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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.