Marmarita…The Town of Love and Beauty

Marmarita is a town in Homs Governorate. It is about 850 meters above sea level. It is considered a picturesque natural resort, due to its location on hills and mountains.

Marmarita is located in Wadi al-Nasara, midway between Homs and Tartous, about 55 km from Homs and the same from Tartous, and about 12 km from the northern Lebanese border, as a direct line of sight.

The charming town is surrounded by a number of wonderful green mountains, as the town’s climate is moderate in summer, but it may host some rainy days, as the winter is very cold and snow falls several times during the cold winter of the region, which extends for five months.

The ancient ruins found in Marmarita indicate that this town has been inhabited for nearly two thousand years. It is believed that Marmarita was subjected to earthquakes that struck Ugarit, Lattakia and Tripoli in the pre-Gregorian and the first Gregorian eras in 540 AD, so the old city was destroyed under the mountain called Jebel Sayeh, which is 900 meters above sea level. What confirms this belief is that the Marmarita rocks are white while the stones of the mountain that embraces it are volcanic basaltic. Today, Marmarita goes back no more than 800 years. It is mentioned that the first families that migrated to it came from Horan in southern Syria, then from Lebanon and various Syrian regions.

Regarding the origin of the name Marmarita, some of the townspeople say that the name “Marmarita” is a Syriac name, and the reason for naming Marmarita with this name is that there was a church in the town called (Mar Marta), meaning the Church of Saint Martha . The others say that the name “Marmarita” was taken from a Syriac word, which is (Ma Marotha), meaning the “Lady of the Ladies” or “the Saint of the Saints”.

The population of Marmarita  is not fixed, as it reaches about 5,000 in the winter, while in the summer it may reach 20,000 people , as its expatriate sons come from America, Australia and various parts of the world in addition to the tourists, whose number increases every year, to enjoy the refreshing atmosphere and charming nature of Marmarita.

Marmarita is characterized by its annual carnival, which takes place on August 14 of every year. It is called the “Lady’s Day Carnival” and it is a festive, parade and religious festival. The village is also distinguished by the high percentage of its educated people and a large number of doctors, engineers, intellectuals and artists, that led to the development of the town in all aspects of social, cultural, sports, urban and tourist life. Marmarita has a number of wonderful churches and a magnificent monastery.

Thanks to the town’s distinctive location, as it sits at the foot of the Al-Sayeh Mountain near the sea and the ancient castle of Al-Hosn, in addition to its beautiful, moderate climate in summer, the picturesque green nature and the unique views, Marmarita became one of the most important tourist areas in Syria, as its splendor palaces, luxurious homes, the beauty of its nature, its green mountains and canteens , natural parks make Marmarita a destination for visitors from Syria and around the world. It is the country of flowers, roses and the distinctive summer.

Amal Farhat