Latakia

Latakia is Syria's window on the Mediterranean, ancient Laodicea, and it feels it: a port city of seafront cafes, a long corniche, shopping streets and a easier social air than the interior. A Roman tetraporticus - a four-way colonnaded arch - stands in the old quarter among later lanes, and the city museum occupies an old khan by the water. The beaches north of the city and the mountain resorts behind it make Latakia the base for the whole green northwest coast.

Background

Officially spelled Lattakia, the city has historically been called Laodicea ad Mare or Laodicea in Syria. People have lived on the site since the 2nd millennium BC, though the city was founded as a Greek settlement in the 4th century BC under the Seleucid Empire. In the 2nd century AD the Roman emperor Septimius Severus gave it the title of Metropolis and built its Tetraporticus. An earthquake struck in 494, and Justinian I rebuilt the city. It is now the 5th-largest city in Syria, with a 2023 estimate of 709,000 people, and besides its port it serves as a manufacturing centre for nearby farming towns and villages. The nearest point of Cyprus lies about 109 kilometres away.

Source: Wikipedia, "Latakia"

What's there

• The corniche - the seafront promenade and its cafes.
• The tetraporticus - the Roman four-way arch in the old lanes.
• The old khans - the caravanserai quarter near the port.
• The northern beaches - the sand and coves up the coast.

When to go

April to June and September to November are mild and clear. Summer is humid and busy with coastal holidaymakers. Winter is mild and rainy.

Before you go

Latakia is a working port city, not a resort - the best beaches are out of town. Museum and monument opening is irregular. Traffic is heavy in season.

Nearby

Ugarit is just north, and Ras al-Bassit is up the coast.

Key facts