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TARTOUS
On the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, at
90km south of Lattakia, Tartous is the second port of Syria. It is an old
Phoenician town facing the island of Arwad. Liberated by the Arabs from
Byzantine rule at the dawn of Islam, it was reoccupied by the Byzantine
emperor Nicephor and liberated again by the Fatimides. It was occupied by
the crusaders and remained on their last strongholds in the east until
liberated by the Mamluk Kalawoon in 1291AD.
Tartous is very old town and it seems that
human occupation of this site dates back more than 6000 years ago. Thus,
it is full of archeological and historical monuments.
Among the most important of these
monuments, there is the Tartous Citadel on the seashore, which is used now
as a museum, and the Great Mosque built with huge stones and adorned with
distinctive minaret. The museum contains rich collections or archeological
finds discovered in the region.
Suleiman Castle:
In the mountains, at 25km east of Tartous,
it goes back to the second century BC., and was a temple to Ashtarot
built by the people of Arwad. It contains also remains from the Roman era.
Amrit:
An important archeological site south of
Tartous. It goes back to the XVIthcentury BC. The most important remains
are the temple, the tower and the theatre seating eleven thousand
spectators.
Many resorts are distributed around Tartous,
especially in the mountain areas.
Mashta Al-helou:
A summer resort 26km east of Safita at
650m. above the sea level. It has very beautiful views and many springs.
In the nearby, lie Dawayat cave, with beautiful stalactites and
stalagmites, and the small village of Wadi Al-Ouyoun which is also a
summer resort.
Dreikish:
30 km east of Tartous and at an altitude of
400m. above the sea level. It has a beautiful view of the sea and the
steep slopes under it are covered with olive trees.
It has many hotels and restaurants and its
mineral water are renewed.
Very beautiful natural sites are to be
found nearby, such as the Kaiss river valley, Beit Al-Wadi cave, and Shikh
Badr and Sallourieh villages.. the main archeological monuments worth
seeing in Tartous are:
Tratous surrounding wall, with its many
towers.
Al- Arima Castle, at 15 km southwest of
Tartous.
Yahmour castle at 20 km from Tartous. It
contains a tower and surrounding wall still standing
Tartous Museum:
It is located in an archeological monument
whose site has been used as a place of worship throughout the ages. The
present monument has been built by the crusaders as a church in the Gothic
style. It contains many important finds discovered at Tal Al-Kazl, Amrit
and other archeological sites. There are a huge mural painting from the
Crack des Chevaliers, many mosaic panels, various types of tombs and
coffins, collections of potteries, glasswares and coins and reduced models
of ships.
Tartous province is famous for its
handicrafts and local products such as reduced ship models, natural
sponges, pieces of branched natural coral, potteries, ceramics, carpets,
baskets, and silk products.
Island of Arwad
It was a very important Phoenician town, at
5km from the coast of Tartous. It is the only inhabited island in Syria,
even though it is quite small. Tartous and Arwad were always twin towns
throughout history. It was an important Poencian (Cananean) kingdom and is
mentioned in many documents and inscriptions of ancient times under the
name of “ Arados”. Many ruins of old monuments and fortifications can
still be found there and the whole island is now covered with houses.
Arwad Museum:
It is located in the Citadel and contains
all archeological findings discovered in Arwad, showing its importance
throughout history. This citadel had been used as a prison for
nationalists during the French mandate, so it contains also photographic
picture of those who were imprisoned there. There is, furthermore, a vast
collection of local handicrafts and products, such as reduced models of
ships, coral shells, and natural sponges, etc.
Many small restaurants, offering excellent
seafoods, maybe found there.
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