Crusader Chapel
(13 Km from Halba)

    To reach this castle take the main highway north out of Tripoli. At 21 kilometers turn on the Homs fork to the right and after 24 kilometers turn left for a few kilometers until you arrive at the west side of castle.
    This little Crusader fortress of Coliath, built in the 12th century, was intended as a refuge for the Frankish armies crossing the plain of Akkar. The moat, the fortified outer walls, square towers, vaulted passages and arrowslit windows guarantee the feel of a Crusader castle, although it cannot compare with those that were built to defend cities or strategic passes. Captured first by the Ayyoubid Sayf ad-Dine Abou Bakr Al-Adil in 1207, and reoccupied by the Crusaders, the castle was captured for the last time in 1266 by the Mamluke Sultan Baibars.
    This is an ideal spot from which to appreciate the beauty of the Akkar plain, a rich agricultural area whose planted fields are protected from erosion by handsome stands of trees.