The Crusader castle of Belvoir is located on a hill of the Naphtali plateau, about 500 meters above the Jordan Valley and a few miles south of Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee). It is surrounded by a moat, and built with an outer and inner fortress. The first structure was modest and part of the estate of a certain Velos, a Frankish nobleman who lived in nearby Tiberias. Velos sold it to the Knights Hospitaller in 1168. It took five years and hundreds of workers to build Belvoir. The castle controlled the eastern entryway from Gilead into Kingdom of Jerusalem and the roads in the valley leading to Galilee. In 1189, the castle was surrendered to Saladin.