Homs Travel Guide

Homs ( Arabic, حمص Himş, EMESA is the real name) is a city and governorate in Syria. The city is located on the Orontes river, dating back to 2300 B.C.. In Roman times it was known as Emesa, and it was known as Kadesh during Biblical times. The Krak des Chevaliers is built on the mountain gap near Homs. It is also home to the Tomb of Khalid bin Walid, a famous and celebrated Muslim Warrior. The current population of the city is 700,000.

Erratum: Kadesh (the most popular spelling; more accurately Qadesh ) was an ancient city of the Levant , located on the Orontes River , probably identical to the remains at Tell Nebi Mend, about 24 km southwest of Homs. Kadesh is best known, however, as the location of one of the best documented battles of the ancient world, the Battle of Kadesh , staged between the superpowers of the 13th century BC : the Egyptian and the Hittite Empires. G. Drak