 In the 1970s and 1980s, during the presidency of Hafez al-Assad, the town expanded northward towards the east-west road connecting Masyaf and Baniyas.The intersection of this highway has become the commercial center of the town.Tourism-centered development spearheaded by private contractors began in the late 1980s, mostly concentrated north of the fortress, east of the town's main thoroughfare and south of the east-west highway.