Latakia is Syria’s main
sea-port on the Mediterranean (186 km southwest of Aleppo). It has
retained its importance since ancient times. Latakia was one of the five
cities built by Saluqos Nikator in the second century B.C. He named it
after his mother, Laudetia. Not many ancient remains have survived in Latakia, but there are four columns and a Roman arch from the time of Septimus Severus ( circa 200 A.D.), in addition to a beautiful Ottoman construction called “Khan al-Dukhan”, which is now a museum. |
Ras Al Bassit |
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Latakia
is the sea-gate to Syria. It is well-provided with accommodation, and is
well-placed as a base from which to explore the coastal regions of the
country. |
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Mention
should also be made of the historically important Ras Shamra, only 16 km to
the north of Latakia. This is the site of Ugarit, the kingdom that had a
golden past in administration, education diplomacy, law, religion and
economics between the 16th and the 13th centuries B.C. It is the kingdom
that gave humanity the first alphabet in the world. This alphabet is still
preserved in a clay tablet at the National Museum in Damascus. |
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Jableh is another Syrian seaside town, 28 km to the south of Latakia. It has a theatre built to accommodate 7,000 to 8,000 spectators. Close to Jableh is Tel Sokas, where archaeological relics were recently found, now on exhibition at the Damascus and the Tartus museums. |
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VISIT
OTHER CITIES (DAMASCUS - ALEPPO - PALMYRA - HOMS - HAMA - ZABADANI) (BOSRA - BANYAS - TARTUS - ARWAD) |
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EGYPT - LEBANON - JORDAN |
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