al-Lādhiqiyya (Latakia, ٱللَّاذْقِيَّا)

The area around present-day Latakia, or Lattakia, has been inhabited since at least 2000 BC. The city itself was founded in the 4th century BC, after which it changed hands numerous times. The area has been ruled bu the Romans, the Byzantines, the Rashiduns, the Ummayads, the Abbasids, the Seljuk Turks, the Crusaders, the Ayyubids, the Mamluks and the Ottomans, amongst others. It was formerly known as Laodicea ad Mare.

After the First World War, the region came under French mandate, until Syria became independent in 1946.

There are severeral interesting museums in Latakia.

The National Museum of Latakia was opened in 1986. It is housed in a 16th-century Ottoman khan that used to serve the tobacco trade and was known as Khan al-Dukhan, or 'The Khan of Smoke'.

The museum's exhibits include inscribed tablets from Ugarit, ancient jewellery, coins, figurines, ceramics and pottery, as well as chain-mail suits and swords from Arab and Crusader periods. In the museum's gardens are numerous column capitals, ornaments, funerary tombs and ancient statues.

Latakia boasts eccellent beaches, where activities such as water-skiing, jet skiing and windsurfing can be practised. The city center boasts countless shops and there are several bustling markets.

There is a wide variety of hotels, restaurants, cafés and bars in Latakia. The city is on the Mediterranean coast, 230 km north of Dimašq (Damascus).

Because of aftermath of a civil war it is not recommended to travel to al-Lādhiqiyya (Latakia, ٱللَّاذْقِيَّا), or any other destination in Syria at this moment.

Hotels in al-Lādhiqiyya

Images

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