Tartus طرطوس‎,

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En el año 1123 los cruzados construyeron la iglesia de nuestra señora de Tortosa sobre este lugar, más tarde fue utilizada como mezquita después de la reconquista musulmana, como caballerizas por los otomanos y renovada bajo el mandato francés. Ahora es el museo de la ciudad, . En 1152, Tortosa fue entregado a los caballeros Templarios, que lo utilizaron como su jefatura militar. La ciudad de Tortosa fue conquistada por Saladino en 1188 y los templarios se fueron a Chipre, quedándose diez años más en la isla de Arwad, desde donde realizaron una rafia para recuperar la protada de la catedral.

1123 the Crusaders built the church of Our Lady of Tortosa upon this site. It now houses this altar and has received many pilgrims. The Cathedral itself was used as a mosque after the Muslim reconquest of the city, then as a barracks by the Ottomans. It was renovated under the French and is now the city museum, containing antiquities recovered from Amrit and many other sites in the region. Nur ad-Din retrieved Tartus from the Crusaders for a brief time before it was lost again. In 1152, Tortosa was handed to the Knights Templar, who used it as a military headquarters. They engaged in some major building projects, constructing a castle with a large chapel and an elaborate keep, surrounded by thick double concentric walls. The Templars' mission was to protect the city and surrounding lands, some of which had been occupied by Christian settlers, from Muslim attack. The city of Tortosa was recaptured by Saladin in 1188, and the main Templar headquarters relocated to Cyprus. However, in Tortosa, some Templars were able to retreat into the keep, which they continued to use as a base for the next 100 years. They steadily added to its fortifications until it also fell, in 1291. Tortosa was the last outpost of the Templars on the Syrian mainland, after which they retreated to a garrison on the nearby island of Arwad, which they kept for another decade.

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