Economy
After long periods of stagnation under Ottoman rule, Homs started to flourish again in the 20th-century. Its geographic and strategic location has made it a center of agriculture and industry. The "Homs Irrigation Scheme", the first of its kind in modern Syria, brought prosperity to cultivators and the long-established enterprises involved in the processing of agricultural and pastoral products. Crops grown in Homs include, wheat, barley, lentils, sugar beets, cotton, and vines, as well as serving as a point of exchange between the sedentary zone and the desert. Moreover, because of easy access to the Mediterranean, Homs has attracted overland trade from the Persian Gulf and Iraq.
Homs is also home to several large public heavy industries, such as the oil refinery west of the city which opened in 1959. A fertilizer plant was built in 1971 to process phosphates from their deposits near Palmyra; the fertilizer is for domestic consumption and export. A growing private industrial sector has flourished in the past decade and many small to medium sized enterprises occupy the industrial zones northwest and south of the city. A new sugar refinery is being built by a Brazilian company, and an automobile plant is under construction by Iran Khodro. Also a new phosphate plant and oil refinery are being built east of the city. Homs is also the hub of an important road and rail network, it is the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast.
A major industrial project was the establishment of a new industrial city in Hissaya, 47 kilometers (29 mi) south of the city of Homs. Spreading across some 2,500 hectares (25 km2), the city covers four main industrial sectors: textiles, food, chemical, engineering and vocational. In all, the facilities are designed to accommodate up to 66,000 workers and their families. Moreover, a free zone has been established within the city.
The hinterland of Homs is well known for its grapes which are used in Syria's liqueur industry, particularly in producing arak, nectar wine, and red wine. The city is considered a good base for day trips and excursions to the many historical and touristic sights nearby. Popular destinations include Krak des Chevaliers, Qatna, Talkalakh and Marmarita. Homs has several hotels; Safir Hotel is considered one of Syria's best five-star hotels and the only one of that status in the city. An-Nasr al-Jedid Hotel is built in a 100-year-old mansion and is labeled by tour guides as the "best budget hotel in Homs". Other hotels include Hotel al-Mimas, Ghazi Hotel, and Hotel Khayyam.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)