Hawat al-Jubab, a Sinkhole in the Qadmus Hills

Hawat al-Jubab is a large sinkhole in the Tartus mountains, 1 kilometre south-west of the village of al-Dey in the Qadmus area. Its mouth is almost round and about 20 metres across, and at its deepest it reaches 35 metres. The floor is a hall of 800 square metres, reached by a concrete stair that the municipality of al-Dey had built.

Getting there

Head first for al-Dey. The village is about 6 kilometres from al-Qadmus, in the Tawahin subdistrict of Baniyas District, and the sinkhole is 1 kilometre south-west of it. The sinkhole itself is not marked on maps, so ask in the village for the last stretch.

What is down there

At the bottom of the stair, the floor has been levelled by the municipality into terraces. The nearest point of the roof is about 20 metres above the hall; the rock is a deep red and drips with water. In the east corner a freshwater spring rises at the foot of a small rock face and collects in a little hollow below it. Smaller caves open off the sides of the hall.

How long it has been used

Arabic Wikipedia records that the sinkhole was a permanent home in the Stone Age, and that under Ottoman and French rule people sheltered there from raids. Today locals come down in summer to escape the heat; the floor holds about 500 people.

How long it takes

An hour to go down, sit for a while and climb back. It fits into the same day as Qadmus Castle, which stands just above the town of al-Qadmus.

What most people miss

The spring in the east corner. Most people who come down the stair stay in the middle of the terraces; the spring is off in the corner at the foot of the rock, its water gathering in a small hollow.