Qudsaya ( ar, قدسيا, Qudsayā) is a

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 ...

n city in

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 ...

and the administrative centre of

Qudsaya District Qudsaya District ( ar-at, منطقة قدسيا, manṭiqat Qudsaya) is a district of the Rif Dimashq Governorate in southern Syria. Qudsaya District is located to the northwest of the Damascus Governorate and Mount Qasioun, covering the northw ...

. The city is located on the western slope of

Mount Qasioun Mount Qasioun ( ar, جَبَل قَاسِيُون, transliterated as Jabal Qāsiyūn) is a mountain overlooking the city of Damascus, Syria. It has a range of restaurants, from which the whole city can be viewed. As the city has expanded over the ...

, 7 km west of Damascus. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Qudsaya had a population of 33,571 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. Adjacent to the town is the modern suburb of Dahiyat Qudsaya.

History

During the Syrian Civil War, the town was taken by the

rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

and blockaded by the government in 2012. A truce ending the blockade was reached in November 2013. The government placed the town under siege again in July 2015, until a deal was reached in November 2015 for the rebels to be transferred to Idlib province. On 12 October 2016, armed fighters turned in their weaponry as per the surrender deal in which about 150 rebel fighters from Qudsaya and al-Hamah will be allowed safe-passage to rebel-held areas in Idlib. More than 300 rebel fighters who have chosen to stay behind will have their cases settled. The agreement was completed on the following day, with rebels being allowed to leave along with their family members.Displacing of hundreds of fighters and their families from al-Hameh and Qudsayya is completed
SOHR (13 October 2016)

Climate

Qudsaya has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: ''BSk''). Rainfall is higher in winter than in summer. The average annual temperature in Qudsaya is . About of precipitation falls annually.

References

Cities in Syria Populated places in Qudsaya District Circassian communities in Syria {{RifDimashqSY-geo-stub