Writing in the early 20th century , T. E. Lawrence , popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia , remarked that Krak des Chevaliers was " perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world , [ a castle which ] form a fitting commentary on any account of the Crusading buildings of Syria " . Castles in Europe provided lordly accommodation for their owners and was centers of administration ; in the Levant the need for defence was paramount and was reflected in castle design . Kennedy suggest that " The castle scientifically designed as a fighting machine surely reached its apogee in great buildings like Margat and Crac des Chevaliers . "