Lattakia is Syria’s main seaport on the Mediterranean.
Saluqos Nikator named it after his mother Laudetia.
Few ancient ruins have survived in Lattakia, such as
the “four columns” or the Roman arch from the time of
Septiums Severus. Lattakia, the pearl of the coast,
blossoms every year during “Al-Mahaba” Festival which
takes place from the 2nd till the 12th of August.
This cultural, sportive and artistic event attracts
many Arab and foreign tourists.
Its Arabic
name is Ras Shamra
Ugarit’s kingdom had a glorious past between the 16th and
the 13th centuries B.C. It is the kingdom that gave
humanity the first Alphabet in the world due to its genius
copyists. This Alphabet, carved on a small clay tablet is
kept at the National Museum in Damascus. Documents,
statues and jewels from the Ugarit kingdom are also on
display at the Lattakia, Aleppo and Tartous museums.
Its Arabic
name is Qal'at Samaan
After the death of St. Simeon, his body was moved to Antioch
and the Emperor Zenon ordered that a church be built in
the same place he died and named after him. Following that, walls
and towers were built around the church, which was turned
into a fortress known as St. Simeon Citadel. It became the
center of conflict between the Byzantines and Hamdanies
until the year 986 A.D. when Sayf Ad-Dawla Al-Hamdani
finally captured it.
Its Arabic
name is Qal'at Al-Hosn
Known
also as the “Kurds Citadel”. In the year 1099 the
Crusaders occupied it. In 1142, the crusader prince of
Tripoli handed it over to the “knights of Saint Joseph”
known as “Knights of the Hospital”, until the Arab sultan
Bebars conquered it with a skilful military plan in the
year 1271. It was finally evacuated by the soldiers in
1934 to become a touristic site.
It was
discovered during the excavations of Tell Mardikh site.
Ebla dates back to the 4th Millennium B.C. and is
considered one of the oldest civilizations in the world.
The discovery of its royal palace and its library of 17000
clay tablets helped know more about this important
civilization.
