Lattakia:
wadi qandil
For a small coastal town, Lattakia has developed considerably in the last few decades. To stop Syria's dependence on Iskanderoun and the Lebanese ports, Lattakia was equipped with a modern harbor more than 20 years ago. It now has a University and is linked to Aleppo on the national railway lines. As Syria's primary port it has great economic significance for the rest of the country.
Lattakia has the best beaches in Syria and to harness this, two or three luxury resorts are situated a few miles north of the city. Also built on the coast is the great sports complex built for the Mediterranean games that were held here in 1988. Historically, Lattakia does not offer much, it has a quite modern feel to it. However the ancient excavation site of Ugarit and Saladin's castle are not far away, and Lattakia is often used as a base for visiting these sites. Lattakia is situated 341 Km from Damascus and can be visited via Tartous or Homs, while it is only 183 Km from Aleppo and can be visited by train
Lattakia has the best beaches in Syria and to harness this, two or three luxury resorts are situated a few miles north of the city. Also built on the coast is the great sports complex built for the Mediterranean games that were held here in 1988. Historically, Lattakia does not offer much, it has a quite modern feel to it. However the ancient excavation site of Ugarit and Saladin's castle are not far away, and Lattakia is often used as a base for visiting these sites. Lattakia is situated 341 Km from Damascus and can be visited via Tartous or Homs, while it is only 183 Km from Aleppo and can be visited by train
Tartous:
Tartous, Going to Arwad
220 km north west of Damascus - about 60 km south of Lattakia; Tartous has been rapidly developed in recent decades as Syria's second port city, with a number of major industries to the north. It has been connected to the national rail and road grid and the expansion of the city has robbed it of much of its sleepy charm as a small Mediterranean fishing port with its roots firmly planted in the past. The old city retains some of its character and the former Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa is one of the most remarkable surviving remains of the religious architecture of the Crusaders outside Jerusalem.
Amrit:
Amrit
7 km south of Tartous; Amrit was a Phoenician religious center, heavily influenced in its architectural style by the Achaemenid Persians. It is the only extant site in Syria whose remains, though fragmentary, convey this mixture of civilizations, reflecting the ability of the Phoenicians to absorb and syncretise outside influences. It was also the continental port for the Phoenician settlement on Arwad, the island 2.5 km to the west. The earliest constructions of the site date to the end of the third millennium BC.
Arwad island:
Arwad
The small island of Arwad, off the coast of Tartous, can be visited by a regular boat-ride service. Only 3 Km away, it only takes 20 minutes to get there. Arwad, or Arvad to the Phoenicians and Aradus to the Greeks and Romans, was first used for urban settlement by the Canaanites. It was conquered by all those who conquered Syria and was always heavily reliant on trade. But when it was annexed to Tartous by the Romans in 64 BC, trade declined and its wealth dropped as its importance to trade diminished. St Paul is said to have stopped here for a visit on his way to Rome. It fell to the Arabs in 640, and it was where the Crusaders and the Templars made their last stop after being defeated at the mainland castles.
Ugarit:
First Alphabet, Ugarit
About 10 - 13 km north of Lattakia; Ugarit has given the world its first alphabet and stood as a very important, brave city of the Phoenicians. It actively participated in trade around the eastern Mediterranean and from here much of the later Phoenician commercial and cultural expansion took its inspiration, not least through the development of the alphabet.
Salah Aldin Castle:
Salah Aldin Castle
24 km east of Lattakia, lies a huge solid fortress upstanding on the edge of the gigantic fosse. While its defenses are less intact than studied symmetry of the Krak des Chevaliers and it is less somber and brooding in its aspect than Marqab, this is an example of Crusader castle-building at its most romantic. The castle represents the flamboyance of the Crusader enterprise - perhaps folly is a better word - in a raw and beautiful location, softened today by the peaceful setting and on a spring day, the profusion of wildflowers that cover the scene.
Other places to visit in The Mediterranean Region:
Most of the other places which is a leisure and natural places:
- Kassab
- Selenfeh
- Ras al-Basit
- Jeble
- Yahmur Citadel
- Safita
- Mashtah Alhelo
- Wadi Alnsara Check the Gallery...!