Homs

WARNING: Travel to Syria is extremely dangerous due to ongoing warfare. The city of Homs, in particular, has seen years of fighting between government and opposition forces; as of 2017 it is under government control and has sustained severe damage.
(Information last updated May 2017)

Homs (حمص) is the third largest city in Syria.

Understand

With a population of 1.6 million, Homs is the third large city in Syria after the capital Damascus and Aleppo. It is centrally positioned in Syria and is home to Al-Baath University among other institutes. There are many restaurants and hotels. The old name for the city of Homs is "Emissa" or "Emizza" but in standard Arabic it is called "Hims" and "Homs" is its informal name.

Get in

There is no airport in Homs; however, you can reach the city by taxi, private car, or bus from the airports at Damascus, Aleppo, or Lattakia, or other ports of you are arriving from outside of Syria. There are bus stations in every city which provide service to reach Homs. The bus service costs 200 Syrian pound from Damascus, Aleppo, or Lattakia but it costs more if you are coming from cities further away.

Get around

See

There are many places where tourists frequently visit in Homs including: Khaled ibnul Waleed Masjed (in Arabic: مسجد خالد بن الوليد), Alnoori Grand Masjed (in Arabic: المسجد النوري الكبير), Ommel Zinnar Church (in Arabic:كنيسة أم الزنار) and other places. There are many Masjeds in Homs: Masjed Qubaa in Alinsha'at, Omer ibnul Khattab in Ghouta, and Masjed Arra'es in Alwa'er.

  • 🌍 Citadel of Homs (قلعة حمص). Built on an ancient tell dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, a castle has been standing here since Roman times. However, it is mostly associated with the medieval knight Usama ibn Munqidh and the castle is often referred to as Osama castle. The ancient structures where leveled during the 1830s and nowadays only ruins remains. (updated Dec 2017)
  • 🌍 Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque (مسجد خالد ابن الوليد). Noted for its Ottoman-Turkish architectural style, the mosque is dedicated to Khalid ibn al-Walid, an Arab military commander who led the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 7th century following the decisive Battle of Yarmouk, which put an end to Byzantine rule in Syria. (updated Sep 2018)

Do

Go to the mountains, 45 km from the city center : Mashta el Helou Marmarita Jwykhat Crack des Chevalier

There you can enjoy the cool weather, the beautiful view, or camp if you have a tent. Please note that a camping permit might be needed.

Buy

Eat

There are many restaurants in Homs in Ghouta street and Hamra street and others near city center . If you are just passing though the city, definitely try the "labneh shawarma" at the big food stall inside the Homs bus station.

Drink

You can find many pubs and bars to have a drink, specially in Al Hamidiya street and some in Al hadara Street. try Arak the local Syrian drink

Sleep

There are many Hotels in Homs, Assafeer Hotel in Alinsha'at is the most popular (5 stars), Homs Grand Hotel (HGH) and others cheaper Hotel near the city center and the Damascus road (in Arabic:طريق الشام) .

Go next


gollark: "equal to 390GB per day for 5 years"
gollark: Crucial's 1TB BX500, a well-known drive I've not-very-randomly picked, is rated for 360TB total writes.
gollark: So basically rewriting a tenth of the drive's capacity per day. They list this in the specs. As I said, it's generally more, and measured over 3-5 years generally.
gollark: 0.1 DWPD for a 1TB drive would be 100GB/day.
gollark: QLC is the lowest end regarding that, and most consumer stuff is on 3D TLC.
This article is issued from Wikivoyage. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.