. He then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a reporter for Lerner Newspapers, a chain of community weekly newspapers.

Career
Allen got his start in restaurant criticism there as one-quarter of a bi-weekly group-review team called "The Famished Four," along with Barry Rice, then the chain's entertainment editor (and now Allen's husband), who initiated the concept with Lerner food editor Leah A. Zeldes.

Allen then became a freelancer for Chicago magazine, eventually signing on as a senior editor and often writing about food, wine, and luminaries of the culinary world. He joined Esquire in 1997 as a contributing editor, where he wrote features, food pieces, and profiles and co-authored the magazine's popular "Things a Man Should Know" series. Allen wrote for Esquire for more than a decade and was nominated for a National Magazine Award for his 2007 story "This Man Survived Breast Cancer." He also has written for GQ, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and Epicurious.

Television
Allen gained great visibility in 2003 when he became a cast member of the television makeover series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, serving as its food and wine specialist. He continued to make television appearances as a gourmet, including as a frequent guest judge on Food Network's Iron Chef America. Allen hosted a six-part documentary, Uncorked: Wine Made Simple, on PBS starting May 7, 2007. Beginning June 13, 2007, Allen appeared as a regular judge on seasons 3 and 4 of Bravo's reality television program Top Chef, following several guest judge appearances during the previous two seasons. In 2008, he left Bravo when Food Network offered him the host job on two shows: Food Detectives, which debuted on July 29, 2008, and Chopped, which launched a 13-episode season on January 13, 2009. "Detectives" returned for a second season of 13 episodes, also in January 2009. "Chopped" was renewed for 26 episodes and went back into production in March 2009 in New York. The show took off with viewers and was renewed for another 33 episodes, which were shot in January and February 2010. Now one of the highest-rated prime-time shows on the network, as of May 2022, Chopped has shot some 850 episodes, and "Chopped Junior" has shot 100.

In an interview with the Food Network about his favorite moments on Chopped, Allen stated, "My favorite mystery basket ingredient remains the whole chicken in a can, not so much because I love the food, [but because] I love the sound it makes when it plops out of the can."

Since moving to the Food Network, Allen has made appearances on many of that channel's programs, including Beat Bobby Flay, Best Ever, Cutthroat Kitchen, multiple episodes of The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Dear Food Network, and The Next Food Network Star. On November 16, 2008, Allen returned to Iron Chef America as a co-floor reporter for the show's Thanksgiving special. Allen reprised the role as a co-floor reporter for the Thanksgiving special on November 20, 2011. On December 2, 2012, Allen served as a sous chef to Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and chef Robert Irvine in a special "Holiday Battle," pitting the Food Network stars against reps of the sister network Cooking Channel, Ben Sergeant, Nadia G, and Michael Symon. Morimoto's team won.

In 2011, Allen played a "celebrity chef" parody of himself on an episode of Onion News Network.

Books

 * Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Style (Riverhead Books, 1999) with Scott Omelianuk (ISBN 1573227633, ISBN 978-1-57322-763-6, OCLC 42310518)
 * Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Marriage (Riverhead Books, 2000) with Scott Omelianuk (ISBN 1573227773, ISBN 978-1-57322-777-3, OCLC 42462917)
 * Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Sex (Riverhead Books, 2001) with Scott Omelianuk
 * Esquire's Things A Man Should Know About Handshakes, White Lies and Which Fork Goes Where: Easy Business Etiquette for Complicated Times (Riverhead Books, 2001) with Scott Omelianuk (ISBN 1588160688, ISBN 978-1-58816-068-3)
 * Co-author, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better (Clarkson Potter, 2004) (ISBN 140005446X, ISBN 978-1-4000-5446-6, ISBN 1-4000-9784-3, ISBN 978-1-4000-9784-5)
 * The Food You Want To Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes (Clarkson Potter, 2005) (ISBN 1400080908, ISBN 978-1-4000-8090-8)
 * In My Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Discoveries for Passionate Cooks (Clarkson Potter 2012)

Personal life
Allen became engaged to Barry Rice in 2013 after being together for 20 years. They married the same year.

Awards
In May 2012, Allen received a James Beard Foundation Award for his work as the host of Chopped, and the show also won for best in-studio television program. In 2004, he won an Emmy Award along with the other cast members and producers of Queer Eye for "Outstanding Reality Program" from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The show was also nominated again for that category in 2005. In 2001, he was a finalist in the National Magazine Awards for an Esquire feature on the little-known phenomenon of male breast cancer. He later contributed to an Esquire food series that was a finalist in the National Magazine Award in 2003. In 2011, he received a Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign in San Francisco. He also holds two awards from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for Queer Eye, presented in 2004 and 2005.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Ted Allen


text:
Talk:Culture of Liechtenstein

Untitled
http://zeal.com/search/categories.jhtml?cid=&keyword=liechtenstein&scope=directory&domain=categories&catNum=50

lists a couple of dozen categories of website profiles on the country; someone should be able to expand the stub from that.

Best starter could be this: http://zeal.com/category/preview.jhtml?cid=560081

 * robinp 05:27, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Culture of Liechtenstein


text:
Talk:Krak des Chevaliers

Copyvio
I was going to move the text that was posted to the main article, but I just discovered it was a copyvio from anyway. At best it was only marginally relevant, so it doesn't really matter. Adam Bishop 05:27, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Description violates copyright?
The section 'Description of the Castle' seems to be copied directly from [], which is a copyrighted page. Shouldn't that section be removed, or at least rewritten?

 * You're right! I think that section was copied over from a duplicate article. It should be easy to incorporate it into the rest of the text without violating copyright. Thanks! Adam Bishop 15:21, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The Outer Wall
The article says that the outer wall of the castle was 30 meters thick. Is there a reference for that fact? It's hard to believe walls would be that thick, especially considering it was built before powerful cannons were used. Apol0gies 17:31, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * There must be something wrong with that. Looking at the plan in Hugh Kennedy's "Crusader Castles", I don't think it's 30 meters even with the halls behind the wall factored it. Choess 02:51, July 14, 2005 (UTC)

 * the german wikipedia mentions the 8 meters as the strongest part of the added defenses - i would guess the 30 meters refer to a length or height, not a thickness. Snottily 04:31, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Looking at the plans linked at the bottom of the page, it's obvious that the outer wall is nowhere near 30 meters (the article until I changed it said "100 feet"). I believe this is meant to refer to the inner wall, where it is conceivable that the curtain along the side facing the main gate could be that thick (including wall apartments).  Elsewhere, both the inner and outer wall appear to be only ten to 20 feet thick, pretty standard for that era (before artillery) and which would tally with the eight meters given in the German version.  I also removed the confusing word "fortress"; the entire site is a fortress, so did they mean the keep, the inner ward or the site in toto?  Clearly the 30m/100ft reference was meant for the curtain of the inner ward, in which case the term "fortress" is misused. 12.22.250.4 16:51, 5 October 2007 (UTC) [EDIT] See discussion below. 12.22.250.4 22:41, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

The name in Arabic
The name written in Arabic: قلعة الحصن does not match the name transliterated in Latin characters: Ḥiṣn al-Akrād. The name in Arabic literally translates Castle of the Fort, which is the official name used in Syrian publications, and which is a translation of the French name.

It is known, however, that the Syrian government has changed the names of many sites, regions and geographical features for political reasons, and in many places references to Kurds - and other ethnic and religious groups - have been altered.

I'm not sure whether this fort was ever called of The Kurds in Arabic. I believe it was referred to as AlKark الكرك, which is obviously an Arabisation of the French name. --Alif 17:46, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Well Hisn al-Akrad was definitely the medieval Arabic name for it. Al-Karak would probably be Kerak, a different castle. Adam Bishop 18:15, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

 * At the risk of sounding ignorant, I thought the French name translated to 'Fortress of the Knights', presumably named so because of its association with the Hospitallers. 91.109.166.20 09:21, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

The name in Arabic is: "Kalaat Al husn". this is the name used in official books and is the name used by the local people. If you take a taxi and ask to go to "Hisn al-Akrad" you will not go anywhere. This is not a conspiracy against the Kurdish people. It just happens that no Kurds live in that area. The neighboring villages are mostly populated by Christian Arabs. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.170.193.27 (talk) 06:31, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Map of the castle
Is it not possible to add a map to this story?

Wereldburger758

I'd love to add a map to this! I work as an archaeological illustrator and would relish doing something like this. However, my times limited so it would probably have to be a basic plan with contours adapted from something existing. I'd probably end up doing it in adobe illustrator and post it up as a jpeg? A cross-section would be nicer - and more ambitious and time-consuming so I perhaps wouldn't attempt that just at the minute!

Tomohawk

How many towers was Crac Defended by?
I would like to know how many towers Crac des Chevaliers deafended by?

 * As the article says, "The Hospitallers rebuilt it and expanded it into the largest Crusader fortress in the Holy Land, adding an outer wall 30 meters thick with seven guard towers 8-10 meters thick". Adam Bishop 19:17, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

French translation
The following are segments translated from the french | article.

Private webpage with history of the castle.
 * Jean-Claude Voisin, Le Temps des forteresses en Syrie du nord : VIe-XVe siècles, éd. Terre du Liban, 2000 ;
 * Collectif, La Méditerranée des Croisades, Citadelles & Mazenod, 2000 ;
 * James Cocks, Le Crac des Chevaliers: The Architecture of Defense, Mimeo, 2002 [lire en ligne (PDF)] ;
 * Paul Deschamp, Terre Sainte Romane, Zodiaque, 1964.
 * Webpage on the castle's history and pictures.

Architecture
Over a hundred years of construction led the Krak des Chevaliers to exemplify the apogee of defencive military achertecture in the middle ages. An intelligent mix of topographic and archetectural elements taken from the European, Byzantine and Arabe cultures turned this location into an impregnable fortress even when under guard by a meager garrison. Baybars himself turned to stealth instead of strength becuse he knew that he would have failled otherwise, even though only 300 men stood as defenders.

Terrain
The fortress was built on top of a hill 750 meters high, characterised by steep flanks, wich rendered the siegecraft of the day ineffective. Later earthworks reinforced this natural advantage.

XII century
Following the earthquakes of 1157 and 1170, the Krak was nearly destroyed and required extencive reconstruction. Prior to these events little is know of the original stronghold's shape and size. The works starting in 1170 produced the heart of the future fortress. Itw a was a large triangular hall some 270m long and 9m large where the Knights Hospitaller lived. Conceived as a keep, the hall was vaulted in ogival fashion and flanked by five square towers. That same year a chapel was installed in the north-eastern tower. Later in 1180, a larger chapel was built in the same location arched in the barrel fashion and filled with arcades differing from the prominent soutern european fashion of the era yet wich became caracteristic of the religious buildings built by the crusaders in the levant.

The central tower rested on an immence vaulted grainery cappable of holding up to five years' rations and feed. Driking water necessary to hold such a lenthy siege was drained from the terraced tower tops down into local resevoirs.

A sixth tower, named "the tower of the latrines" was built to the north-west in 1190. It held twelve latrines and was linked to the knights' dormatory, keeping sanitary conditions at a satisfactory level even in the case of prolongues sieges. The historical importance of this tower originated with it being hte first euroipean construction ot be equiped with machicolations, a design taken from middle-eastern military architechture. This new fortification was also equiped with a Sally port, adding further importance to the position.

Near the end of the century the masters of the Krak begun construction of an outer bailey to protect the north of the castle.

XIII century
In 1202, after another earth quake, further works where done to reinforce the Krak from attacks as we as future seismic activities. Therefore, a glacis was built following the south and western flanks of the fortress. This entailled placing large stones in a slope extending outwards from the base of the walls. This filled two important functions: firstly, it reinforced the wall agaisnt seismic waves which had already played havoc on the fortifications of the Krak des chevaliers

En 1202, après un nouveau tremblement de terre, d'autres travaux sont engagés qui renforcent considérablement le Krak autant contre les attaques que contre les séismes. Ainsi, un « glacis » est construit sur les flancs sud et ouest de la forteresse. Il s'agit d'un appareillage de pierres de taille en pente forte qui s'appuie sur la muraille et l'« encoquille ». Ce glacis remplit deux fonctions distinctes : d'abord, il renforce le mur intérieur contre les séismes qui ont déjà ravagé plusieurs fois le Krak ; ensuite, il abrite une galerie percée d'archères, ce qui augmente encore la puissance de feu de la place forte.

Dans le même temps, le flanc sud est considérablement modifié. Les tours carrées sont remplacées par deux tours rondes et une troisième en fer à cheval est construite au milieu de la muraille. Elle constitue un renfort défensif sur le flanc sud particulièrement exposé aux attaques. Un niveau est ajouté à la galerie primitive. La tour au milieu du flanc ouest est aussi modifiée et s'arrondit.

La cour intérieure est également remaniée et un bâtiment s'adosse maintenant au flanc est.

En 1250, Saint Louis s'installe en Orient et prend la tête des Francs. Il amène avec lui des architectes qui aideront les croisés à défendre leur places fortes. Un nouveau rempart est alors construit, probablement sur les conseils de ces architectes. Ce rempart mesure 9 m de haut, est placé à une distance de 17 à 25 m de la forteresse centrale et est défendu par douze tours rondes à la manière des standards de l'architecture militaire européenne de l'époque, ce qui rend les projectiles moins efficaces, ces tours ne présentant pas d'angles saillants plus fragiles. Le second mur est placé en contrebas du noyau central, ce qui permet aux défenseurs de tirer sur les attaquants depuis les deux positions.

Ce mur possède une seule porte à l'est qui débouche à l'intérieur sur une rampe étroite menant après des virages serrés à l'entrée de la muraille intérieure. Cette rampe rend la progression des assaillants difficile, et empêche l'utilisation d'un bélier contre la porte des fortifications centrales.

Un cloître est aussi bâti probablement à la même époque. S'adossant au bâtiment de la cour centrale, il prend pour modèle les cloîtres d'Île-de-France, ce qui semble indiquer qu'il fut construit en l'honneur de Saint Louis, ou tout du moins par ses architectes.

Des écuries sont également construites contre le flanc sud de la muraille extérieure.

Strategic Role
The Krak played a fundamental role in the strategic defence of the Franksih states in the levant. The king Andrew II of Hungary defined it as being "the Key to the Christian Lands", whiles the chronicler Ibn al-Athir called it "the bone that chokes the Muslims". This importance was due to two principle factors: its geographic position and its impregnable demeanor, as such that it was never taken by force after its initial fall to the crusaders in 1109 and rendered nearly invulnerable following its subsiquent reinforcements.

Defence of the Latin states
The Krak was knot in the string of fortifications assuring the defence the Frankish territoiries. From on top its keep one could see the Forts of Chastel-Blanc to the east and Akkar to the south. Signal fires could therefore be lit and indicate the encroachments of ennemies on the County of Tripoli.

An other advantage of the Krak was geographic position, wich was paradoxically off the major routes, making large scale movements against its position even harder. Victorious after Hattin and fielding an army of 40 000 men, Saladin, during his movements nothwards, decided against investing the Karak des Chevaliers becuse of difficulties this would of entailled. The Knights Hospitaller garrisson organised multiple raids against replenishment convoys of the rear-guard, wich disrupted much of the muslim reconquest.

A Base of Operations
With its excellent location on the frontier of the crusader kingdoms and muslim lands, its defencive strength and size (it could lodge upwards of 2 000 armed knights) the Krak made for an ideal base of operations from wich to launch attacks and raids against villages and opposing armies. As could be seen in 1230, when the Emir of Homs refused to pay tribute to the count of Tripoli. Templars and Hospitallers assembled at the Krak with an army of 300 knights and 2 700 foot soldiers and launched successive assaults on the lands arounds Homs until the emir renewed his payments. These rapide and destructive raids where unparalleled, while the fortification acted as a haven once the pilaging was complete.

More to come. --Dryzen 15:45, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Walls
Since this was challenged, I figured I'd include a transcript of the source. History Channel, Lost Worlds: Knights Templar, July 10, 2006. 0:41 minute mark: ''Narrator: "Lawrence of Arabia described Krak des Chevaliers as "the finest castle in the world." With outer walls 100' thick, and seven guardtowers 30' in diameter, this castle was virtually impregnable. The fortress was constructed and manned by the Hospitallers, partners and rivals of the Templars. Its location is crucial. It defends the most important trade route in the region." (guide's voice) "Over there you have the long valley with the main road. It's the main road today, and it was the main road in medieval times, linking the coast with the inland cities, which in the Crusader period were the centers of Islamic power, and the coast was the center of the Crusader power." --Elonka 03:46, 18 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Not sure which part you are saying was challenged, but if you're defending the statement that the outer walls are 100 feet thick, your source is incorrect. A segment of the inner wall is conceivably 100 ft thick (see above), but even the inner curtain is not 100 feet thick along its entire circumference.  Look at the plans and the photos.  The outer walls are not 100 ft thick. 12.22.250.4 17:10, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
 * [EDIT] From http://www.sacred-destinations.com/syria/krak-des-chevaliers.htm:
 * Through the main entrance (an imposing gate in the 5m/16ft-thick wall) and past the towers that defended the castle is a courtyard. A corridor covered in delicate carvings leads to a large vaulted hall, where you can see an old oven, a well and some latrines. The chapel in the courtyard was converted to a mosque after Sultan Beybar took over, and you can still see its pulpit.
 * The chapel is in the inner ward, and the corridor is the gate passage in the curtain of the inner ward, so the "imposing gate" is in the outer wall, which at that point would be at its thickest, which apparently is only 16ft thick, not 100. Ipso facto, The History Channel made a mistake.  I still maintain that the curtain of the inner ward supporting the inner gate could be 100 ft thick (including the batters, which is cheating, but it explains the unusual thickness), but the outer wall is not. 12.22.250.4 22:38, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
 * [EDIT] From http://travel.howstuffworks.com/krak-des-chevaliers-landmark.htm:
 * With this concentric layout, the knights could defend the outer perimeter from Muslim attackers and then fall back, if need be, toward the center. Because the inner walls are higher than the outer, the defenders could always dominate their enemy from a superior height...To further thwart attackers, the Crusaders...built a great stone slope against the castle's slightly vulnerable south side. Eighty feet thick at the base, this masonry slope was so smooth that Lawrence of Arabia, who attempted to scale it barefoot in 1909, could make it only halfway up.
 * Emphasis is mine. Clearly, the "100 ft thick" walls are only so if you count the batters, which are rather more elaborate than most castles of any time before or since.  The walls above the batters are likely no thicker than was common for the time (8m or less), but the batters (intended to prevent rams and siege towers from doing real damage to the walls themselves and requiring that scaling ladders be substantially longer than normal to top the walls, and doubling in this case as added buttressing against earthquakes) could conceivably range from 80 to 100 ft thickness along the southern arc of the inner wall.  But that is the inner wall, and only on its south arc, and only at its base. 12.22.250.4 22:59, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I concur. Thanks for the detailed research, feel free to fix/expand.  :) --Elonka 23:27, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Infobox
I think a Castle/Military Structure infobox could be quite helpful here. LordAmeth 10:18, 19 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Similarly here.--Dryzen 15:32, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Name and infobox
I think I can get this, by time, to GA status. First of all, we need to clear a few things. The name should be changed to Krak des Chevaliers; almost only the UNESCO identifies the castle with this name and most major sources, Britannica, Encarta and Columbia encyclopedias and Syrian websites including the Syrian Ministry of Tourism website, use Krak des Chevaliers. Additionally, the name is more commonly used as proven by the higher Google search results count. Also, concerning the infobox, I think a military structure infobox is more appropriate to include, at least in the article's lead. I think we can add the WHS infobox in a lower part of the article, perhaps in a section dedicated to the designation, to be created with expansion, of course. I will move the article if there are no objections, in two days. — An as  talk? 15:55, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
 * If I should ever gain the time again I'll finish my translations. Taht should give the article a push to GA. A MilHist Structure box is very apropriate. As to the Move post it up in the medieval project and milhist taskforce to get some more participants in on the idea. --Dryzen 17:23, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
 * This was located at Krak des Chevaliers until it was moved in December because of the "official" UN name of it. I think it can safely be moved back. Adam Bishop 17:55, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I can support either Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers, but not Krac des Chevaliers. I assume this is a typo?  Or are there actual sources which use this version of the spelling? --Elonka 19:10, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Probably a typo. Adam moved it mistakingly to Krac, I guess. I couldn't move it myself because the destination page needs deletion (edited after previous move), so I contacted Adam. It will probably be moved shortly. — An as  talk? 19:18, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

GA status
I'm all for improving this article to Good article status. :) I was recently involved with a push to get Knights Templar to WP:FA, and ran into a lot of information about the Knights Hospitaller and the Krak des Chevaliers while doing research.  I'll see what I can do about helping with expansion and referencing.  If there's anything in particular I can help find, please let me know! --Elonka 18:04, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Great! We're two now. I am going to be extremely busy in the few coming weeks (SAT, tests) and all my work will probably be in the weekends, but as soon as I'm free I'll plug away. :-) I've gathered a few online sources already. If you like, I'll post them all in a subpage of my user page. We'll probably need some printed sources too, which is not going to be easy for me. There aren't many public libraries where I live. Regards,  An as  talk? 18:46, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Thats three really, but sadly I've had my availability drasticly cut short. So it might enevitably only look like two... :o( I'll be definitly keeping and eye open in any event. --Dryzen 13:06, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Nice. I took a look at the French article, and it looks pretty comprehensive. I noticed you translated most of the architecture and construction sections. That should be quite helpful. Anyway, I've created the page with the sources, here. — An as  talk? 13:38, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
 * If you need help with finding book sources, I have lots of crusade books (both primary and secondary) and quick access to academic libraries. Adam Bishop 21:39, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
 * All quotes, statistics, and facts likely to be challenged should be cited for GA and higher. Regards. --Kebeta (talk) 20:46, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

Location
Looking at Google Maps (www.maps.google.com), it appears as though the castle is only about 35km west of Homs, not 65km as is stated in the first paragraph. If the distance specified refers to travel by road (rather than in a straight line), perhaps that should be specified.

Walls
100 feet thick? I don't think so. Do we have a better source for this than that TV show? --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 13:17, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Not sure how accurate my sources are, but I did find sources to the contrary, see above. 12.22.250.4 23:05, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Lead picture
I'm currently rewriting the article but can't decide on a lead image. There are quite a few striking pictures to choose from. To help the decision I've added a gallery of them below. It might help if the infobox was removed so the image could be 400px instead of the current 300px. There are some other options here, but I thought those below were the best candidates for lead image. Nev1 (talk) 20:43, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

Some suggestions for GA...
I just saw this was nominated for GA; have been working at Citadel of Damascus myself (and still thinking if I should eventually take it to FA); pretty cool that this is getting to GA (which it certainly will)! Syria deserves some positive attention ;) If I had the time I would do the review myself. But I can still leave some (hopefully useful) suggestions for improvement: Hope this helps, and good luck at GA!--Zoeperkoe (talk) 04:12, 1 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Is the image in section Location really necessary? There are already quite a few images in the article and two others of the W side. I do realize though that it adds something because it shows the wider surroundings. Also, if I am not mistaken, the MoS discourages images aligned to the left immediately below a category 2 header ( ==level 2== ).
 * To reduce the image-'clutter' could it help to illustrate the Architecture section with a gallery or so, with 1 image for each of the subsections that you have? That would seem like a legitimate use of a gallery to me.
 * I would break up the History section in several subsections, if possible. For example:
 * History
 * First castle/settlement
 * Twelfth century
 * Thirteenth century (the earthquake seems like a good divide since the castle was remodelled after that)
 * (Decline and fall? --> paragraphs on Baibars)
 * Later history (I would suggest to turn this into a subsection of history; makes more sense)
 * Left aligned images in architecture section; see above.
 * I would make the subsections in Architecture bigger (3rd level, like this ===level 3=== ), as it is still quite a big chunk of text. And if you change them, they would also show up in the index (which I personally would prefer).
 * What seems to be lacking is the actual size of the castle (or I just missed that); what area is actually enclosed by the outer/inner ward?

 * Ah, there are three images from the south-west but they all offer something different. The one under location puts the castle in its landscape; before I started rewriting the article this was the lead image and because of it I assumed Krak des Chevaliers was a barren, isolated place. But I think the image is still useful because of the amount of detail it shows, which is why it's at the end of the architecture section and 800px wide. The new lead image is midway between the two; it's cropped so the castle is the main focus, but the green doesn't convey the same desert-like appearance from the image at the end. I think, the one under location could reasonably be moved up to the lead, what do you think? My thinking was as there's space we may as well use it.
 * I looked through Manual of Style/Images for guidance on images immediately below section headers (I thought it was level 3 and below you weren't supposed to put them under) but I'll be damned if I can see the relevant bit. My understanding was that it disconnected the title from the text, but level two headers have the line across which makes a visual break. I've not had trouble at FAC with left-aligned images below level 2 headers, but I think that's where I was discouraged from putting them under level three.
 * On a related note, dividing the history section sounds like a good idea as it's fairly chunky. It would create issues with image placement if level three headers were used, so I was thinking of using level 2 like this. Do you think that works or would it be better off using level 3 headers (in which case I would agree with making later history a level 3 header).
 * The architecture section could probably do with the changes you suggest so here they are; at the same time I shuffled the images round.
 * You didn't miss anything, the size hasn't been included because Kennedy didn't cover the statistics (although I did remove a ludicrous claim that the outer walls were 100 feet thick; someone decided to take the History Channel seriously). I'll have a search of Google books. I'd love to see this article reach FA, but realistically without referencing Deschamps (whose work on Krak des Chevaliers has been widely praised) it wouldn't satisfy the sourcing criteria. Unfortunately I can't read French but maybe someone will come along who can. Anyway I wish you good luck with the Citadel of Damascus, I'd noticed it when it was at WP:GAN and it looks an impressive article. Nev1 (talk) 13:28, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Hi Nev, I haven't had a chance to read through the whole article yet, but it seems that "transliterated" is not the best choice of words in the intro. "Krak" and "Crac" are just alternate spellings for the same word. If that word comes from Arabic, then both spellings would be transliterations of the Arabic alphabet, if that makes sense. Adam Bishop (talk) 10:54, 2 November 2011 (UTC)
 * That's a good point, so I've swapped "translitterated" for "also". Nev1 (talk) 13:12, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I made some more copyedits, added some links, etc. The one thing that stood out was the sentence about the chapel, "The design of the later chapel – with a barrel vault and an uncomplicated apse would have been considered by contemporary standards in France..." seems to be missing something. Considered what? Otherwise, there are some parts that are a bit repetitive (the garrison of 2000, the etymology from the Kurdish settlement), but it looks good to me. I see DCI is also about to start his own review, so I'll see if I have any other comments when he has finished. Adam Bishop (talk) 11:05, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

 * Ah, there was a word missing. It's been about a month since I put the article together so I should be able to approach the prose with fresh eyes. Nev1 (talk) 17:33, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
 * The eymology section is a little repetetive because of the explanation and the similarity in terms and derivation, but I think the figure of 2,000 is mentioned only twice: once in the lead and once in the history section when discussing the castle's golden age. Did I miss one? Nev1 (talk) 22:58, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Is this for real?
In the middle of the 'Later History' section:

The culmination of Deschamp's work at the castle was the publication of Les Châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte I: le Crac des Chevaliers in 1934, with detailed plans by Anus.[36]

'by Anus'? I don't have access to the work listed in the ref. Can someone who does check this is for real?1812ahill (talk) 13:36, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

 * Yup. His name was François Anus. Adam Bishop (talk) 21:19, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

Present state of castle
Media reports have stated that on 12 July 2013 a Syrian Government air strike caused significant damage to a store room and one of the towers of Krak des Chevaliers. This claim appeared to be supported by amateur video footage. Has this been confirmed and if so should reference be made to it in the article? Buistr (talk) 10:25, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

Baffling sentence
The last (and uncited) sentence of the Etymology section reads "The word "Krak" (Krak) was known to be the construction of a fortified fort by the Crusades in Palestine and Syria."

I can't make head nor tail of this. Does it mean anything? If so, could someone in the know please clarify? Or else delete? Nice article, btw. Haploidavey (talk) 18:03, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

 * Unsourced so I've gone ahead and removed it. Nev1 (talk) 18:37, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Israeli airstrikes
There is no reference to the Israeli airstrikes during the 1980s'.Royalcourtier (talk) 02:20, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

 * Hi Royalcourtier, thanks for the feedback. Would you know when to find more information about it? Nev1 (talk) 15:56, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Should be noted as not actually being a castle.
Krak des Chevaliers does not appear to have ever really been the residence of a lord/noble, but rather to have always been there to house a garrison of troops. (or an order of knights, which is, in many ways, much the same thing) The specific group of troops/knights in question changed, during the course of history, but... A castle private fortified residence of a lord/noble. A large heavily fortified military structure, meant to house a garrison of troops, is called a fortress. Not a castle. It can be noted to be commonly referred to, as a castle, but it should at the very least be noted, that it actually isn't one, but rather is clearly a fortress.--85.228.52.251 (talk) 02:14, 23 October 2019 (UTC)

 * The article does say "The southwest tower was designed to house the rooms of the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller", which would fit with it potentially being a residence for high-status individuals. Richard Nevell (talk) 09:24, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Krak des Chevaliers


text:
Kyan Douglas

Kyan Douglas (born Hugh Edward Douglas Jr.; May 5, 1970) is an American television personality and stylist. He was the grooming expert on the American television program Queer Eye from 2003 to 2007.

Biography
Born Hugh Edward Douglas Jr. in Miami, Florida, Kyan Douglas was raised in Tampa and Tallahassee. He has a sister, Kelli (who first taught him about styling hair). After high school he moved first to Dallas, where he studied philosophy at Brookhaven College and first became interested in religion and the healing arts. He then moved to Austin, where he had initially planned to pursue his interest in acting by studying drama at the University of Texas at Austin, though he was precluded by his extreme shyness. In his mid-twenties, he moved to New Orleans, where he earned a degree in TV production and theater studies at Loyola University. In 1996 three of Douglas' close friends were murdered in a restaurant robbery where both they and Douglas worked. This motivated him to leave New Orleans.

Douglas was in a serious relationship with publicist and gay rights activist Gregory Durham from March 2004 to August 2006. In July 2006, they became briefly engaged. He was previously rumored to be dating (in fall 2003) Queer as Folk actor Robert Gant. Gant confirmed to TV Guide that the pair had dated briefly, but were just friends.

Douglas moved from New York to Los Angeles, California in 2007. He told the now defunct TV show Out in Dallas that he wanted to pursue acting, and was taking acting classes. In November 2007, he told Sirius satellite radio channel OutQ that he was in the process of purchasing land in Mexico, and was considering opening a yoga retreat there.

Career
Douglas moved to New York City in 1999 and started work in sales for Aveda, then helped them set up the Aveda Institute, a hairstyling and grooming school. He enrolled in its cosmetology program, and after graduating at the top of his class, he joined the New York-based hair salon Arrojo Studio as a colorist. He began working on the makeover TV shows What Not to Wear and While You Were Out as well. In 2002, a client at Arrojo told him about a makeover show that was being cast. Kyan sent a photo of himself and a short bio he'd written to the producers. They called him for an audition and quickly hired him as the show's "Grooming Guru".

As part of Queer Eye "Fab Five" Douglas has co-authored a book and appeared on a soundtrack CD and accompanying DVD based on the show, as well as appeared on many magazine covers and TV talk shows. In 2004 he published Beautified, his own book on grooming for women, and became a spokesman and product advisor for L'Oréal. He was also invited back to speak at his alma mater Loyola University New Orleans in 2004.

In 2009, he took over as host of Ten Years Younger (starting with the show's fourth season) on TLC.

Awards
Queer Eye won an Emmy in 2004 for Outstanding Reality Program, and received a nomination again in the same category in 2005. In 2006, Douglas was awarded the HRC's Humanitarian Award for his work with a number of charities, including HRC, DIFFA, and AmFAR.

title: Kyan Douglas


text:
Thom Filicia

Thom Filicia is an American interior designer, known for his role as an interior design expert on the American television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He is also a co-author of a book based on the show.

Biography
Filicia grew up in the greater Syracuse area, and graduated from Nottingham High School in Syracuse, New York. Filicia graduated from Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design.

Filicia began his career at renowned design firms Parish-Hadley, Robert Metzger, and Bilhuber & Associates. He is the founder and chief creative officer of New York City-based design firm, Thom Filicia, Inc., founded in 1998. Filicia's design portfolio includes various projects such as the VIP Suite for the USA Pavilion at the World's Fair in Aichi, Japan, an eco-friendly apartment for Riverhouse, Manhattan's first premium (LEED certified) "green" luxury condominium tower, and designing the holiday decoration installation with American Christmas for the Radio City Music Hall.

Filicia got cast as the interior design expert in the Emmy Award-winning show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Filicia has also hosted several shows for the Style Network, including Dress My Nest and Tacky House.

He was a guest judge on HGTV's The White Room Challenge.

In 2022, he was a contestant on the second season of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race as Drag Queen "Jackie Would" and made it through 3 weeks before being eliminated in a lip sync to Donna Bellissima.

In 2023, Filicia was a guest celebrity judge and performed Jackie Would in the episode of the eighth season titled Carson Kressley, This Is Your Gay Life of the American reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars aired on Paramount+ and WOW Presents Plus.

Books
Filicia is the author of Thom Filicia Style published in 2008 by Atria/Simon & Schuster, and is a contributing author of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy: The Fab 5 Guide To Living Better. His American Beauty: Renovating and Decorating a Beloved Retreat was published in 2012 by Clarkson Potter Publishers.

Awards

 * Queer Eye won an Emmy in 2004 for Outstanding Reality Program, and received a nomination again in the same category in 2005.
 * In 2011 he was named as one of Elle Decors top 25 A-List Designers, in 2006 he was chosen as one of House Beautifuls Top 100 American Designers and House & Garden's Top 50 "Tastemakers".

title: Thom Filicia


text:
Carson Kressley

Carson Kressley (born November 11, 1969) is an American television personality, actor, and designer. Beginning in 2003, he appeared in the Bravo series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He was also the motivational host of the TV show How to Look Good Naked and OWN's Carson Nation and a contestant on season 13 of Dancing with the Stars.

Since 2015, Kressley has been a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. Beginning in October 2018, he teamed up with former Queer Eye colleague Thom Filicia for a new series called Get a Room with Carson & Thom on Bravo. The series followed the two as Thom mentored Carson in the interior design business, and featured two clients in each episode. The show lasted one ten-episode season on Bravo, with the final episode broadcast on December 22, 2018.

Early life and education
Kressley was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and raised in nearby Orefield, Pennsylvania. His family raised ponies. He competed in equestrian events from an early age and was a member of the U.S. World Cup Saddle Seat equitation team in 1999. He won a world championship in 2009.

He graduated from Northwestern Lehigh High School in New Tripoli, Pennsylvania in 1987. Kressley earned a bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College in 1991, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity.

Career
Kressley began his career as an independent stylist, then worked for Ralph Lauren from 1994 until 2002, working in menswear and corporate advertising. In 2003, Kressley gained exposure as the fashion savant on Queer Eye when the show debuted on the Bravo cable television network. Kressley appears on Good Morning America, the E! Network, and others. Furthermore, he has critiqued red carpet fashions at the Oscars and the Golden Globes. In 2005, he acted as a judge for the Miss Universe pageant, which aired from Bangkok, Thailand. In 2006, he returned to the Miss Universe pageant as commentator and was a commentator for the 2006 Miss USA pageant.

In February 2007, he was the host of a new Lifetime makeover show, How to Look Good Naked, a U.S. version of a British series. The show's premiere episode on January 4, 2008, drew a record 1.6 million viewers, included significant viewership among adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 as well as the network's target demographic of women aged 18–34. In January 2008, the debut episode of How to Look Good Naked was Lifetime's highest-rated premiere in those three demographics.

Kressley appeared as Master of Ceremonies on Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour 2008. He was a host on the ABC series True Beauty, along with Vanessa Minnillo and Beth Stern. In 2011, Kressley began a show on the Oprah Winfrey Network titled Carson Nation.

In 2018, Kressley joined with his former Queer Eye teammate Thom Filicia for Get a Room with Carson & Thom on Bravo. The program lasted one season, covering ten episodes that were broadcast from October through December 2018.

Contestant

 * In November 2006, Kressley competed on a celebrity edition of Jeopardy against Regis Philbin and Nancy Grace. Carson took second place, losing by one dollar.
 * In September 2011, Kressley was a participant on the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya. Kressley proved to be a fan favorite but was voted off week five of the competition.
 * In August 2016, Kressley appeared on Celebrity Family Feud with members of his family.
 * In January 2017, Kressley appeared as a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice.
 * In February 2017, Kressley became a celebrity contestant on the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.
 * In August 2017, Carson Kressley started as a contestant on season 11 of Worst Cooks in America.
 * In December 2017, Kressley appeared as a contestant on The Chase.
 * In February 2022, Kressley appeared as a HouseGuest on the third season of Celebrity Big Brother.
 * In September 2023, Kressley appeared as a contestant on season 3 of Celebrity Name That Tune against Olympian Lolo Jones. Kressley won the grand prize of $125,000 for his charity of choice, The Kempton Community Center.

Judge

 * In May 2005, he was one of the judge for Miss Universe 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand and will act on this function again in Miss Universe 2023.
 * In May 2007, he acted as a judge on reality series Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants where mother and daughter teams compete in a beauty pageant.
 * In 2015, Kressley and Ross Mathews were named as new regular judges for the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race. In 2016 he also became a regular judge on the spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars from its second season onwards and in 2020 judged RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race.
 * In December 2019, he appeared as a judge on the Freeform gift wrap competition, Wrap Battle.
 * In June 2021, he appeared as a judge on the Food Network BBQ competition series, BBQ Brawl.
 * In July 2022, he appeared as a guest judge on Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay.

Commentator

 * In July 2006, Kressley was the commentator alongside former Miss USA, Shandi Finnessey.
 * In May 2016, Kressley was announced as a commentator with Michelle Collins for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 on Logo TV; the first time the United States has broadcast the competition live.
 * In November 2017, Kressley appeared as a commentator alongside Lu Sierra and Ashley Graham for Miss Universe 2017.
 * The pair also commentated in May 2018, the Miss USA 2018.
 * Kressley and Sierra were slated to return at the Miss Universe 2018.
 * In December 2021, Kressley along with reigning Miss Universe Andrea Meza hosted the Miss Universe 2021 preliminary competition. He also served as commentator for the finals along with Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst.
 * Kressley hosted "Couched with Carson Kressley", a house/garden talk show on The Roku Channel from 2020 to 2021.

Acting
In 2005, Kressley made his film debut in The Perfect Man starring Heather Locklear and Hilary Duff, playing Lance, a bartender. He starred in The Year Without a Santa Claus with John Goodman as Santa, which aired December 11, 2006, on NBC. He had a cameo role in his third movie, the independent comedy 16 to Life. The feature film It's Christmas, Carol! premiered December 2012. In 2021, he had a supporting role in holiday film The Bitch Who Stole Christmas, which aired on VH1.

Fashion design
In November 2006, Kressley debuted Perfect, his clothing for men and women, on QVC. He cites his experience as a stylist with Ralph Lauren and on Queer Eye as inspiration for the line, saying he "...realized a lot of people are missing great basics in their wardrobe. I consider my perfect collection for QVC to be 'basics with a twist.'" He debuted a new women's collection for Shop NBC in April 2012. The collection, called "Love, Carson", is built on transformative pieces that provide women with affordable glamour.

Books

 * 2004: author of the 2004 book Off The Cuff: The essential style guide for men and the women who love them (ISBN 0-525-94836-8)
 * 2004: co-author, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better (Clarkson Potter), with the four other cast members
 * 2005: author of You're Different and That's Super, a children's story deriving inspiration from the classic tale "The Ugly Duckling", featuring a unicorn who grows up among a herd of horses from foalhood to maturity
 * 2016: author (with Riann Smith) of Does This Book Make My Butt Look Big?: A Cheeky Guide to Feeling Sexier in Your Own Skin and Unleashing Your Personal Style

Other activities
In April 2006, Kressley became ordained over the Internet as a minister of the Universal Life Church, in order to be able to perform a wedding ceremony during an episode of Queer Eye.

Kressley is also an owner of American Saddlebred horses and is horse show exhibitor. He won a world title in 2009. Kressley's interest in horses combined with his interest in promoting respect for diversity resulted in his authorship of 'You're Different and That's Super!', illustrated by cartoonist Jared Lee.

Kressley was an ambassador for the Melbourne Cup in 2007, playing a part in the "Fashion On The Field".

Honors, awards, distinctions

 * In 2004 Queer Eye won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Reality Program". It was nominated again for that category in 2005.
 * After interviewing him on WMAL-FM's "Mornings on the Mall", co-host Mary Walter was "shocked to find out that Carson is crazy smart — I'm talking Mensa smart!"

title: Carson Kressley