Al-Nabek

An-Nabek
النبك
Al-Nabek
An-Nabek

Location in Syria

Coordinates: 34°01′N 36°43′E / 34.017°N 36.717°E / 34.017; 36.717
Country  Syria
Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate
District An-Nabek District
Nahiyah An-Nabek
Elevation 1,255 m (4,117 ft)
Population (2004 census)[1]
 • Total 32 548
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) +3 (UTC)

An-Nabek or Al-Nabek (Arabic: النبك‎‎) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. Located 81 kilometers (50 mi) north of Damascus and south of Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), An-Nabek had a population of 32,548 in the 2004 census.[1] The Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian (Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi) is located along the Anti-Lebanon Mountains near Nabek and dates back to at least the 6th century.

In the mid-19th century, the population was recorded as consisting mostly of Sunni Muslims, Syriac Catholic and Syriac Orthodox Christians.[2] In the mid-1940s, its 6,000 inhabitants were noted to be Sunni Muslims.[3]

History

An-Nabek has been mentioned by Arab geographers from the 12th to 13th centuries CE. Ibn Jubayr recorded that it was a village north of Damascus "with much running water and broad arable fields." Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote in 1225 that "is a fine village with excellent provisions... There is here a curious spring which runs cold in the summer, and with clear, excellent water. They say its source is at Yabroud."[4]

Landmarks

Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi, the monastery of Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian, sits above the town to the east.

References

  1. 1 2 General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. ↑ Smith, 1841, p. 173.
  3. ↑ The Middle East Intelligence Handbooks: 1943-1946 (Archive ed.), Naval Intelligence Division of Great Britain, 1987, p. 348
  4. ↑ le Strange, 1890, p.511.

Bibliography

Coordinates: 34°01′N 36°43′E / 34.017°N 36.717°E / 34.017; 36.717


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