Safita (Arabic: صا فيتا‎ Ṣāfītā) is a city in northwestern Syria, located to the southeast of Tartous and to the northwest of Krak des Chevaliers. The city has a population of 33,000. It's situated atop three hills and the valleys between them, in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range. Safita grew prominent during the Crusades, and was inhabited by the Knights Templar of the castle Chastel Blanc, while a part of the County of Tripoli.

The city has been inhabited since the times of the Phoenicians, and several archaeological discoveries have been made, including Phoenician and Canaanite settlements. In 1102, Raymond IV of Toulouse began to take the land of the Banu Ammars Emirs of Tripoli. A four-year siege on Tripoli resulted in full control of the city and many lands surrounding it, including Safita. Mamluk Sultan Baibars captured the castle in 1271.

Coordinates: 34°49′N 36°07′E / 34.817°N 36.117°E / 34.817; 36.117

George Wassouf (Arabic: جورج وسوف‎) (born December 23, 1961) is a Syrian singer with over 30 albums released. Wassouf's vocal style has been emulated by younger singers such as George El Rassi.

Born in Kafroun, tartous, Syria into a Christian household, he was called "the miraculous of his time" for his artistic talent in singing.^{[citation needed]} Wassouf started singing at the age of 10 in his hometown Kafroun. He was discovered by his first manager and producer George Yazbeck at a wedding party that Wassouf was performing at, aged 12 years old. At the age of 16 he was called Sultan El-Tarab by George Ibrahim El Khoury a magazine director, Arabic for The Sultan of Music, with his classic song "el-Hawa Sultan".^{[citation needed]} He became famous after appearing on the Lebanese show Studio El Fan 1980 when he was 16 years old when he was known as Sultan of Tarab.^{[citation needed]}

Wassouf preferred not to shoot videos for his songs saying "I don't feel I can act ... I really can't... I only find myself when I'm on the stage ... singing, but the video clip forces me to act".^{[citation needed]}