Tartus Governorate


Tartus Governorate, officially Tartous Governorate, is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Latakia Governorate to the north, Homs and Hama Governorates to the east, Lebanon to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It is one of the few governorates in Syria that has an Alawite majority. Sources list the area as 1,890 km2 or 1,892 km2, with its capital being Tartus.
FB TartusGov1

History

The present day Tartus Governorate was part of the Alawite State, which existed from 1920 to 1936. In 1972, the Ba'athist administration had established Tartus Governorate, effectively detaching it from Latakia Governorate.

Archeological sites

*

Geography

Tartus comprises roughly half of Syria's Mediterranean coastline; offshore lie five small islands, the largest of which is Arwad. Inland the terrain is mountainous, comprising a section of the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range. The Nahr al-Kabir river forms the border with Lebanon to the south.

Settlements

Tartus is the regional capital; other major settlements include Al-Hamidiyah, Al Qadmus, Al-Sawda, Ayn ash Shams, Baniyas, Qusaybah and Safita.

Districts

The governorate is divided into five districts. The districts are further divided into 27 sub-districts :Tartus District

Demographics

As per the 2004 Syrian census the population was 701,400. A 2011 UNOCHA estimate put the population at 797,000, an estimate preceding the Syrian Civil War which caused a large population decline and socioeconomic devastation.
The estimated population of 797,000 represented roughly 4% of Syria's population at the time. The population was almost entirely ethnic Arabs; these were Alawites at 69%, 18% Sunni Muslims, 7% Ismaili Muslims, and 6% were Christians. There was a small Cretan Greek community concentrated in Al-Hamidiyah, the descendants of refugees who fled the Greco-Turkish War of 1897.