Jawab Soal Materi Bahasa Inggris Kelas X, Chapter V Assessment A No. 17-20

This text is for questions 17 to 20.

"It is the Camelot of your dreams- the castle of every fairy tale." So said the 20th-century British travel writer H. V. Morton of the mighty Krak des Chevaliers, which sits majestically high above the rolling plains of western Syria.

This monumental castle, built by Crusaders in the 12th century, has often been likened to a ship, its prow nosing out high above a fertile expanse of vineyards, olive groves, farms, and villages.

The castle was expertly positioned atop a rocky spur that dominates the Homs Gap, the only break in the long chain of mountains that runs parallel to the coast from southern Turkey into northern Israel.

Baca Juga: Jawab Soal Materi Bahasa Inggris Kelas X, Chapter V Assessment A No. 14-16

It thus dominated access routes between the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian interior, as well as the north-south passage between Damascus and Aleppo- lending it a strategic importance that remains as clear today as it did 900 years ago.

The name Krak des Chevaliers, a mixture of Arabic and French, means "Fortress of the Knights." In 1144, the local Crusader lord, Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, handed control of what was then a small, simple fortress to the Knights Hospitallers--a religious order that took on military duties in the Crusader realms (as did its contemporary, the Knights Templar).

The knights expanded the castle and added a 9-ft (3-m) thick encircling outer wall studded with towers to create a virtually impregnable ring of defenses, making it the Holy Land's largest and most sophisticated stronghold.