The Crusaders built the castle in 1228, on a small island linked to the mainland by an 80-meter (260 ft) causeway. The article names no patron, architect or style. Two towers are joined by a wall. The rectangular west tower is the better preserved, with a large vaulted room, carved capitals and cannonballs. The east tower was built in two phases, the lower Crusader and the upper Mamluk. Roman columns were set in the outer walls as horizontal reinforcement. A small domed Ottoman mosque sits on the roof of the west tower.
The Mamluks partly destroyed the castle when they took the city, then rebuilt it and added the causeway. Emir Fakhreddine II restored it in the 17th century, and it later suffered great damage, which the article does not date.
The island may once have held a temple to Melqart. The article gives no owner or visiting details.
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