The Roman Theatre of Jableh

A Roman theatre in the middle of Jableh, 25 km south of Latakia. Among the ancient theatres uncovered in Syria it is one of the largest and one of the soundest. The town grew up around it: apartment blocks stop right above the seating.

Getting there

In the centre of Jableh, on the east edge of the old town beside the Roman wall. It is 25 km from Latakia; shared minibuses run along the coast road and set you down a few streets away. You do not need to ask for the address — the structure is visible from street level.

What to see

The plan is round, 90 metres across. The seating runs to 35 rows and rests on arches: because the theatre was built on flat ground rather than a slope, radial vaults carry the whole weight. A corridor 4 metres wide runs beneath the seats, and you can walk into it. The walls are local sandstone and limestone; the marble of the columns was brought from Tyre and from Egypt. Full, it held about 8000 people.

How it reached today

The building is dated to the early 3rd century, under the Severan emperors; older publications put it in the 2nd century. It was abandoned soon after the Muslim conquest, and in the Abbasid period workshops, a bathhouse and stables were set up inside it. The Crusaders turned the theatre into a castle; Saladin took it in 1188, and the Mamluk sultan Qalawun took it for the last time in 1285. Excavation found an Islamic cemetery laid over the paving of the stage. The building came through the civil war largely undamaged, but it was hurt in the February 2023 earthquake and repair work is under way.

How long it takes

Forty-five minutes. The circuit is short: you climb the seating once and come down into the orchestra. Some sections may be closed for the repair work.

What most people miss

Go into the vaulted chambers under the seating. Theatres built into a hillside have no such storey — at Jableh that is where the engineering holding up the whole cavea sits, and most visitors walk the upper level and leave.