Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing

There is a monumental Roman archway in Bab al-Hawa that was part of a city wall.[5][6] There is a further complex of Byzantine architecture near the archway that has been largely destroyed and re-used in border construction. It features a church and another large rectangular building.[7]

In the ongoing Syrian Civil War, it was a frequent place of crossing for Syrians trying to reach the refugee camp in nearby Reyhanlı.[8] Drivers complained in December 2011 that they had been stalled at the crossing for days after customs officials stopped allowing vehicles with Turkish registrations to enter Syria.[9] The crossing is a major route for smuggling, particularly oil and gas, and during the conflict has seen a dramatic rise in weapons smuggling.[10] On 19 July 2012, Syrian rebels from the Free Syrian Army seized the border and defaced images of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.[11][12][13] On 22 July 2012, Turkish armed forces further restricted border crossings of their own nationals.[14]

In September 2012 foreign jihadists raised the Jihadist flag of al-Qaeda at the border post, leading to a confrontation with the Free Syrian Army.[15][16] On February 11, 2013, a car bomb in a Syrian-registered minivan was detonated on the Turkish side of the crossing meters from the Cilvegözü customs office.[17] Thirteen people—including 3 Turkish civilians—were killed, while 28 others were wounded and 19 vehicles were damaged.[18] The Turkish government labeled the bombing a terrorist act,[18] and said that Turkey's interior, justice and customs ministers would visit the area to help the investigation.[17]

On 7 December 2013, the Islamic Front took the crossing from the Free Syrian Army,[19][20] and as of July 2014, they were manning the Syrian side with members of the Salafist militia Ahrar ash-Sham.[21] Ahrar a-Sham maintained control when the Islamic Front dissolved in 2015, but established a civilian administration for the border crossing in April 2015.[20]

On 23 July 2017, hundreds of Ahrar al-Sham fighters withdrew with their equipment from the crossing and retreated to Turkey after Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) defeated Ahrar al-Sham in Idlib.[22] As a result, the crossing was largely closed by Turkey, with the exception of exports of humanitarian aid and food from Turkey.[23] On 26 July 2017, HTS and Ahrar al-Sham reached an agreement that they would hand over the crossing to a civilian administration so that the flow of humanitarian aid could resume. However, HTS retained control of the towns, villages and roads around it, leaving them in a decisive position. The crossing re-opened on 18 October. In November 2017, civil officials operating the crossing reported that all revenue generated (estimated at $25 million a year in late 2016) goes to the local civil administration.[20] On the 3 March 2020, the US envoy to Syria James Jeffrey, visited the border crossing and supported the Turkish presence in the Idlib Governorate.[24]

• Bab al-Hawa - Archaeological Gate Links Syria and Turkey