Al-Ghantoo () or al-Ghantu,

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''al-Ghānṭū'': but the original name is spelled: الغُنْثُر/ Al-Ghonthor, which means the land of fountains) is a town in the west of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, administratively part of the

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its geography differs in various locations in the governorate, from to . ...

, located north of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

. Nearby towns include Talbisa to the northeast and Taldou further to the northwest. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Ghantu had a population of 9,412 in 2004.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

s, many of whom are Turkmens. Most of its residents work in agriculture, and many farmers specialize in vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, peppers and others. Olive groves have increased annually. There are many places of interest in the village including old

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

bridges and water mills on the al-Assali River which passes through the west side of the village. On 11 June 2012, anti-government fighters from the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

(FSA) attacked the small military airbase situated in al-Ghantu, as part of the Syrian eevolution against President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

. The FSA was quickly repelled by a

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

counterattack, but managed to withdraw with hundreds of looted weapons and ammunition. According to FSA officials, they were able to enter the base after being aided by 22 sympathetic soldiers and officers stationed at the base.Holmes, Oliver
Syrian rebels briefly seize air missile base
''

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''. 2012-06-11.

Gallery

Image:Cabbage_in_the_village_2006.jpg, Cabbage field, 2006 Image:Lettuce_2009.jpg, Lettuce field, 2009

References

Bibliography

External links

Satellite View of al-Ghantoo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghantu Populated places in al-Rastan District Turkmen settlements in Homs Governorate