The façade
Pointed windows.
Frank Kidner — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0
Tartus Cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa, is a 12th-century church in the city of Tartus on the Syrian coast, described by historians as the best-preserved religious building of the Crusades. Today it is the National Museum of Tartus, showing finds from the area. It was built on the site of an older Byzantine church, and Saint Peter was said to have founded a small church to the Virgin Mary here, so it drew pilgrims. The Knights Templar governed the area from 1152 to 1291; an earthquake damaged the cathedral in 1202 before it was repaired, and it was fortified in the 1260s. After the Mamluks took it, it became a mosque, and later a museum. You see a plain, strong stone façade with an arched doorway and paired pointed windows with fine carving above, and a small tower beside it. Inside is a long, tall hall with columns and arches, displaying statues, inscriptions and finds from Tartus, Arwad and Amrit. Arwad Island is about 4.4 km away in a straight line, and Safita Tower about 22 km. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Syria, and British consular help is not available there, so check official guidance before making any plans.
Pointed windows.
Columns and arches.
From Tartus and Arwad.
Old Tartus, Syria
No, it is the National Museum of Tartus.
Statues, inscriptions and finds from the Syrian coast.