Al-Qassaa

Al-Qassaa
القصاع
Neighborhood
Al-Qassaa

Location in Syria

Coordinates: 33°21′12″N 36°19′0″E / 33.35333°N 36.31667°E / 33.35333; 36.31667Coordinates: 33°21′12″N 36°19′0″E / 33.35333°N 36.31667°E / 33.35333; 36.31667
Country  Syria Syria
Governorate Damascus Governorate
Subdistrict Damascus
Municipality Sarouja
Population (2004)
 • Total 21,731

Al-Qassaa (Arabic: القصاع‎‎; also spelled Qasa′ or Qasa'ah) is a neighborhood and district of the Sarouja municipality in Damascus, Syria.[1][2] Qassaa is situated in the northeastern part of the city and borders the Old City neighborhood of Bab Tuma. It had a population of 11,467 in the 2004 census.[3] Al-Qassaa's inhabitants are predominantly middle class Christians.[4]

History

Al-Qassaa was founded in the early 20th century, during the last years of Ottoman rule. The people who established the neighborhood were Christians from the Old City neighborhood of Bab Tuma who moved to al-Qassaa due to the increasingly difficult living conditions in Bab Tuma's ancient buildings and narrow alleys.[5] The people of Bab Tuma felt secure enough to move into the unwalled suburbs of the Old City due to the increased protection established by the Ottomans in the aftermath of the 1860 massacre of Christians in Damascus.[5] Al-Qassaa was further developed during the French Mandatory period, being designed along the lines devised by French architect Michel Ecochard.[4] In the 1936 French Mandate census, al-Qassaa had a population 1,872, all Christians.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Khaled Yacoub Oweis (18 July 2012). "Battles break out near Syrian presidential palace". Reuters. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Syrian Arab Republic Damascus Governorate Reference map" (PDF). ReliefWeb. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  3. ↑ Damascus Governorate Population 2004 Census.
  4. 1 2 Salamandra, Christa (2004). A New Old Damascus: Authenticity and Distinction in Urban Syria. Indiana University Press. p. 37.
  5. 1 2 Khoury, Philip S. (1987). Syria and the French Mandate: The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920-1945. Princeton University Press. p. 291.
  6. ↑ Khoury, Philip S. (1993). "Syrian Urban Politics in Transition: The Quarters of Damascus during the French Mandate". In Hourani, Albert. The Modern Middle East. University of California Press. p. 433.
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