Harim Mountains ( ) are highlands in the north of

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

in northwestern

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 ...

. The mountains are located in the Harim and Jisr Shughur districts of Idlib Governorate.

Location and description

The Harim highlands are located between 36◦22′–36◦40′ E and 35◦46′–36◦14′ N on the westernmost part of the Aleppo plateau. They cover about 600 km². The

Orontes river The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Nahr al-ʿĀṣī, or simply Asi (, ; ) is a long river in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Hatay Province, Turk ...

valley forms the western boundary. Al-Ruj Plain () is located to the south. The Ruj plain and the northern Idlib plain run along the eastern boundary. The Dana plain (part of the northern Idlib plain) separates the Harim mountains from

Mount Simeon Mount Simeon or Mount Simon ( Jabal Simʻān ), also called Mount Laylūn (), is a highland region in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The mountain is located in the Mount Simeon (district), Mount Simeon and A'zaz District, Aʻzāz districts ...

to the northwest. The valley of River Afrin and Lake Amiq surround Harim mountains from north. The mountains include three massifs: Mount Halqa () and Mount Barisha () form the first massif from the east. Mount Halqa (meaning "circle mountain") refers to low rocky plateaus that surround the Dāna plain. Mount Barisha, which lies west of Halqa, covers about 230 km² and averages 500–600 m in elevation; the highest point is 657 m. The second massif is Mount A'la () (also called Mount Summaq, (). This mountain is separated from Mount Barisha by the Shalf plain. The highest point in Mount A'la reaches 819 m. This mountain has a predominantly

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

population. The third mountain is Mount Wastani (). This mountain extends for 40 km from Salqin in the north between the Orontes valley and the Ruj plain. The mountain includes two masses; the northern mass is sometimes considered a separate mountain called Mount Dweli (). The highest point in Mount Wastani is Mount Hanash () (847 m). Olive and oak trees are abundant on Ḥārim mountains. The mountains also have numerous archaeological sites. After Mount Arba'in was subjected to bombardment by the (United States-led) coalition in 2014, foreign fighters fled to Jabal al-Summaq. Homes of the

religious minority of Jabal al-Summaq's Kuku village were forcibly stolen and attacked by

Turkistan Islamic Party The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) is an Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Pakistan by Hasan Mahsum. Its stated goals are to establish an Islamic state in Xinjiang and Central Asia. The Chinese government asserts that the T ...

militant

Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...

and

Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...

. Updated to August 2018 with a brief further entry in 2021 In February 2017 Osama al-Homsi became the

Hay'at 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 ...

commander over an area encompassing Jabal al-Summaq.

References

Idlib Geography of Idlib Governorate Mountains of Syria {{IdlibSY-geo-stub