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Under the name of Antirados
(Anti-Rados: opposite Arwad), it allowed the Phoenicians to make the
liaison with Arwad. It took the name of Tortose under the French
Crusaders, and when the freedom of worship was accorded to the first
Christians, pilgrims came here in great numbers to visit the first church
consecrated to Mary (by Saint-Peter himself according to the legend).
Raymond of Saint- Gilles took Tortose in 1102 and then the French
Crusaders decided to erect the cathedral of "Our Lady of Tortose" on the
same- spot as the first church in 1123 AD. Towards 1165, the Templars kept
the fortress and resisted to the assaults of Saladin in 1188. But Saladin,
as the Baybars would later do when unable to capture the fortress,
destroyed the town. Tortose finally fell into the hands of the Muslims in
1291. Afterwards, the cathedral knew several transformations: into a
mosque, Turkish military barracks, and then into a museum in 1956.
Tartous's Hotels : (select from list)
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