Duraykish
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Duraykish (, also transliterated ''Dreikiche'' or ''Dreykish'') is a city in western
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 ...
, in the
Tartus Governorate Tartus Governorate, also transliterated as Tartous Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ṭarṭūs''), is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Latakia Governorate to the north, Homs and Hama Governo ...
, at a distance of about east of
Tartus Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French language, French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (af ...
. The name 'Dreikiche' derives from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and means "three caves". The town is famous for its mineral water springs located to the south of the city. The mineral water of the town is bottled and sold under the label 'Dreikiche'. Its inhabitants are mostly
Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...
.


Geography

The city sits on a hillside, near the opening of two valleys, with the older part of town divided into two parts by an elevation of about . The average elevation of old Duraykish is between and above sea level. The commercial center of old Duraykish is on the east side of the city. The newer, lower part of town, al-Maqla'a, is situated about below the city center.


History

Duraykish was the largest
Alawite Alawites () are an Arabs, Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate A ...
community in the
Syrian Coastal Mountain Range The Coastal Mountain Range (, ''Silsilat al-Jibāl as-Sāḥilīyah'') also called Jabal al-Ansariya, Jabal an-Nusayria or Jabal al-`Alawīyin (Ansari, Nusayri or Alawi Mountains) is a mountain range in northwestern Syria running north–south, ...
from the mid-19th century until the 1960s. As a village of roughly 1,000 inhabitants, Duraykish was chosen as the headquarters of Isma'il Bey, a chief of the Matawira, an Alawite tribal confederation, when he established control over the southern part of the coastal range under the Ottomans, who appointed him the governor of the
Safita Safita ( '; , ''Sōpūte'') is a city in the Tartus Governorate, western Syria, located to the southeast of Tartus and to the northwest of Krak des Chevaliers. It is situated on the tops of three hills and the valleys between them, in the Syrian ...
kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...
(district). This relatively short period, which ended with Isma'il Bey's assassination by rival chiefs, when Duraykish served as a regional seat of power, is partly credited by historian
Fabrice Balanche Fabrice Balanche (born November 3, 1969, in Belfort, France) is a French geographer and specialist in the political geography and geopolitics of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and the wider Middle East. He was described by the Carnegie Endowment for Inter ...
as the foundation of its economic and demographic preeminence over other Alawite towns into the mid-20th century. In 1970, together with
Qardaha Qardaha ( / ALA-LC: ''Qardāḥah'') is a town in northwestern Syria, in the mountains overlooking the coastal town of Latakia. Nearby localities include Kilmakho to the west, Bustan al-Basha to the southwest, Harf al-Musaytirah to the south ...
and
al-Shaykh Badr Al-Shaykh Badr (, also transliterated ''Sheikh Bader'') is a city in western Syria, administratively part of the Tartus Governorate. Al-Shaykh Badr has an altitude of . According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Shaykh Badr, w ...
, Duraykish became the first
Alawite Alawites () are an Arabs, Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate A ...
settlement to gain city status in Syria. Its local prominence, the residents' relatively high level of education due to the existence of a high school and teacher's school in the town, its active ''
souk A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors ...
'' (bazaar), growing tourism, and some of the residents' connections with the top members of the government of the ruling
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
at the time all contributed to its elevated official status. In the mid-1970s, the Ministry of Industry constructed a mineral water processing facility and silk spinning mill in Duraykish. State investments during this period helped spur an annual average population growth of 4.2% between 1970 and 1981, outpacing prior periods and the regional average of 3.8%. The al-Maqla'a part of the city developed in the 1980s and became home to newcomers from the surrounding villages, nine of which were incorporated into Duraykish in 1983; people from the surrounding villages constituted 90% of al-Maqla'a's residents. According to Balanche, since the incorporation, city politics and planning have often been characterized by the struggle between the original urban dwellers and the rural newcomers. The steep slopes around much of Duraykish prevent the original settlement from expanding. This left the area which became al-Maqla'a, located at the junction of the road connections with Safita (to the south) and Tartus (to the east), as the focus of development. This areas hosts most of the city's newer commercial businesses. By the 1980s, the tourism stemming from Duraykish's mineral water sources began to diminish and the city also became less favored by visitors, who preferred the nearby, more modernized summer resort towns of Mashta al-Helu and Wadi al-Uyun. The large government-owned hotel in the city was closed in 1987, while the private hotels and private home rentals were generally considered uncomfortable by visitors. Following demand by the city's inhabitants, the government inaugurated an Arab cultural center in Duraykish. In contrast to the initial boom in the decade following its promotion as a city, growth in Duraykish had slowed and the city experienced negative net migration at least during the 1980s and 1990s. Balanche attributes this decline to the state's top-down model of development and management of tourism and silk-processing in the city, which he considers stifling to private enterprise there.


References


Sources

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External links


Syriatourism.org page about Duraykish
{{Tartus Governorate, duraykish Cities in Syria Populated places in Duraykish District Alawite communities in Syria