Tartus

Tartus ( / ALA-LC: Ṭarṭūs; also known as Tartous and also historically known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (after Latakia), and the largest city in Tartus Governorate. Tartus was under the governance of Latakia Governorate until the 1970s, when it became a separate governorate. The population is 458,327 (2023 estimate). In the summer it is a vacation spot for many Syrians.

OverviewAI-generated

Tartus is a city in Syria, serving as the capital of the Tartus Governorate. It is located within the Tartous Subdistrict and has at various times been part of the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. The city’s official language is Arabic, and it is twinned with Tortosa. Tartus holds the status of a Tentative World Heritage Site.

The city is named after Arwad. Its local dialing code is 43, and it operates in the Asia/Damascus timezone. According to available data, the elevation is listed as 0 meters in some records, while other sources indicate elevations of 19 or 20 meters. The native label for the city is طرطوس.

Synthesized by Vinony from 48 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Weather now

cached 15h ago

27°clear sky

69% 1.6 m/s OpenWeatherMap

7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality: طرطوس
Region: محافظة طرطوس
Country: سوريا
Population: 458,327
Timezone: Asia/Damascus

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

55US AQIModerate

PM2.5: 11.5 µg/m³
PM10: 19.7 µg/m³

As of 2026-08-11 03:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name: Tartus
Settlement.official_name: Tartous
Settlement.other_name: Tortosa
Settlement.native_name: طَرْطُوس
Settlement.native_name_lang: ar
Settlement.nickname: Rope; ()
Settlement.settlement_type: City
Settlement.image_seal: Emblem of Tartus.svg
Settlement.seal_size: 60px
Settlement.pushpin_map: Syria#Mediterranean east#Asia
Settlement.pushpin_label_position: bottom
Settlement.pushpin_mapsize: 250
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption: Location in Syria
Settlement.pushpin_relief: 1
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1: Governorate
Settlement.subdivision_name1: Tartus Governorate
Settlement.subdivision_type2: District

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Named after: Arwad
Country: French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
Located in: Tartous Subdistrict
Official language: Arabic
Elevation: 0
Capital of: Tartus Governorate
Official website: www.tartous-city.gov.sy
Image: Hamrat.jpg
Dialing code: 43

Show 9 more facts

Commons category: Tartus
topic's main category: Category:Tartus
twinned administrative body: Tortosa
category of associated people: Category:People from Tartus
described by source: Pauly–Wissowa
heritage designation: Tentative World Heritage Site
native label: طرطوس
P8168: Hugo Hergesell
P12749: Everswinkel

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

Understand

The city's history dates back to the 2nd millennium BC when it was founded as a Phoenician colony known as Antaradus. It was a major stronghold of the Crusaders in the 11th century and remained an important commercial city during the Ottoman era and onto modern Syria. It is a major port as well as home to a Russian naval facility.

Spared by the Syrian civil war, today Tartus is a summer vacation spot for many Syrians, numerous beach hotels and resorts are dotted along the coast.

Get in

As of 2017, rail services is limited to twice daily trains from Latakia, all long distance trains are cancelled indefinitely.

Eat

Tabole Fatoush Hot Fish + Syadiah

Drink

thumb|Tower tombs at Amrit Arak

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~17 min read

Encyclopedic overview

28 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Phoenician Antaradus
Greco-Roman and Byzantine era
Early Islamic era
Crusades
Ottoman era
Modern era
Geography
Climate
Economy
Industry
Tartus port
Russian naval base
Tourism
Culture
Art and festivals
Museum
Sports
Education
Local infrastructure
Transportation
Main sights
International relations
Twin towns — sister cities
Notable people
References
External links

==Etymology== The name derives from Ancient (Antarados or Anti-Aradus, meaning "The town facing Aradus). In Latin, its name became Tortosa. The original name survives in its Arabic form as Ṭarṭūs (), from which the French Tartous and English Tartus derive.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Tartus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.