 Arrow slits in the walls and towers were distributed to minimize the amount of dead ground around the castle . <unk> crowned the walls , offering defenders a way to <unk> projectiles towards enemies at the foot of the wall . They were so cramped <unk> would have had to crouch inside them . The box <unk> were unusual : those at Krak des Chevaliers were more complex that those at <unk> or Margat and there were no comparable features amongst Crusader castles . However , they bore similarities to Muslim work , such as the contemporary defences at the Citadel of Aleppo . It is unclear which side imitated the other , as the date they were added to Krak des Chevaliers is unknown , but it does provide evidence for the <unk> of military ideas between the Muslim and Christian armies . These defences were accessed by a wall @-@ walk known as a chemin de <unk> . In the opinion of historian Hugh Kennedy the defences of the outer wall were " the most elaborate and developed anywhere in the Latin east ... the whole structure is a brilliantly designed and superbly built fighting machine " . 
