Crusader Castle

Lebanon's southern city of Sidon is best known for its Crusader castle and ancient market, but a more modern landmark has marred its Mediterranean shoreline for decades -- a towering "mountain" of trash.

The Crac des Chevaliers once held off a siege by the Muslim warrior Saladin some 900 years ago, but today bears the wounds of modern warfare: heavy artillery damaged its walls, an airstrike punctured its roof and shrapnel tore through its religious artifacts.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Thursday added six ancient sites in Syria including a fortress of Saladin and a Crusader castle to the endangered World Heritage list, warning that more than two years of civil war had inflicted heavy damage.

Lebanon's southern city of Sidon is best known for its Crusader castle and ancient market, but a more modern landmark has marred its Mediterranean shoreline for decades -- a towering "mountain" of trash.

The Crac des Chevaliers once held off a siege by the Muslim warrior Saladin some 900 years ago, but today bears the wounds of modern warfare: heavy artillery damaged its walls, an airstrike punctured its roof and shrapnel tore through its religious artifacts.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Thursday added six ancient sites in Syria including a fortress of Saladin and a Crusader castle to the endangered World Heritage list, warning that more than two years of civil war had inflicted heavy damage.