|• Govrenor||Wahib Hasan Zein Eddin|
Tartus (Arabic: طرطوس, an aa transliteratit Tartous) is a ceety on the Mediterranean coast o Sirie. Tartus is the seicond lairgest port ceety in Sirie (efter Latakia), an the caipital an lairgest ceety in Tartus Govrenorate. The population size is 98,000 (year 2010 estimate).
Table o contents
- 1 Geography an climate
- 2 History
- 3 Economy
- 4 Transportation
- 5 Roushie Naval activity
- 6 Main sichts
- 7 Notable fowk
- 8 Photo gallery
- 9 References
- 10 Freemit airtins
Geography an climate[eedit | eedit soorce]
The ceety lies on the eastren coast o the Mediterranean Sea bordered bi the Alawite Muntains tae the east. Arwad, the anerlie inhabitit island on the Sirian coast, is locatit a few kilometers aff the shore o Tartus.
Climate[eedit | eedit soorce]
The climate is Mediterranean, wi short winter months an a moderate temperature frae April to October. The hills tae the east o the ceety create an alternative environment an climate. Tartus is kent for its mild weather an heich precipitation. Humidity in the simmer can reach 80%.
|Climate data for Tartus|
|Average heich °C (°F)||15.8
|Daily mean °C (°F)||12.0
|Average laich °C (°F)||8.4
|Precipitation mm (inches)||177.5
|Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)||12.5||10.2||9.3||5.4||2.1||0.5||0.1||0.1||0.8||4.4||6.5||11.0||62.9|
|Source: Hong Kong Observatory|
History[eedit | eedit soorce]
Phoenicie Antaradus[eedit | eedit soorce]
The History o Tartus goes back tae the 2nt millennium BC when it wis foondit as a Phoenicie colony o Aradus. The colony wis kent as Antaradus (frae Greek "Anti-Arados → Antarados", Anti-Aradus, meanin "The toun facin Arwad"). No hintle remains o the Phoenician Antaradus, the mainland settlement that wis linked tae the mair important an lairger settlements o Aradus, aff the shore o Tartus, an the nearbi steid o Amrit.
Greco-Roman an Byzantine[eedit | eedit soorce]
The ceety wis cried Antaradus in classical Laitin. The ceety wis favored bi emperor Constantine for its devotion tae the cult o the Virgin Mary. The first chapel tae be dedicatit tae the Virgin is said tae hae been built here in the 3rd century.
Islamic[eedit | eedit soorce]
Muslim airmies conquered Tartus unner the leadership o Ayyan bin al-Samet al-Ansary in 636.
Crusades[eedit | eedit soorce]
The Crusaders cried the ceety Antartus, an an' aa' Tortosa. First captured bi Raymond o Saint-Gilles, it wis left in 1105 tae his son Alfonso Jordan an wis kent as Tortosa. In 1123 the Crusaders built the kirk o Oor Lady o Tortosa upon this steid. It nou hooses this altar an haes received mony pilgrims. The Cathedral itsel wis uised as a mosque efter the Muslim reconquest o the ceety, then as a barracks bi the Ottomans. It wis renovatit unner the French an is nou the ceety museum, containin antiquities recovered frae Amrit an mony ither steids in the region. Nur ad-Din Zangi retrieved Tartus frae the Crusaders for a brief time afore he lost it again. In 1152, Tortosa wis haundit tae the Knights Templar, who uised it as a military heidquarters. They engaged in some major biggin projects, constructin a castle wi a lairge chapel an an elaborate keep, surroondit bi thick double concentric waws. The Templars' mission wis tae protect the ceety an surroondin lands, some o which haed been occupeed bi Christian settlers, frae Muslim attack. The ceety o Tortosa wis recaptured bi Saladin in 1188, an the main Templar heidquarters relocatit tae Cyprus. Housomeivver, in Tortosa, some Templars wur able tae retreat intae the keep, which they continued tae uise as a base for the next 100 years. They steadily addit tae its fortifications till it an aa fell, in 1291. Tortosa wis the last ootpost o the Templars on the Sirian mainland, efter which they retreated to a garrison on the nearbi island o Arwad, which they kept for anither decade.
Economy[eedit | eedit soorce]
Tartus is an important trade center in Sirie an haes ane o the twa main ports o the kintra on the Mediterranean. The ceety port is experiencin major expansion as a lot o Iraqi imports come through the port o Tartus tae aid reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
Tartus is a popular destination for tourists. The ceety affers guid sandy beaches an several resorts. The ceety enjoyed major investments in the last few years. The lairgest being Antaradus waterfront development.
Transportation[eedit | eedit soorce]
Tartus haes a well-developed road netwirk an heich-gates. The Chemins de Fer Syriens operatit railway netwirk connects Tartus tae major ceeties in Sirie, although anerlie the Latakia-Tartus passenger connection is in service.
[eedit | eedit soorce]
The ceety hosts a Soviet-era naval supply an maintenance base, unner a 1971 agreement wi Sirie, still staffed bi Roushie naval personnel. In pairticular, the Roushie Navy's 5t Mediterranean Squadron haes been uisin the base. It haes been reportit that Roushie an Sirie are conductin talks aboot permittin Roushie tae develop an enlairge the base in order tae establish a stranger naval presence in the Mediterranean, an amidst the deterioratin Roushie relations wi the wast in conjunction wi the 2008 Sooth Ossetie war an the plans tae deploy US missile defense shield in Poland, it haes been assertit that Preses Assad haes agreed tae Tartus port’s conversion intae a permanent Middle East base for Roushie's nuclear-airmed warships. Moscow an Damascus additionally annoonced that it wad be renovatin the port, although there wis nae mention in the Sirian press. On September 19, ten Roushie warships docked in Tartus. Accordin tae Lebanese-Sirian commentator Joseph Farah the flotilla which haes been muivit tae Tartus consists o the Moskva cruiser an fower nuclear missile submarines. Accordin tae Farah upgrades o the port facilities are awready unner wey. Syne 1992 the port haes been in disrepair wi anerlie ane o its three floatin piers remainin operational, but the facilities nou are being restored.
On September 22, 2008, Roushie Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the nuclear-powered battlecruiser Peter The Great, accompanied bi three ither ships, sailed frae the Northren Fleet's base o Severomorsk. The ships will cover aboot 15,000 nautical miles (28,000 km) tae conduct joint maneuvers wi the Venezuelan navy. Dygalo refused tae comment on Monday's report in the daily Izvestia claimin that the ships wur tae mak a stopower in the Sirian port o Tartus on their way tae Venezuela. Russian officials said the Soviet-era base there was being renovated to serve as a foothold for a permanent Russian navy presence in the Mediterranean.
On Julie 20, 2009 RIA Novosti reportit that the base wad be made fully operational tae support anti-piracy operations. It will an aa support a Roushie naval presence in the Mediterranean as a base for "guidit-missile cruisers an even aircraft carriers".
Main sichts[eedit | eedit soorce]
The historic centre o Tartus consists o mair recent buildings built on an inside the waws o the Crusader-era Templar fortress, whose moat still separates this auld toun frae the modren ceety on its northren an eastren sides. Ootside the fortress few historic remains can be seen, wi the exception o the umwhile cathedral o Notre-Dame o Tartus (Oor Lady o Tortosa), frae the 12t century. The kirk is nou the steid o a museum. Umwhile Preses Hafez Assad an his predominantly Islamic admeenistration haed promised tae return the steid tae the Christians as a seembol o deep Christianity in Sirie, housomeivver he dee'd afore this promise wis executit. Assad's son, Preses Bashar Assad, haes claimed tae honor his faither's promise.
Tartus an the surroondin aurie are rich in antiquities an aircheological steids. Various important an well kent steids are locatit athin a 30-minute drive frae Tartus. These attractions include:
- The auld ceety o Tartus.
- Marqab Castle, north o the ceety.
- The historic Toun o Safita.
- Arwad island an castle.
- The auncient cathedral o Oor Lady o Tortosa, nou uised as the ceety museum.
- Beit el-Baik Palace.
- Hosn Suleiman Temple.
- Mashta Al Helou resort.
- Drekish toun-resort.
The ootlyin toun o Al Hamidiyah juist sooth o Tartus is notable for haein a Greek-speakin population o aboot 3,000 who are Muslims in their releegion. Their ancestors muivit there in the late 19t century frae Crete.
Notable fowk[eedit | eedit soorce]
- Saadallah Wannous (1941–1997), playwricht, an first Arab tae deliver the International Theatre Day address.
- Sheikh Saleh Al-Ali, a pre-independence Sirian revolutionary who fought against the French mandate.
- Dr. Halim Barakat, novelist, sociologist an retired research professor.
- Jamal Suliman, actor.
- George Wassouf, famous Arab popstarn.
- Ghassan Masoud, actor.
- Giana Eid, actress.
- Qussai Al-Khaoli, actor.
- Rana Jammoul, actress.
- Nashwa Taher, Arabic Linguist at George Washington University.
Photo gallery[eedit | eedit soorce]
|Wikimedia Commons haes media relatit tae Tartus.|
References[eedit | eedit soorce]
- "Syria: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World-gazetteer.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
- "Central Bureau of Statistics". Cbssyr.org. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
- "Climatological Information for Tartous, Syria". Hong Kong Observatory. June 2011.
- Tartus Encyclopaedia of the Orient. Retrieved 2007, 06-26.
- History of Tartous Syria Gate. Retrieved 2007, 06-26.
- Lost Worlds: Knights Templar. History Channel video documentary, first aired Julie 10, 2006.
- “Syria and Russia strengthen naval cooperation” Itar-Tass news agency via Haaretz. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
- Bhadrakumar, M K (August 29, 2008). "Russia remains a Black Sea power". Asia Times Online. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
- David R. Sands, "Russia Expanding Navy into Mediterranean Sea", The Washington Times, August 7, 2007.
- "Big Russian flotilla led by Admiral Kuznetsov carrier heads for Syrian port". DEBKAfile. August 21, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2008.[deid airtin]
- "Sources: Russian warships in Syrian port". UPI.com. September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- Farah, Joseph (September 19, 2008). "Russians moving into Syria. Strategic alliance include fleet, missiles". WorldNetDaily. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- "Russian navy ships head to Venezuela.".[deid airtin]
- John Pike (May 13, 2010). "Russia set to build up its naval facilities in Syria". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
- Russian Navy to base warships at Syrian port after 2012
- Greek-Speaking Enclaves of Lebanon and Syria bi Roula Tsokalidou. Proceedings II Simposio Internacional Bilingüismo. Retrieved December 4, 2006.
- "Halim Barakat". Halim Barakat. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
-  Articles, stories and posts about Tartous (Tartus). Geography, history and legends from one of the most fascinating Mediterranean Old Cities.
Freemit airtins[eedit | eedit soorce]
-  Sea Side by Mariyah and Abufares. A novel wi the backdrop o the Sirian coast an the bonnie ceety o Tartus
News & Events[eedit | eedit soorce]
-  Abufares said... the warld accordin tae a Tartoussi, an Inglis blog frae Tartous
- eTartus The First Complete wabsteid for Tartus news an services
Govrenmental Services[eedit | eedit soorce]
- E.sy The First Complete Govrenmental Online Services
Freemit airtins[eedit | eedit soorce]