Wadi Barada (Arabic: وادي بردى) is a river valley in southwestern Syria. The valley is home to 17 villages and towns.[1]

Etymology

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The word wadi (وادي) means valley in Arabic.[1] "Barada" is thought to be derived from the word barid (بارد), which means "cold" in Semitic languages.[2] The ancient Greek name (Greek: Χρυσορρόας, translit. Chrysorrhoas), means "streaming with gold".[3] The river has also suffered from severe drought in the last decades, mainly due to the lower rainfall rates and the large increase in the population in the area.

Geography

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Wadi Barada is located in the north-western part of the Syrian capital of Damascus, in the Qalamoun district. It is known for being a mountainous area and in direct contact with the eastern mountain range of Lebanon. The Barada River is located in the western suburb of Damascus, it is 84 km long, stems from Zabadani, and drains in Al Otaiba Lake. The region also has a main water source. The water of Ein Fajja in the Barada valley is a major source of the capital, providing drinking water to more than six million people in Damascus and its countryside.[4]

Villages and towns of Wadi Barada

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The following villages and towns make up Wadi Barada. The population numbers are according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for 2004.

English Name Arabic Name Population Subdistrict
Souq Wadi Barada سوق وادي بردى 3,678 al-Zabadani
Kafr al-Awamid كفر العواميد 1,588 al-Zabadani
Barheliya برهليا 821 al-Zabadani
Hurayra هريرة 2,455 Madaya
al-Husseiniyah الحسينية 1,563 Ain al-Fijah
Deir Qanun دير قانون 4,213 Ain al-Fijah
Kfeir al-Zayt كفير الزيت 4,170 Ain al-Fijah
Deir Muqaran دير مقرن 4,803 Ain al-Fijah
Efra افرة 1,029 Ain al-Fijah
Ain al-Fijah عين الفيجة 3,806 Ain al-Fijah
Basimah بسيمة 2,812 Qudsaya
Ashrafiyat al-Wadi أشرفية الوادي 2,101 Qudsaya
Jdeidat al-Wadi جديدة الوادي 5,227 Qudsaya
Jamraya جمرايا 1,156 Qudsaya
al-Hamah الهامة 10,045 Qudsaya
Qudsaya قدسيا 33,571 Qudsaya
Dummar دمر 96,962 Damascus

Syrian civil war

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Syrian rebels captured the village of Ain al-Fijah in February 2012.[5] Engineers and technicians who worked at the water spring remained in place. After the rebel capture of Wadi Barada, government forces imposed a blockade on the villages.[6] The army retook control of the town on 28 January 2017 and the next day the Army took full control of Wadi Barada.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "After Battle for Wadi Barada, the Damascus Water War Isn't Over". newsdeeply.com. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  2. ^ Rihani, Ameen (2016). The Book of Khalid: A Critical Edition. Syracuse University Press. p. 455. ISBN 0815653328.
  3. ^ Kraeling, Emil G. H. (2008). Aram and Israel: The Aramaeans in Syria and Mesopotamia. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 46. ISBN 1606083945.
  4. ^ "وادي بردى.. منطقة سورية تواجه مصير حلب". www.aljazeera.net.
  5. ^ "الجيش السوري الحر من داخل نبع عين الفيجة 2 2 2012" – via www.youtube.com.
  6. ^ "Wadi Barada uses water spring to keep regime invasion at bay". Syria:direct. 20 November 2013.
  7. ^ Paul Antonopoulos (29 January 2017). "Syrian Army to take full control of Wadi Barada with expulsion of militants". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 29 January 2017.