Chapter Two
Rastan Dam
A reservoir on the Orontes with a retaining capacity of 225 million m³, primarily for irrigation.
A city on the Orontes — between Homs and Hama, carrying the memory of Arethusa and the pulse of today.
The town stands on the site of Hellenistic Arethusa, founded by Seleucus I Nicator in the 3rd century BC. Its older names — Arethusa, Arastan, الرَّسْتَن — have lived alongside one another ever since.
Arethusa was first capital of the Emesene kingdom in central Syria — a Roman vassal ruled by the phylarch Sampsiceramus I until Pompey captured the city in 64 BC.
A reservoir on the Orontes with a retaining capacity of 225 million m³, primarily for irrigation.
A 3rd-century BC Roman sarcophagus found near Alrastan, today preserved in the National Museum of Damascus.
Alrastan is known for fertile soil, ancient olive groves, and one of the principal marlstone quarries in Syria.
Local farmers associations open the season in the eastern fields.
Rehabilitation of access roads to the historic bridge continues.
In cooperation with the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums.
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