Khan Dannun (, also spelled Khan Danun, Khan Dunnun or Khan Dhul-Nun) is a town in southern

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

Markaz Rif Dimashq District Markaz Rif Dimashq District () or Damascus Central Countryside District is a district of the Rif Dimashq Governorate in southern Syria. Geography Markaz Rif Dimashq is located south of the Damascus Governorate covering the southeastern outskirts ...

of the

Rif Dimashq Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate (, Literal translation, lit. "Damascus Countryside Governorate" or "Damascus Suburb") is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the country. ...

. Located south of

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 ...

, nearby localities include al-Taybah to the west, Muqaylibah to the northwest,

al-Kiswah Al-Kiswah ( ' also spelled Kissoué/Kiswe) is a city in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria. It is located approximately south of Damascus. It was the location of the 1303 Battle of Marj al-Saffar, and the childhood home of Adnan Awad. Administ ...

5 kilometers to the north and Khiyarat Dannun to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Dannun had a population of 8,727 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. Khan Dannun also contains a refugee camp, the Khan Dannun camp, and is one of ten

Palestinian refugee camp Palestinian refugee camps were first established to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight during the 1948 Palestine war. Camps were established by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UN ...

s in Syria recognized by

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

. According to UNRWA statistics the camp had a population of 7,841 in 1998. According to UNRWA the population of the camp in June 2008 was 9,479 persons and 2,192 families.

History

Khan Dannun was originally a large ''khan'' ("

caravansary A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a variety of names inc ...

") completed in 1376 by the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

governor of

, Manjak al-Yusufi,Meinecke, 1996, p
46
/ref> during the reign of the

Bahri Mamluk The Bahri Mamluks (), sometimes referred to as the Bahri dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1250 to 1382, following the Ayyubid dynasty. The members of the Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves (mamluks) and manu ...

sultan

al-Ashraf Sha'ban Al-Ashraf Zayn ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Sha'ban ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (, better known as al-Ashraf Sha'ban ( or Sha'ban II, was a Turk Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty in 1363–1377. He was a grandson of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (r. ...

. The ''khan'' was designed by Ali ibn al-Badri, known as ''muhandis ash-Sham'' ("engineer of Damascus.") The name "Dan nun" is the

colloquial Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation amo ...

version of " Dhul-Nun," a highly venerated 9th-century

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

figure. He is considered to be the early patriarch of the

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

s.Newbold, 1846, p
334
/ref> Khan Dannun became a stopping point on the ''

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

'' ("pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

") caravan route after al-Kiswah, and before

Ghabaghib Ghabaghib ( ''Ġabāġib''; also spelled ''Ghabagheb'') is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include Muthabin to the southeast, al-Sanamayn to the south, Deir al- ...

. The ''khan'', with exception of its vaults, was built in the traditional basalt masonry typically found in the old structures in

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 ...

. It consisted of an open, square-shaped courtyard, the center of which had been occupied by livestock. Surrounding the courtyard were

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

s built atop lodging apartments which served as accommodation for visitors.Burckhardt, 1822, p
54
/ref> The courtyard was flanked by circular basalt towers. Inside the khan was a small prayer room with ''

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

'' niche which indicated the

direction Direction may refer to: *Body relative direction, for instance left, right, forward, backwards, up, and down ** Anatomical terms of location for those used in anatomy ** List of ship directions *Cardinal direction *Bearing (navigation) Mathemat ...

. A marsh was formed in front of the ''khan's'' gate as a result of an eastern-flowing rivulet. When traveler

John Lewis Burckhardt Johann Ludwig (also known as John Lewis, Jean Louis) Burckhardt (24 November 1784 – 15 October 1817) was a Swiss traveller, geographer and Orientalist. Burckhardt assumed the alias ''Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah'' during his travels in Arabia ...

visited the site in the early 19th-century, the ''khan'' was in ruins. Khan Dannun was one of the stops on the

line of the Hejaz Railway. In 1949, following the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, a

called Khan Dannun was set up in the town.Khan Danoun Refugee Camp

Jerusalem Media and Communications Center The Jerusalem Media & Communication Centre (JMCC; ) is a Palestinian non-governmental organization based in East Jerusalem, which provides information about events in Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem to journalists, researchers an ...

(JMCC). 2007-01-01. In 2009 a new sewage project for Khan Dannun, funded by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, was finished.UNRWA Commissioner-General Visits Syria

. 2009-04-23.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

Google-maps
{{Palestinian refugee camps Populated places in Markaz Rif Dimashq District Palestinian refugee camps in Syria