Al-Riqama (Arabic: الرقاما, also spelled ar-Raqamah) is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located 34 kilometers southeast of Homs. Nearby localities include Dardaghan to the southwest, Shayrat to the southeast and Tell al-Naqa further to the north. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Riqama had a population of 3,900 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.[2]
Al-Riqama
الرقاما | |
|---|---|
  Al-Riqama Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 34°31′17″N 36°54′49″E / 34.52139°N 36.91361°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Homs |
| District | Homs |
| Subdistrict | Al-Riqama |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 3,900 |
Many of al-Riqama's inhabitants work in agriculture, cultivating dry cereals, grapes and almonds in irrigated fields, and raise sheep. The town's traditional houses are built from stone and have wood roofing.[3] Al-Riqama had been classified as an abandoned village or khirba by English scholar Eli Smith in 1838.[4] The town contains ruined historic structures noted for the dominant cone-shaped dome roofs. The structures have square bases with two-meter-high walls and are built from red mud brick.[3]
References
edit- ^ General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2013-01-12 at archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. (in Arabic)
- ^ Khalifa, Mustafa (October 2013). "The Impossible Partition of Syria" (PDF). Arab Reform Initiative. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-16.
- ^ a b Lotti, Giuseppe; Mecca, Saverio. "Earthen Domes et Habitats: Villages of Northern Syria, An Architectural Heritage Shared by East and West". Edizioni ETS.
- ^ Smith, 1841, p. 175.
Bibliography
edit- Smith, Eli; Robinson, Edward (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838. Vol. 3. Crocker and Brewster.
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