Tartus (Tartus District)
Tartus (طَرْطُوس / ALA-LC: Ṭarṭūs; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French Tartous) is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (after Latakia), and the largest city in Tartus Governorate. Until the 1970s, Tartus was under the governance of Latakia Governorate, then it became a separate governorate. The population is 115,769 (2004 census). In the summer it is a vacation spot for many Syrians. Many vacation compounds and resorts are located in the region. The port holds a small Russian naval base.
The Phoenician founders named the city Antarados (from Αντιαράδος → Antarados or Anti-Aradus, meaning "The town facing Arwad"). In Latin, its name became Tortosa. The original name survives in its Arabic form as Ṭarṭūs (طَرْطُوس), from which the French Tartous and English Tartus derive.
The Phoenician founders named the city Antarados (from Αντιαράδος → Antarados or Anti-Aradus, meaning "The town facing Arwad"). In Latin, its name became Tortosa. The original name survives in its Arabic form as Ṭarṭūs (طَرْطُوس), from which the French Tartous and English Tartus derive.
Map - Tartus (Tartus District)
Map
Country - Syria
Flag of Syria |
The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region, broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule. After a period as a French mandate (1923–1946), the newly-created state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a democratic parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when the Republic of Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French mandate (although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946).
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
SYP | Syrian pound | £ or لس | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AR | Arabic language |
HY | Armenian language |
EN | English language |
FR | French language |
KU | Kurdish language |