The name says it: from the walls, the eye takes in the entire Jordan valley and the hills beyond. Belvoir was built by the Knights Hospitaller on the edge of the escarpment, on a concentric plan that placed one fortified enclosure inside another, with a dry moat cut into the basalt and towers commanding every approach. Its position let the garrison control movement along the valley, and its design allowed a small force to hold out against a far larger one: after the collapse of the Crusader field army, the castle sustained a prolonged siege by Saladin's troops before its defenders negotiated their surrender and withdrawal. Cleared and consolidated, the ruin can be read almost as a plan on the ground. Filmed in 4K with aerial views along the escarpment, it is a natural title for strands on the Crusades and military architecture.
