SAFITA

   Safita is a municipality in the Tartus prefecture of Syria. It lies in the mountains near the Mediterranean Sea in altitude between 300 and 400 metres. The town of Safita occupies the tops of three hills and the valleys between them. These hills are part of the coastal mountain ranges of Syria.

   The municipality of Safita has 30.000 residents. This population lives in the centre of the town and in 89 villages and 49 settlements in the around region. If we also include the residents of the near town of Mashta and 46 villages and 20 settlements around it, the total number will be 135 villages and 69 settlements with 166.000 population.

   The region had human settlements since the Phoenician era. The castle of Safita constituted one of the defensive centres that were scattered in the coastal mountain ranges up to the Syrian-Turkish borders. Other such castles were the castle of Hesn or castle of the Knights (Crac des Chevalieurs), the castle of Suleyman, the castle of Markeb and others that formed a strategic line of defence. Fire signals were used to warn for the appearance of the enemy .

   Weather in Safita is good most of the time and the four seasons last roughly the same. The winter is cold and temperatures occasionally approach 0 ºC, there is enough humidity in the summer with temperatures around 37 ºC and the annual rainfall ranges from 1200 to 1500 mm.