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<p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Lattakia"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Lattakia</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Tartous"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Tartus</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Ugarit"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Ugarit</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Amrit"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Amrit</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Saladin Castle"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Saladin Castle</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Safita"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Safita</span></a><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>LAT<a name="Lattakia"></a>TAKIA<br /></strong><br />It's a major Syrian seaport, 320 km north of Damascus. Like most of the other cities of the Levantine coast, Lattakia has played its role in entertaining most of Syria's conquerors<br /><br /><strong>TA<a name="Tartous"></a>RTUS</strong> <br /><br />220 km north west of Damascus - about 60 km south of Lattakia; Tartous has been rapidly developed in recent decades as Syria's second port city, with a number of major industries to the north. It has been connected to the national rail and road grid and the expansion of the city has robbed it of much of its sleepy charm as a small Mediterranean fishing port with its roots firmly planted in the past. The old city retains some of its character and the former Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa is one of the most remarkable surviving remains of the religious architecture of the Crusaders outside Jerusalem<br /> <br /><strong>UG<a name="Ugarit"></a>ARIT (Ras al-Sharma): </strong><br /><br />About 10 - 13 km north of Lattakia; Ugarit has given the world its first alphabet and stood as a very important, brave city of the Phoenicians. It actively participated in trade around the eastern Mediterranean and from here much of the later Phoenician commercial and cultural expansion took its inspiration, not least through the development of the alphabet.<br /><br /><strong>A<a name="Amrit"></a>MRIT </strong><br /><br />7 km south of Tartous; Amrit was a Phoenician religious center, heavily influenced in its architectural style by the Achaemenid Persians. It is the only extant site in Syria whose remains, though fragmentary, convey this mixture of civilizations, reflecting the ability of the Phoenicians to absorb and syncretise outside influences. It was also the continental port for the Phoenician settlement on Arwad, the island 2.5 km to the west<br /> <br /><strong>S<a name="Saladin Castle"></a>ALADIN CASTLE</strong> <br /> <br />24 km east of Lattakia, lies a huge solid fortress upstanding on the edge of the gigantic fosse. While its defenses are less intact than studied symmetry of the Crac des Chevaliers and it is less somber and brooding in its aspect than Marqab, this is an example of Crusader castle-building at its most romantic. The castle represents the flamboyance of the Crusader enterprise - perhaps folly is a better word - in a raw and beautiful location, softened today by the peaceful setting and on a spring day, the profusion of wildflowers that cover the scene.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>S<a name="Safita"></a>AFITA<br /></strong><br />30 km from Tartous; Safita is one of the most picturesque towns in Syria, set in beautiful orchard and olive-growing country dotted with historic sites. It is equally accessible from Tartous. The Crac and Drekish and the surrounding valleys contain many picnic spots, idyllic particularly during the spring when the countryside is covered in wildflowers.<br /><br />The area fell early into Crusader hands and is mentioned in Arab sources as part of the domains of the Count of Tripoli for 1112. The building of the first castle probably dates from that time. In 1167 – 1171, Nūr al-Din took advantage of Crusader unpreparedness, occupying Tartous, destroying Areimeh and largely demolishing the first version of the Safita fortress, partly out of anger at Crusader piracy against Egyptian merchant ships.<br /><br /></span></span></p>