Homs Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Homs حمص Ḥimṣ
Homs city landmarks Al Shuhadaa Square and The Old Clock Tower • The New Clock Tower Square • Al Dablan Street • Krak des Chevaliers • Khalid ibn al-Walid Stadium • Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque • The New Clock Tower • City landscape from Rooftops
Nickname(s): The city of Ibn al-Walid
Country	Syria
Governorate	Homs Governorate
District	Homs District
Settled	2000 BCE
Area
• City	48 km² (19 sq mi)
• Urban	76 km² (29 sq mi)
• Metro	104 km² (40 sq mi)
Elevation	501 m (1,644 ft)
Population (2004 census)
• City	652,609
• Metro	750,501
Time zone	UTC+3 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (EEST)
Area code(s)	31
Website	http://www.homscitycouncil.org.sy

Homs (Arabic: حمص Ḥimṣ) is the third largest city in Syria. It used to be called Emesa (Greek: Ἔμεσα, Emesa). It is the capital of both the Homs District, and the Homs Governorate. It has 652,609 people (2004). It is on the Orontes River.

Homs is home to the Al-Baath University. The university is one of four major universities in Syria.

Homs has two football clubs. The Al-Karamah Sports Club was founded in 1928 and is one the oldest sports club in Syria. The Al-Karamah Sports Club has won eight Syrian League titles, and eight Syrian Cup titles. The second sports club of the city is Al-Wathba Sports Club. They started in 1937. The Khaled Ibn Al Walid Stadium has a 35,000-seat capacity. The stadium is home to both football clubs.

Images for kids

The Emesa helmet found in the necropolis of Tell Abu Sabun. Its owner was likely buried in the first half of the 1st century AD
The Tomb of Sampsigeramus, photographed 1907; it may have been built in 78–79 by a relative of the Emesene dynasty
Coin minted by Macrinus in Emesa
The Emesa temple to the sun god El-Gabal, with the holy stone, on the reverse of this bronze coin by Roman usurper Uranius Antoninus
Silver vase from Emesa, decorated with busts of biblical figures (end of 6th century or beginning of 7th). Louvre Museum
Some frescoes inside the Church of Saint Elian date back to the 6th century (not the ones pictured)
The interior of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri
Mamluks chasing archers at the Homs Battle of 1281 (manuscript of La Fleur des histoires de la terre d'Orient, BnF, NAF 886, folio No. 27, verso)
Mamluks being chased by archers at the Homs Battle of 1299 (same manuscript, folio No. 31, verso)
18th-century illustration of Homs by Louis-François Cassas. The artist in the foreground is shown sketching the Citadel of Homs, surrounded by his guards and inquisitive locals
General view of Homs at the end of the 19th century
Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque, an example of Ottoman architecture in Homs, was built in the early 20th century
The Citadel behind a camp of the Australian Light Horse on 19 November 1918 (James McBey)
The Homs camp of the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade (1940)
Satellite view
Saint Mary Church of the Holy Girdle is a historical Syriac Orthodox Church in Homs, Syria. The church is built over an underground church dating back to 50 AD. It is the seat of the Syriac Orthodox archbishopric. Homs is famous for its black stones and rocks of which this church and many others were built. Photo: Daniel Demeter founder of Syria Photo Guide.
Souk al-Harir, one of the many roofed souks
The oil refinery of Homs, built by Czechoslovakian firm Technoexport in 1959
Courtyard of Beit al-Agha restaurant
Qasr al-Zahrawi
The Khaled Ibn Al Walid Stadium
Faculty of Medicine in Al-Baath University
The railway station of Homs

Homs facts for kids

Images for kids

See also