Al-Husn ( ar, الحصن, also spelled al-Hisn) is a large village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographic ...

, located west of Homs and north of the border with

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. Nearby localities include

al-Huwash Al-Hawash ( ar, الحواش / ALA-LC: ''al-Ḥwāsh'') is a Greek Orthodox Christians town in northwestern Syria close to the Lebanese border and administratively belonging to the Homs Governorate. Nearby towns include al-Husn and Marmarita to ...

to the east, Anaz to the southeast, Aridah to the south,

al-Zarah Al-Zarah ( ar, الزارة, al-Zārah, also spelled Zara) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located west of Homs. Nearby localities include district center Talkalakh to the south, Aridah to the ...

to the southwest, Zweitina to the west, al-Nasirah and

Marmarita Marmarita ( ar, مرمريتا, syc, ܡܪܡܪܝܬܐ, ) is a village in northwestern Syria, located west of Homs. Marmarita is one of the largest villages in Wadi al-Nasara ("Valley of the Christians"), a region north of Talkalakh. In 2004, Marm ...

to the northwest,

Muqlus Muqlus or Mqlos ( ar, مقلس, also spelled Mqlos, Mukloss, Muklous or Muklis) is a village in western Syria, close to the Lebanese border and administratively belonging to the governorate of Homs. It is situated in the Wadi al-Nasara ("Valley ...

to the north and Mazinah to the northeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Husn had a population of 8,980 in the 2004 census. It is the largest village in the al-Huwash ''

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 ...

'' ("subdistrict"), which consisted of 19 localities with a collective population of 24,684 in 2004.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. The inhabitants of the village are predominantly

Sunni Muslims 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 disagr ...

, with a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

minority, in an area largely populated by Christians that is known as Wadi al-Nasara ("Valley of the Christians.") The village has a

Greek Catholic Church The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

. The village is built around the

Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers, ar, قلعة الحصن, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn also called Hisn al-Akrad ( ar, حصن الأكراد, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, rtl=yes, ) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital; Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (), is a medieva ...

fortress (known as ''Hisn al-Akrad'' in Arabic) and the name ''al-Husn'' means "the Castle." The building itself used to be inhabited until its residents were evacuated by the French authorities who wanted to excavate the site. However, those who were dispersed built their homes outside the fortress and later benefited financially from the tourism it generated. The village has since developed with little civic planning, which has resulted in

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

surrounding the fortress. A restaurant called Al-Kala'a Restaurant that is popular with tourists is located on a hill in the village.Darke, 2006, pp. 198-199. In 2014 it was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

of the Syrian Civil War.

References

Bibliography

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huan Populated places in Talkalakh District