Tartus

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), and the largest city in Tartus Governorate.[4] Until the 1970s, Tartus was under the governance of Latakia Governorate, then it became a separate governorate.[5] The population is 458,327 (2023 estimate).[6] In the summer it is a vacation spot for many Syrians. Many vacation compounds and resorts are located in the region. The port holds a small Russian naval base.[7] The name derives from Ancient Greek: Αντιαράδος, romanized: Anti-Arados (Antarados or Anti-Aradus, meaning "The town facing Arwad"). In Latin, its name became Tortosa. The original name survives in its Arabic form as Ṭarṭūs (Arabic: طَرْطُوس), from which the French Tartous and English Tartus derive. The History of Tartus goes back to the 2nd millennium BC when it was founded as a Phoenician colony of Aradus.[1] The colony was known as Antaradus. Not much remains of the Phoenician Antaradus, the mainland settlement that was linked to the more important and larger settlements of Aradus, off the shore of Tartus, and the nearby site of Amrit.[8]