Al-Asali ( ar, العسالي) is a neighborhood and district of the
Qadam
Qadam ( ar, ٱلْقَدَم, al-Qadam) is a municipality and a neighborhood in the southern part of Damascus, Syria, due west of Yarmouk Camp.
History
Prior to its urbanization and integration into Damascus municipality al-Qadam was a village on ...
municipality in
Damascus,
Syria.
It had a population of 21,731 in the 2004 census. The neighborhood was built around the small al-Asali
maqam (shrine)
A Maqām ( ar, مقام) is a shrine built on the site associated with a religious figure or saint, typical to the regions of Palestine and Syria. It is usually a funeral construction, commonly cubic-shaped and topped with a dome.
Maqams are a ...
, named after Shaykh Ahmad al-Asali al-Khalwati, a local Muslim holy man.
The al-Asali shrine was a station in the annual
Hajj pilgrim caravan, which came to an end in the early 20th century.
During the caravan procession, tents were set up around the shrine to host dignitaries and pilgrims before the caravan departed the city for
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...
.
References
Neighborhoods of Damascus
{{DamascusSY-geo-stub