Tartus Governorate
Tartus Governorate, also transliterated as Tartous Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة طرطوس / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ṭarṭūs'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Latakia Governorate to the north, Homs and Hama Governorates to the east, Lebanon to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It is one of the few governorates in Syria that has an Alawite majority. Sources list the area as 1,890 km² or 1,892 km², with its capital being Tartus. History The governorate was historically part of the Alawite State, which existed from 1920–1936.Longrigg, Stephen Hemsley. "Syria and Lebanon Under French Mandate." London: Oxford University Press, 1958. It was formerly part of Latakia governorate, but was split off circa 1972. The region has been relatively peaceful during the Syrian civil war, being a generally pro-Assad region that had remained under government control. However in 2013 massacres against Sunni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Governorates Of Syria
Syria is a unitary state, but for administrative purposes, it is divided into fourteen governorates, also called provinces or counties in English (Arabic ''muḥāfaẓāt'', singular '' muḥāfaẓah''). The governorates are divided into sixty-five districts (''manāṭiq'', singular '' minṭaqah''), which are further divided into subdistricts (''nawāḥī'', singular '' nāḥiyah''). The ''nawāḥī'' contain villages, which are the smallest administrative units. Each governorate is headed by a governor, appointed by the president, subject to cabinet approval. The governor is responsible for administration, health, social services, education, tourism, public works, transportation, domestic trade, agriculture, industry, civil defense, and maintenance of law and order in the governorate. The minister of local administration works closely with each governor to coordinate and supervise local development projects. The governor is assisted by a provincial council, all of who ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bashar Al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Secretary-General of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which espouses the ideologies of neo-Ba'athism and Assadism. His father and predecessor was General Hafez al-Assad, whose presidency between 1971 to 2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a dynastic military dictatorship tightly controlled by Alawite-dominated armed forces and ''Mukhabarat'' (secret services) loyal to the Assad family. Born and raised in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988 and began to work as a doctor in the Syrian Army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, specialising in ophthalmology. In 1994, afte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arwad
Arwad, the classical Aradus ( ar, أرواد), is a town in Syria on an eponymous island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative center of the Arwad Subdistrict (''nahiyah''), of which it is the only locality.General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Latakia Governorate. It is the only inhabited island in Syria. It is located from (the ancient Tortosa), Syria's second-largest port. Today, Arwad is mainly a fishing tow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Islands Of Syria
Syria is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. The geography of Syria includes fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Ocean islands There are exactly five ocean islands belonging to Syria. They are all close to the Mediterranean Sea coast in the region of Tartus:Joško Barić"How did the war affect the only Syrian inhabited island" ''Syrian War Daily'', 28 February 2017. *Jazirat Basirah: about 4,500 m2, it is located 770 metres from Syria beach. *Arwad Island, Arwad, largest island of Syria, and only inhabited one. *Al-Abbas: in the south Arwad Island, about 13.000 m2, it is located 3.49 kilometres from Arwad and 2,77 kilometres from Syria beach.Dodonov ''et al.''"Late Quaternary marine terraces in the Mediterranean coastal area of Syria: Geochronology and neotectonics" ''Quaternary International'', vol. 190, iss. 1, pp. 158-170, Novembe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tell Kazel
Tell Kazel ( ar, تل الكزل, translit=Tall al-Kazil) is an oval-shaped tell that measures at its base, narrowing to at its top. It is located in the Safita district of the Tartus Governorate in Syria in the north of the Akkar plain on the north of the al-Abrash river approximately south of Tartus. Links to ancient Sumur The tell was first surveyed in 1956 after which a lengthy discussion was opened by Maurice Dunand and Nassib Saliby identifying the site with the ancient city variously named Sumur, Simyra or Zemar (Egyptian ''Smr'' Akkadian ''Sumuru'' or Assyrian ''Simirra''). The ancient city is mentioned in the Bible, Book of Genesis () and 1 Chronicles () as the home of the Zemarites, an offshoot of the Caananites. It was a major trade center and appears in the Amarna letters; Ahribta is named as its ruler. It was under the guardianship of Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos, but revolted against him and joined Abdi-Ashirta's expanding kingdom of Amurru. Pro-Egyptian factio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Margat
Margat, also known as Marqab ( ar, قلعة المرقب, ''Qalaat al-Marqab'', lit=Castle of the Watchtower), is a castle near Baniyas, Syria, which was a Crusader fortress and one of the major strongholds of the Knights Hospitaller. It is located around from the Mediterranean coast and approximately south of Baniyas. The castle remained in a poor state of preservation until 2007 when some reconstruction and renovation began. Fortress History Margat is located on a hill formed by an extinct volcano high about above sea level on the road between Tripoli and Latakia, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. According to Arab sources, the site of Margat Castle was first fortified in 1062 by Muslims who continued to hold it within the Christian Principality of Antioch in the aftermath of the First Crusade. When the Principality was defeated at the Battle of Harran in 1104, the Byzantine Empire took advantage of their weakness and captured Margat from the Muslims. A few years later it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hosn Suleiman
Hosn Suleiman ( ar, حصن سليمان), a Syrian village, is found on the slope of the Al-Nabi Saleh mountain (جبل النبي صالح) at an altitude 950 m, at a distance of 20 km from Duraykish and 56 km from Tartous. History Hosn Suleiman was known as Baetocaece which was famous for its slave market. The town had a temple of Zeus (بيت سيسي) and it is hinted from the naming that it bears semitic roots derived from Zeus's name. Also known as Baal (Bel) temple, ascribed to the god Baal. Still there is a village nearby called Betalous (بتعلوس). Baal was called also Baalous, and a Roman emperor existed as Elagabalus. The location was in close relation with Arwad kingdom (Arados) in the times of Phoenicians, and was a source of wood for the shipping industry. It was an important site during the Hellenic and Roman periods. Syria was then part of the Seleucid Empire. The current naming is derived from King Solomon ( Ar: سليمان). Visitors can see th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chastel Rouge
Chastel Rouge, also called Qal’at Yahmur ( ar, قلعة يحمور, Castle of Yahmur) is a small Crusader stronghold in the North West of Syria that belonged to the County of Tripoli. It is also identified as Castrum Rubrum mentioned in Latin texts. The castle stands in the village of Yahmur, at 12 kilometres' distance from Tartus and 10 kilometres from Safita, where the Tortosa and Chastel Blanc Crusader castles can be found. History Little is known about the capture and early development of the place by the Crusaders. This is because it was a castle of secondary importance, and also to some doubts in identifying the castle in medieval sources. However, it was granted by Tancred to Pons, Count of Tripoli in 1112. Later on, the stronghold seems to be in the hands of a Frankish family, the Montolieu, vassals of the Counts of Tripoli. Thus, it was part of the network of castles defending the County, for example Crac des Chevaliers, Chastel Blanc and Areimeh. In 1177/78, Raymond ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amrit
Amrit ( ar, عمريت), the classical Marathus ( grc-gre, Μάραθος, ''Marathos''), was a Phoenician port located near present-day Tartus in Syria. Founded in the third millenniumBC, Marat ( phn, 𐤌𐤓𐤕, ) was the northernmost important city of ancient Phoenicia and a rival of nearby Arwad. During the 2ndcenturyBC, Amrit was defeated and its site largely abandoned, leaving its ruins well preserved and without extensive remodeling by later generations. History The city lies on the Mediterranean coast around south of modern-day Tartus. Two rivers cross the city: Nahr Amrit, near the main temple, and Nahr al-Kuble near the secondary temple, a fact that might be linked to the importance of water in the religious traditions in Amrit. The city was probably founded by the Arvadites, and served as their continental base. It grew to be one of the wealthiest towns in the dominion of Arwad. The city surrendered, along with Arwad, to Alexander the Great in 333 BC. During Se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aleika Castle
Aleika Castle or Aliqa Castle ( ar, قلعة العليقة) is located in Aliqa near Tartus at distance 85 km, it consists of two floor structures, a type of concentric castle. Historically (12th century) it was under Syrian Nizari Isma'ili control, and had part during the crusades. Cemetery stones are found in the castle with Latin inscriptions, which confirms that fights took place here during the Crusades. The Mamluk Sultan Baibars is mentioned in the archives of the Syrian Tourism ministry. See also *List of castles in Syria *List of Ismaili castles List of the strongholds or dar al-hijra of the Nizari Ismaili state in Persia (Iran) and Syria. Most of the Persian Ismaili castles were in the Alborz mountains, in the regions of Daylaman (particularly, in Alamut and Rudbar; north of modern-da ... References Castles in Syria {{Castle-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Al-Kahf Castle
Al-Kahf Castle or Castle of the Cave ( ar, قلعة الكهف) is a medieval Nizari Isma'ili castle located around southeast of Margat, in the al-Ansariyah mountains in northwest Syria. History The castle was built around 1120 by Saif al-Mulk ibn Amrun, and was sold to the Isma'ilis 1138 by his son Musa. It served as the base of the Chief Da'i of Syria Abu Muhammad. Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the leader of the Isma'ili sect in Syria, used this castle initially as his base and hermitage. Sinan eventually died and was buried there in 1193. In 1197 the Regent of Jerusalem, Henry II, Count of Champagne, visited the castle to secure an alliance with Sinan's successor. The castle was the last Isma'ili stronghold in Syria to surrender to the Mamluks. Sultan Baibars finally captured it in 1273, and it remained in use until Ottoman times, when it served at times as a prison for important personages. The castle was finally destroyed in 1816 by Mustafa Agha Barbar, the Ottoman governor of Tr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Russian Naval Facility In Tartus
The Russian naval facility in Tartus is a leased military installation of the Russian Navy located on the northern edge of the port, sea port of the Syrian city of Tartus. Up until 2017, Russian official usage classified the installation as a Material-Technical Support Point (russian: Пункт материально-технического обеспечения, ПМТО) and not as a base. Tartus is the Russian Navy's only Mediterranean repair and replenishment point, sparing Russia’s warships the trip back to their Black Sea bases through the Turkish Straits. The Tartus facility currently can accommodate four medium-sized vessels but only if both of its Floating dock (jetty), floating piers, inside the northern breakwater, are operational. It is not (yet) capable of hosting any of the Russian Navy's current major warships which range in length from the through to the , much less cruisers such as the and the , or the and the . It is however, in theory at least, pres ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |