Bab Al-Hawa Border Crossing
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The Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing (, "Gate of the Winds Crossing") is located on the
Syria–Turkey border The border between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Turkey (; ) is long, and runs from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the tripoint with Iraq in the east. It runs across Upper Mesopotamia for some , crossing the Euphrates and ...
about west of
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
in northwest
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 ...
. It connects the Syrian M45 and the Turkish D827 highways, between the cities of
İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...
and
Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...
, and is known for its long lines of trucks and buses. The closest town on the Turkish side of the border is
Reyhanlı Reyhanlı (; , ''ar-Rayḥānīyah'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 367 km2, and its population is 108,092 (2022). It is near the country's Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria ...
in
Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...
, and the closest towns on the Syrian side are ad-Dana and Atarib. The crossing is the site of a 6th-century
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...
. It has been an important crossing for
Syrian rebels A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the Syrian civil war (2011–present) as belligerents. The main groups were Ba'athist Syria and allies, Syrian opposition, the Syrian opposition and allies, Al-Qaeda and affiliate ...
during the Syrian civil war.


Archaeology

There is a monumental Roman archway in Bab al-Hawa that was part of a city wall. There is a further complex of
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
architecture near the archway that has been largely destroyed and re-used in border construction. It features a church and another large rectangular building.


Syrian Civil War

In the ongoing Syrian Civil War, it was a frequent place of crossing for Syrians trying to reach the refugee camp in nearby Reyhanlı. Drivers complained in December 2011 that they had been stalled at the crossing for days after customs officials stopped allowing vehicles with Turkish registrations to enter Syria. The crossing is a major route for smuggling, particularly oil and gas, and during the conflict has seen a dramatic rise in weapons smuggling. On 19 July 2012, Syrian rebels 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 ...
seized the border and defaced images of Syrian 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 ...
. On 22 July 2012, Turkish armed forces further restricted border crossings of their own nationals. In September 2012 foreign jihadists raised the
Jihadist flag The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihadism, jihad. It usually consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the ''Shahada'' (Islamic declaration of faith) emb ...
of
al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
at the border post, leading to a confrontation with the Free Syrian Army. On February 11, 2013, a
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...
in a Syrian-registered minivan was detonated on the Turkish side of the crossing meters from the Cilvegözü customs office. Thirteen people—including 3 Turkish civilians—were killed, while 28 others were wounded and 19 vehicles were damaged. The Turkish government labeled the bombing a terrorist act, and said that Turkey's interior, justice and customs ministers would visit the area to help the investigation. On 7 December 2013, the Islamic Front took the crossing from the Free Syrian Army, and as of July 2014, they were manning the Syrian side with members of the Salafist militia Ahrar ash-Sham. Ahrar a-Sham maintained control when the Islamic Front dissolved in 2015, but established a civilian administration for the border crossing in April 2015. On 23 July 2017, hundreds of Ahrar al-Sham fighters withdrew with their equipment from the crossing and retreated to Turkey after
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...
(HTS) defeated Ahrar al-Sham in Idlib. As a result, the crossing was largely closed by Turkey, with the exception of exports of humanitarian aid and food from Turkey. On 26 July 2017, HTS and Ahrar al-Sham reached an agreement that they would hand over the crossing to a civilian administration so that the flow of humanitarian aid could resume. However, HTS retained control of the towns, villages and roads around it, leaving them in a decisive position. The crossing re-opened on 18 October. In November 2017, civil officials operating the crossing reported that all revenue generated (estimated at $25 million a year in late 2016) goes to the local civil administration. On the 3 March 2020, the US envoy to Syria James Jeffrey, visited the border crossing and supported the Turkish presence in the Idlib Governorate.


References


External links


Bab al-Hawa - Archaeological Gate Links Syria and Turkey
{{Portal, Turkey, History, Asia Syria–Turkey border crossings Archaeological sites in Idlib Governorate Roman sites in Syria Byzantine architecture Tourist attractions in Syria Harem District