After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the coastal towns of the Kingdom of Jerusalem grew in importance. This shift affected not only urban centers but also fortified sites. One such stronghold was the castle at ʿAtlit, also known as the Castle of the Pilgrim (
Castrum Peregrinorum, or in French, Château Pèlerin). The site lay close to the earliest guard tower manned by the Templars at the beginning of their activity during the reign of King Baldwin I (1100–1118), located at the
narrow Destroit pass (Khirbat Dustray). By the thirteenth century, however, ʿAtlit had acquired a particular spiritual significance for the Order, one that ultimately surpassed the primarily military role of the early thirteenth-century fortress. What, then, made ʿAtlit distinctive?
