An-Nabek or Al-Nabek ( ar, ٱلنَّبْك, an-Nabk) is a
Syrian city administratively belonging to
Rif Dimashq and the capital of the
Qalamoun. Located north of Damascus and south of
Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. According to the
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), An-Nabek had a population of 32,548 in the 2004 census.
[General Census of Population and Housing 2004](_blank)
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. The
Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian (Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi) is located along the
Anti-Lebanon Mountains near Nabek and dates back to at least the 6th century.
In the mid-19th century, the population was recorded as consisting mostly of
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 ...
s,
Syriac Catholic and
Melkite Catholic Christians. In the mid-1940s, its 6,000 inhabitants were noted to be Sunni Muslims.
History
An-Nabek has been mentioned by
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
geographers from the 12th to 13th centuries CE.
Ibn Jubayr recorded that it was a village north of
Damascus "with much running water and broad arable fields."
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known for ...
wrote in 1225 that "is a fine village with excellent provisions... There is here a curious spring which runs cold in the summer, and with clear, excellent water. They say its source is at
Yabroud."
[Le Strange, 1890, p]
511
/ref> During the Syrian Civil War the town and surrounding area came under the influence of rebel fighters in an area that spilled over into Lebanon. This pocket was later liquidated by Syrian and Hezbollah troops in the Qalamoun offensive (July–August 2017), with many rebel fighters surrendering to government troops.
Landmarks
Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi, the monastery of Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian, sits above the town to the east.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Al Nabk.netAl Nabk.com4nabk.com
Cities in Syria
Populated places in An-Nabek District
Christian communities in Syria
{{RifDimashqSY-geo-stub