Madinat al-Salam (, "City of Peace") is a town in the
UNDOF Zone in the
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
that is the administrative centre of the
Quneitra Governorate
Quneitra Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in southern Syria, notable for the location of the Golan Heights. The governorate borders the countries of Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, and the Syrian ...
of 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 ...
.
It is located on the
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 ...
–
Quneitra road, 12 km north of Quneitra and 2 km west of the town of
Khan Arnabah. It is a planned town, founded and first settled in 1986, and replaced Quneitra city as the provincial centre, after Quneitra was destroyed and abandoned after the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
.
[ It has an area of 1.9 km² and a height of 900 meters above sea level. According to the 2010 official estimate, Madinat al-Salam has a population of 4,500.
The town has a well-developed infrastructure, including 22 km of roads, banking services, government and non-government organizations, TV and radio station, cultural centre, football stadium, hospital, etc. In December 2013, the construction of 5 new faculties of the ]Damascus University
Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...
was launched by the town council of Madinat al-Salam.
The residents of the town are mainly involved in agriculture and services. The average precipitation is .
History
Until the fall of the Assad regime
On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, major offensive by Syrian opposition, opposition forces. The offensive was spearheaded by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turk ...
, the town was named Madinat al-Baath (), "City of Resurrection", after the formerly ruling Syrian Ba'ath Party.[
]
Israeli invasion (2024-present)
Following the collapse of the Ba'athist Government, Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
launched a military invasion through the Syrian ceasefire line from Israel-occupied parts of the Golan Heights on 8 December 2024, with reports of the town being captured by Israeli forces during the operation.[https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-army-withdraws-from-syrian-town-in-occupied-golan-heights-leaving-trail-of-destruction/3470452]
References
{{Quneitra Governorate
Towns in Quneitra Governorate
Syria articles missing geocoordinate data
1986 establishments in Syria