Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Lattakia, SANA – The 3500-year-old Phoenician port of Jableh, located right in the center of city , is considered a spectacular archaeological site and a fascinating tourism destination for visitors.
In a statement to SANA, Director of Jableh Antiquities Department, Mas’oud Badawi, said that the semi-circular port includes a main entrance and an internal basin that is open towards the west, noting that the port is surrounded by a high rocky bloc (formerly called “Palace of Zaifa”) to the north which contains a series of rock engraved caverns in its eastern side that fishermen usually used as service room and depot for their fishing equipment.
The northern quay of the port basin is 40-m long and 12.5-m width. It is mainly constructed of large to medium-sized sand and lime stones on 4 pillars and it has been restored in the 11th century when the crusaders led by Raymond of Saint-Gilles seized Jableh city in 1098. A small stairway is built at the south-east corner to facilitate the access to the boats.
On the southern edge, rough and untrimmed stones cover an area of 50 meters at a depth of 6 meters to protect the entrance of the port from wind and western and southwestern waves.
To the north of the hill, grey granite columns still stand up despite the expansion works which took place in 1969, in addition to the discovery of square column bases and several columns of different diameters and lengths among the sunken remains of an old ship.
R.Raslan/Mazen
