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HOMS (Emesa, Hims)

An industrial city (pop. 490,000) in the fertile Orontes River Valley, Homs was once the ancient city of Emesa, which held a temple to the sun god Elagabal (it's alleged to be where high priest Heliogabalus became emperor of Rome). Homs is now known for its silk goods. Be sure to visit the Khalid Ibn Al-Walid (Great) Mosque, the ruins of the underground monastery and chapel and the Syrian Aramain Church. The Citadel (which was built in 2400 BC), the Al Nouri Mosque and ancient but still active suqs are also worth a look; gardens and orchards dot the surrounding landscape. All can be seen in about half a day.

If you're driving between Homs and Tartous, be sure to visit the Krak Des Chevaliers (see separate paragraph). Another side trip may be made to Al Mishrfeh (Mishrifeh), 13 mi./20 kms away; it's an ancient walled town featuring the ruins of two churches, an ancient Sumerian temple and a sacred lake. (We suggest a car and guide for the trip.) 85 mi./137 km north of Damascus and 30 mi./48 km south of Hama.

It is the third largest city in Syria and is located 160km north of Damascus. The city has occupied an important position in Syria's history due to the secular advantages it enjoys as well as the events it had gone through geographically.

Homs is an ancient city dating back to the year 2300 B.C. it contains a number of installation and castles, but  earthquakes had destroyed most of the historical landmarks. Only the remains of one citadel built above a rocky hill south of the city with two gates and a wall  remained intact. The two gates are: the gate of Damascus and the gates of Palmyra.

The most  important historical building in the city is the mosque and tomb of the famous Arab Moslem leader Khaled Bim Al-Walid who  lived in Homs for the last seven years of his life. The City of Bin Al-Walid.

This building is distinguished by its metal dome which reflects sunshine.  It is   also famous for its two  high minarets and narrow galleries built with black and white stones in a horizontal manner imitating Syria's traditional construction engineering.  There is also the church of Um Zennar which was discovered in the year 1953. Marlin church also has technical value after beautiful wall  paintings and mosaic were discovered in 1970.  It  also contains Arab and Greek scripts dating back to the twelfth century A.D.  

Another mosque in the city Al-Nouri Mosque, dates back to the twelfth century. In Homs museum are ruins dating back to the ancient Syrian eras, in addition to  a museum for popular traditions in Al-Zahrawi palace one of the most ancient buildings still in existence after seven centuries of history.

15 km away from Homs, lies Kattina lake with an area of 60 square kilometers. This lake is rich in fish and is regarded as the first water dam to keep the water of Orontes river since the second millennium B.C.

Crack Des Chevaliers, is the most important castle of the middle ages. It is located 65 km west of Homs and  goes 750 meters high above the sea level. The castle controls a strategic passage called Homs gap in Orontes valley. This castle was erected 8 centuries ago on the ruins of an old Kurdish site. It covers an area of 3 hectares and has 13 towers containing a number of halls, stores, passages, stables and bridges

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