Tartus (Arabic: 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)
Facade of the cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa,
The Museum of Tartus today.
In 1123 the Crusaders built the semi-fortified Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa over a Byzantine church that was popular with pilgrims.
In 1152, Tortosa was handed to the Knights Templar, who used it as a military headquarters. They engaged in some major building projects, constructing a castle around 1165
The city of Tortosa was recaptured by Saladin in 1188, and the main Templar headquarters relocated to Cyprus.
However, in Tortosa, some Templars were able to retreat into the keep,
which they continued to use as a base for the next 100 years. They
steadily added to its fortifications until it also fell, in 1291.
Tortosa was the last outpost of the Templars on the Syrian mainland,
after which they retreated to a garrison on the nearby island of Arwad, which they held for another decade (wikipedia)
The Old city
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