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Kaftin (, also spelled Keftin or Kaftayn) is a village in northern
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 ...
, administratively part of the
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 ...
, located northwest of
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 ...
. The village is situated at the southern approach of the A'la Mountain. Nearby localities include Killi to the north, Hizano to the east, Kafr Yahmul to the southeast, Maarrat al-Ikhwan to the south, Harbanoush to the southwest and Qurqania to the northwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Kaftin had a population of 2,346 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. Archived a

Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the
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 ...
community, one of the few Druze villages situated in northern Syria.Choufi, Firas
Syria: ISIS Imposes ‘Sharia’ on Idlib’s Druze
. '' Al-Akhbar''. 2013-12-23.
Kaftin's inhabitants work primarily in agriculture and cultivate olives and
cumin Cumin (, ; ; ''Cuminum cyminum'') is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole ...
.


History


Ottoman era

During the late Ottoman era, in the late 1840s, Kaftin was a Druze village headed by a ''
sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
'' ("local chief") named Abu Sharif Nasif. At the time most of the once-large Druze community of A'la Mountain had fled the area after being embroiled in a feud between the two Muslim villages of Kafr Takharim and Armanaz in the early 19th-century. The weaker Muslim party had taken up safe haven with the Druzes of the area and the Druze consequently launched an attack on the stronger Muslim village. Soon after, however, the two Muslim factions declared a truce and together with Muslim fighters from
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
they assaulted the Druze of A'la Mountain. The Druze were decisively defeated and their ''sheikh'' was killed resulting in a mass flight towards
Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
, the
Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...
and
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
. A small number of Druze had returned to Kaftin and A'la Mountain by the mid-19th-century. Kaftin was noted for its numerous pigeon houses where thousands of white pigeons would breed annually. In the 1790s English traveler William George Browne described the houses as "remarkable."Browne, 1806, p. 439. When the young pigeons were able to fly, they would be collected and supplied to the markets of the nearby villages and
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 ...
where they would be sold as valuable commodities. The pigeon houses were tall and narrow buildings, some of them reaching a height of 50 feet, and they numbered 72, although at the time the majority of them were in ruins.Bibliotheca Sacra, 1848, p. 666. In November 1875 a petition by the residents of Kaftin was sent to the British consul in Aleppo requesting intervention with the provincial Ottoman authorities of Aleppo who they accused of seizing and selling off their properties which they paid taxes for and planted olive trees on during the preceding generations.Firro, 1992, p. 166.


Syrian civil war

During the ongoing Syrian civil war, Kaftin's residents provided shelter for internal refugees. although the Idlib region (with the exception of
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 small pockets of territory) is largely under opposition control, 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 ...
(FSA) had not entered Kaftin or other Druze villages because the villages maintained their neutrality in the conflict and host many displaced families from neighboring towns. However, towards the end of 2013, militants from the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
(ISIS), a Salafist-
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...
organization, largely became dominant over the FSA and captured Kaftin along with other Druze-majority villages in area. They reportedly demanded that residents "announce their Islam" by converting their prayer houses into
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
s and trimming their mustaches.


See also

* Kafr Kila * Qalb Loze * Maarrat al-Ikhwan


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{Idlib Governorate, idlib Populated places in Idlib District Druze communities in Syria