Assal al-Ward ( ar, عسال الورد; also spelled Asal el-Ward) is a town in southern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, administratively part of the

Rif Dimashq Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate ( ar, محافظة ريف دمشق, ', literally, the "Governorate of the Countryside of Damascus", Damascus Suburb) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the ...

, located northeast of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

along the Syrian– Lebanese borders. Nearby localities include Hala,

Hosh Arab Hosh Arab or Hawsh Arab ( ar, حوش عرب) is a Syrian village in the Al-Tall District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Hosh Arab had a population of 2,073 in the 2004 census. Referenc ...

and

al-Qutayfah Al-Qutayfah ( ar, ٱلْقُطَيْفَة, al-Quṭayfah) is a city in Syria, administratively belonging to the Rif Dimashq Governorate, capital of the al-Qutayfah District. It is located approximately east of Damascus. According to the Syria C ...

to the southeast, Rankous, Saidnaya, Douma and

al-Tawani Al-Tawani ( ar, التواني) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located northeast of Damascus in the Qalamoun Mountains. Nearby localities include Ma'loula to the northeast, Hosh Arab and Ass ...

to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Assal al-Ward had a population of 5,812 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. The town is also the administrative center of the Assal al-Ward ''

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 ...

'' which consists of three towns with a combined population of 8,766. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

History

Assal al-Ward ("the rose makers") was long famous for its flower produce. The flowers produced in the town were supplied to the attar makers of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. But unrestricted grazing reduced the town's once burgeoning yearly harvest of sixty to seventy Kantars (hundredweights) to one or one and a half by the end of the 19th century.Burton; Drake, 1872, p. 45. During the early 1870s, the village was described as a "well-to-do place" with an entirely Shafi'i Muslim population. Armed men from the village possessed about 250 guns and were led by a local chief, Shaykh Salih. The inhabitants were noted for their hospitality, intelligence and willingness to fight. In 1874, the town was visited by British geographer, Sir

Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

, and he noted that the town was affluent, with cool fresh air and healthy inhabitants. In its ''Quarterly Statement'' of 1892, the

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the stud ...

described Assal al-Ward as a "village of a few hundred people" with a cool water spring.

Geography

Assal al-Ward lies on a high plateau that starts at between the Qalamoun and Anti-Lebanon Mountains.Hastings, 2004, p. 92. The large

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...

basinBeck, 1989, p. 18. of Assal al-Ward is watered by several springs, and drains northwards towards the towns of Jayroud and

an-Nabek An-Nabek or Al-Nabek ( ar, ٱلنَّبْك, an-Nabk) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. Located north of Damascus and south of Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. According to the S ...

. The area's forest vegetation is dominated by '' Juniperus excelsa'' (Greek Juniper) which is observed between .Merlo; Croitory, ed., 2005, p. 183.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Authority control Populated places in Yabroud District Towns in Syria