Jaramana ( ar, جرمانا) is a city in southern Syria, 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 ...

in the Ghouta plain. Its location, 3 kilometers southeast of the Syrian capital, makes it a bustling town in the greater Damascus metropolitan area, with a mostly Christian and Druze population. It is adjacent to the

Jaramana Camp Jaramana Camp ( ar, مخيم جرمانا) is a Palestinian refugee camp in the outskirts of the city of Damascus. It is located southeast of the center of Damascus, near the airport road leading to the Damascus International Airport. The cam ...

, a

Palestinian refugee camp Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian e ...

History

Jaramana was visited by Syrian geographer

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known for ...

in the early 13th-century and noted it was "a district of the Ghautah of Damascus." In late 2012, the neoconservative Institute for the Study of War said there had been reports of Popular Committees (local self-defense militias formed to defend communities from armed extremists) and pro-government

Shabiha ''Shabiha'' (Levantine Arabic: ', ; also romanized ''Shabeeha'' or ''Shabbiha''; ) is a term for state sponsored militias of the Syrian government. However, in the Aleppo Governorate the term Shabiha is used frequently to refer to pro-Assad Sunn ...

working closely with government forces there. On October 29 and November 28, 2012 the town was hit by car bombings killing over 100 civilian residents, including, several Iraqi and Palestinian refugees.

Demographics

Since 2003 and the beginning of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

, large numbers of Iraqi have immigrated to Jaramana, swelling the population from around 100,000 to over 250,000."أسعار العقارات في جرمانا تتحدى الإنحدار .. والجمود لم " ("Real estate prices in Jaramana challenge Downgrade ..")
''De Press - Buildex Online'' 19 March 2009, in Arabic, last accessed 18 September 2010 According to the 2004 official census, the population of the city was 114,363." العقارات في مدينة جرمانا الأسعار نار" ("Real estate prices in the city of Jaramana are afire")
''Syria Steps'' 13 January 2010, in Arabic, last accessed 18 September 2010 There is also a Palestinian refugee camp near the town bearing its same name. Jaramana is a favorite destination for

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

i Assyrian Christian refugees fleeing their unstable country. In October 2006, the Assyrian community in Jaramana finally received a priest from

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

, Iraq. The priest, Arkan Hana Hakim, claims there are now 2,000 Assyrian Iraqi refugees in the town Jaramana alone."Huge increase in number of Christian Iraqis fleeing to Syria"
''German Press Agency'' 12 October 2006 at ''The Raw Story'', last accessed 18 September 2010

References

Bibliography

External links

Jaramana NewsPictures taken in Jaramana Refugee Camp
{{Cities of Syria Cities in Syria Palestinian refugee camps in Syria Populated places in Markaz Rif Dimashq District Druze communities in Syria