Al-Khreibat ( ar, الخريبات, also spelled Kharibat or Khuraybat) is a village and suburb in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the

Tartus Governorate Tartus Governorate, also transliterated as Tartous Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة طرطوس / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ṭarṭūs'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Lat ...

, located southeast of

Tartus ) , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = Tartus corniche Port of Tartus • Tartus beach and boulevard Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa • Al-Assad Stadium& ...

. Nearby localities include Beit Kammun to the south, Dibbash to the southeast, Tayshur to the east, and

al-Shaykh Saad Al-Shaykh Saad ( ar, الشيخ سعد ''ash-Shaykh Saʿad''; also Romanized ''Sheikh Saad''), historically also called Karnaim and Dair Ayyub ("Monastery of Job"), is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, loca ...

to the north. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Khreibat had a population of 1,464 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Tartus Governorate. The inhabitants of the village are predominantly

Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the countr ...

s, although there is also an

Alawite The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Is ...

minority. Together, al-Khreibat,

Bimalkah Bimalkah ( ar, بملكة, also spelled Bmalkyeh) is a village and suburb in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Tartus Governorate, located 10 kilometers northeast of Tartus. Nearby localities include Dweir al-Shaykh Saad to the wes ...

, and Dweir Taha (part of al-Sawda municipality) make up the

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 ...

suburbs of Tartus. The population grows at a steady rate, although substantially lower than the surrounding Alawite and

Sunni Muslim 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 ...

villages. This is due to low birth rates and high levels of emigration to the cities, such as Damascus and Aleppo and abroad to places like

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. During the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and

French Mandate The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...

eras, the Christian residents of al-Khreibat and Bimalkah were one of the few peoples of the coastal region to actually own their

olive orchard The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

s unlike most other communities whose lands were owned by landlords from the major coastal cities. The major family in this area is the Lahoud family, a Catholic Maronite group that has helped build the local church. They have also been involved in the olive oil and coffee business. They currently perform business in The United States of America.

References

Populated places in Tartus District Maronite communities Christian communities in Syria {{Syria-stub