Al-Husn ( ar, الحصن, also spelled al-Hisn) is a large village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographic ...

, located west of Homs and north of the border with

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. Nearby localities include al-Huwash to the east,

Anaz Anaz ( ar, عناز, also spelled ''Aanaz'') is a village in northern Syria located west of Homs in the Homs Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Anaz had a population of 2,038 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are ...

to the southeast, Aridah to the south, al-Zarah to the southwest,

Zweitina Zweitina or Zuwaytinah ( ar, زُويتينة / ALA-LC: ''Zūwaytīnah'') is a small Greek Orthodox Christian village located in Western Syria close to the Lebanese borders and administratively belonging to the Homs Governorate. Its location in t ...

to the west, al-Nasirah and Marmarita to the northwest, Muqlus to the north and

Mazinah Mizyeneh or Mazyanah ( ar, المزينة) is a small Greek Orthodox Christian village located in Western Syria close to the Lebanese borders and administratively belonging to the Homs Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statis ...

to the northeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Husn had a population of 8,980 in the 2004 census. It is the largest village in the al-Huwash ''

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' ("subdistrict"), which consisted of 19 localities with a collective population of 24,684 in 2004.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. The inhabitants of the village are predominantly Sunni Muslims, with a Christian minority, in an area largely populated by Christians that is known as Wadi al-Nasara ("Valley of the Christians.") The village has a

Greek Catholic Church The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

. The village is built around the

Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers, ar, قلعة الحصن, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn also called Hisn al-Akrad ( ar, حصن الأكراد, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, rtl=yes, ) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital; Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (), is a medieva ...

fortress (known as ''Hisn al-Akrad'' in Arabic) and the name ''al-Husn'' means "the Castle." The building itself used to be inhabited until its residents were evacuated by the French authorities who wanted to excavate the site. However, those who were dispersed built their homes outside the fortress and later benefited financially from the tourism it generated. The village has since developed with little civic planning, which has resulted in

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

surrounding the fortress. A restaurant called Al-Kala'a Restaurant that is popular with tourists is located on a hill in the village.Darke, 2006, pp. 198-199. In 2014 it was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

of the Syrian Civil War.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huan Populated places in Talkalakh District