{{short description|River in Syria and Turkey}} {{coord|36|24|21|N|37|17|23|E|type:river|display=title}} {{Infobox river | name = Queiq | image = Aleppo queik River.jpg | image_caption = Queiq River in downtown Aleppo, 2011 | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 9 | source1_location = Taurus Mountains | mouth_location = South of Aleppo | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = {{SYR}} | subdivision_type2 = Governorate | subdivision_name2 = Aleppo Governorate | length = {{convert|129|km|mi|abbr=on}} | discharge1_avg = <!--{{convert|##|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}--> | basin_size = <!--{{convert|##|km2|sqmi|sigfig=5|abbr=on}}--> }}
The '''Queiq'''<ref name="phen">{{cite book |last=Phenix |first=Robert R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjVBzkqQjhEC&pg=PA53 |title=The sermons on Joseph of Balai of Qenneshrin: rhetoric and interpretation in fifth-century Syriac literature |date=20 December 2008 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-149676-9 |page=53 |access-date=30 September 2011}}</ref> (Modern Standard Arabic: {{lang|ar|قُوَيْقٌ}}, ''Quwayq'', {{IPA|ar|quˈwajq|}}; northern Syrian Arabic: ''ʾWēʾ'', {{IPA|ar|ʔwɛːʔ|}}),{{refn|Including '''Qoueiq''',<ref name="Liverani1995">{{cite book|last=Liverani|first=Mario|title=Neo-Assyrian geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaoMAQAAMAAJ|access-date=30 September 2011|year=1995|publisher=Università di Roma, Dipartimento di scienze storiche, archeologiche e antropologiche dell'Antichità|page=121}}</ref> '''Qoueiq''',<ref name=coco>{{citation |last=Cohen |first=Getzel M. |title=Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa |series=''Hellenistic Culture and Society'', Vol. 46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqdPcxuNthcC |publisher=University of California Press |date=2006 |location=Los Angeles |isbn=9780520931022 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RqdPcxuNthcC&pg=PA144 145] }}.</ref> '''Kweik''',<ref name=cnn>{{cite news|url=http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/11/aleppos-river-of-death/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313181658/http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/11/aleppos-river-of-death/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 13, 2013 |title=Aleppo's river of death – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs |publisher=Globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com |date= 2013-03-11|access-date=2014-08-24}}</ref> and '''Quweiq'''.}} is an endorheic river and wadi of the Aleppo Governorate, Syria and Turkey. It is a {{convert|129|km|mi}}-long river that rises from the Taurus Mountains, flowing parallel to the Euphrates through the Aintab Plateau, along the western rim of the Matah Depression,<ref name="Wagner2011">{{cite book |last=Wagner |first=Wolfgang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dFttVkr2uwC&pg=PA165 |title=Groundwater in the Arab Middle East |date=25 July 2011 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-19350-7 |page=165 |access-date=30 September 2011}}</ref> and running through the northern Syrian city of Aleppo before pouring into the plains and swamps south of the city.
The evidence from Ford, Pratt, and McGowwan’s 19th-century investigations<ref>{{Cite web |title=Accept Terms and Conditions on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/tc/accept?origin=%2Fstable%2Fpdf%2F1798401.pdf&is_image=False |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=www.jstor.org}}</ref> shows that its waters come from copious springs near Aintab which would naturally flow into a branch (the Sağun) of the Euphrates basin. Instead, the Romans diverted these waters artificially, channeling them southwards through aqueducts to supply the Silk Road city of Aleppo. The aqueducts then flow into a natural wadi that, after merging with the Akpınar stream near Kilis, carries them towards Aleppo and the ancient city of Qinnasrin.<ref name="phen" /> This Queiq valley has been occupied for thousands of years and in ancient times was noted for its flint industries and pottery.<ref name="PeregrineEmber2002">{{cite book |last1=Peregrine |first1=Peter Neal |author-link1=Peter N. Peregrine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C-TQpUtI-dgC&pg=PA42 |title=Encyclopedia of Prehistory: South and Southwest Asia |last2=Ember |first2=Melvin |publisher=Springer |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-306-46262-7 |page=42 |access-date=30 September 2011}}</ref>
The etymology of the term refers to the croaking sounds of frogs, a common animal on the banks of the stream and a medieval European luxury food item.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=MacGowan |first=D. J. |date=1862 |title=The "Kuweik River," an Aqueduct |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1798401 |journal=Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London |volume=32 |pages=74 |doi=10.2307/1798401 |issn=0266-6235|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In antiquity, it was known to the Greeks as the Belus in ({{langx|grc|Βήλος}}, ''Bēlos''),<ref name="coco" /> often translated as the Chalos and also known in English as the Aleppo River.
== Modern times == The river dried up completely in the late 1960s, due to irrigation projects on the Turkish side of the border. Recently, water from the Euphrates has been diverted to revive the dead river, and thus revive agriculture in the plains south of Aleppo, but many Syrians remain bitter towards the Turks over their handling of the river.<ref name="Gren2002">{{cite book |last=Gren |first=Erik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1bUMAQAAMAAJ |title=Orientalia Suecana |publisher=Almquist & Wiksell Periodical Co. |year=2002 |page=37 |access-date=30 September 2011}}</ref>
To revive the river and build irrigation, the Tal Hasel Water Pumping Station was opened in 2008 in rural Aleppo.<ref name="station">{{Cite news |author=Shaza Qreima |date=8 July 2022 |title=President al-Assad inaugurates Tal Hasel water pumping plant, Aleppo |url=https://sana.sy/en/?p=277384 |access-date=10 July 2022 |publisher=SANA}}</ref> After closing due to the Civil War, the station was restored and made operational again in July 2022.
== Geography and climate == The region is characterized by a semi-arid climate with an average annual precipitation of 325 mm.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Abo |first=Rudy K. |last2=Merkel |first2=Broder J. |date=2015-12-01 |title=Investigation of the potential surface–groundwater relationship using automated base-flow separation techniques and recession curve analysis in Al Zerba region of Aleppo, Syria |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1965-6 |journal=Arabian Journal of Geosciences |language=en |volume=8 |issue=12 |pages=10543–10563 |doi=10.1007/s12517-015-1965-6 |issn=1866-7538|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Severe over-exploitation of groundwater has been observed on the Aleppo basin of the river, leading to a continuous decline of the water table levels with an average of 1.8 m/year.<ref name=":1" />
== Queiq River Massacre == In late January 2013 during the Syrian civil war over 100 dead bodies were washed up from or floating in the river in rebel-held parts of Bustan al-Qasr district, Aleppo. They were typically found with hands tied behind their backs and having gunshot wounds in their heads with tape across their mouths. Nearly all the victims were in their twenties (not older than 30) who had recently crossed the border line from the rebel-controlled neighbourhood into the government one. Blame for murders was widely put on Bashar al-Assad's regime as the bodies usually came downstream from the government controlled area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-06-04 |title=Syria: A Stream of Bodies in Aleppo's River |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/04/syria-stream-bodies-aleppos-river |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aljasem |first=Ali |date=2023-01-02 |title=Queiq: The River That Streamed Bodies in Aleppo |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2021.1979911 |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=104–112 |doi=10.1080/14623528.2021.1979911 |s2cid=244179460 |issn=1462-3528|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |date=2013-04-22 |title=The River Martyrs |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/29/the-river-martyrs |access-date=2023-02-08 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chulov |first1=Martin |last2=Khalili |first2=Mustafa |date=2013-03-11 |title=Syria: the story behind one of the most shocking images of the war |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/mar/11/syria-bodies-river-aleppo-massacre |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
Between February and mid-March 2013, between 80 and 120 additional bodies were recovered from the river.<ref>{{cite news |date=2013-03-10 |title=Twenty bodies turn up in Aleppo's river of martyrs |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-river-idUSBRE9290G120130310 |access-date=2014-08-24}}</ref>
Youssef Horan, a lawyer and activist, with his team of volunteers have gathered information on the murders at the time.<ref name=":0" /> The Syrian Institute for Justice headed at the time by Abdulkader Mandou, also investigated the case and held a press conference.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Quweik flood Aleppo.jpg|The flood of Queiq River in February 1922 File:Aleppo 1950s.JPG|The river crossing the Aleppo Public Park in the 1950s File:Downtown Aleppo, Queik river at night.jpg|The river in 2010, downtown Aleppo File:Quweik river Aleppo.jpg|Queiq river in 2011 </gallery>
==References== {{Commons category|Quweik River}} {{Reflist}}
{{Aleppo landmarks}} {{Rivers of Syria}} {{Rivers of Turkey}}
Category:Aleppo Category:Geography of Aleppo Governorate Category:Rivers of Syria Category:Rivers of Turkey Category:International rivers of Asia Category:Landforms of Adıyaman Province Category:Violence against men in Asia