Syria is a melting pot of many different cultures and the Al Manara restaurant at the Afamia Rotana Latakia, located in Latakia, Syria, is the perfect place to dine and experience an international fusion of cuisine with themed nightly menus to tantalize your palate.

The newly opened (2009) Afamia Rotana Resort Latakia is an oasis for relaxation and features spectacular views, spacious guestrooms, a long stretch of private beach and marinas, two outdoor pools, extensive waters sports, a fitness center, and a selection of restaurants and comfortable lounges.  No matter where you walk on this expansive property you will find areas to relax and soak in the sun, play a game of backgammon, read a book, or indulge in a shisha (water-pipe for smoking); there is little reason to leave the property as it has everything you need, and the Al Manara is the ideal restaurant to unwind in anytime of the day.   

Al Manara 

I stayed at the hotel in September 2010, and had dinner at Al Manara, an attractive oval shaped, bright and airy contemporary restaurant with cerulean blue walls lined with arched windows on two floors that provide an outdoor feeling indoors, with Mediterranean-style lights hanging from the circular decorative ceiling painted with bright slashes of colors, red, terra cotta, olive, yellow, navy, and sky blue. Intricate wrought iron and wood railings, a large tile floor, and wood chairs with yellow cushions flanking wood tables dressed with linen placemats, and an expansive buffet in the center of the restaurant complete the ambience. 

In addition to the buffet, there is also an à la carte menu, however with the vast selection of tempting items, I decided on the buffet, taking my time to walk slowly around making mental notes of the many different salads, soups, breads (my weakness), and traditional mezze. A few of the highlights that I selected for my appetizers included traditional mezze of eggplant stuffed with rice, tabouli salad, and marinated green beans with tomatoes.

            Tabouli                                Stuffed Eggplant

For my main course, I selected a local dish made of marinated chicken with sliced almonds, peas, and raisins, on a bed of seasoned rice. The chicken was marinated in a mixture of garlic, oregano, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne for 2 hours before being baked. The dish was very tasty with the spice from the chicken counterbalanced by the sweetness from the raisins while the different textures from the crunchy almonds to the firm peas played with my palate.

Chicken, Sliced Almonds, Peas, Raisins on Rice 

Though I strolled by the extensive dessert section of the buffet more than once, I decided that I was quite satisfied with my dinner and it was time to take a nice long walk along the beach and soak in the calm night air while letting some sand sift through my toes before settling down for the evening. Though this was a well-thought out plan, I happened upon some friends who were relaxing at Breeze, the hotel's Oriental outdoor and indoor café, who were partaking of a shisha, and they asked me to come and sit with them for a while, so how could I turn them down?     

The Al Marana is open all day and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. 

Afamia Rotana Resort Latakia
Al Manara
Blue Beach
P.O. Box 680
Latakia, Syria
Telephone:       +963.141.33.0033
Fax:                  +963.141.33.0034
Email:               This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website:          www.Rotana.com 

Read other materials on Syria in the Destinations, Hotels and Resorts, Restaurants, Adventures , and Chefs' Recipes sections. 

For more information on Syria, please visit Syria Ministry of Tourism website: www.SyriaTourism.org. 

© November 2010. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.