What is Tartus famous for?
Tartus is known for an old town built inside a Crusader fortress: houses settled into the wall and between the towers. The city's other well-known building is the twelfth-century Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa — among the best preserved Crusader churches in the Levant, and the town museum today. Arwad, three kilometres offshore, is the only inhabited island in Syria.
Highlights
- An old town built inside the Crusader fortress
- The twelfth-century Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa
- The corniche and the working port
- Arwad island, three kilometres offshore
- Safita and its white tower in the hills to the east
What to see
The White Tower of Safita
A Templar keep standing in a hill town east of Tartus. Its ground floor is a chapel still in use as a church, and the hall above was the military floor.
Amrit
A Phoenician city spread among olive groves south of Tartus. Its temple cella, standing in the middle of a rock-cut basin, has no equal in the region.
Arwad Island
Three kilometres off Tartus, the only inhabited island in Syria. Its lanes are too narrow for cars, and wooden boats are still built here by hand in the yards.
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- The answer on this page is written by hand. The lists are built from published records tied to this city and grow on their own as records are added.
- Facts checked
- August 2026
- Last updated
- August 21, 2026