Al-Ariqah

{{Short description|Town in southern Syria}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Ariqah | official_name = | native_name = عريقة  | other_name = | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline =Shrine_of_Ammar_bin_Yasser_in_Ariqah.jpg | image_caption =Shrine of Ammar bin Yasser in Ariqah | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Syria  | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Syria | coordinates = {{coord|32|53|20|N|36|29|00|E|region:SY|display=inline}} | grid_position = 288/255 | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Syria | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = Suwayda | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Shahba | subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict | subdivision_name3 = Ariqah | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | established_title =  | established_date = | government_type = | government_footnotes = | leader_title = | leader_name = | unit_pref = Metric  | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 =  | area_land_km2 =  | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | elevation_footnotes =  | elevation_m = 800 | population_footnotes = | population_total = 3798 | population_as_of = 2004 census | population_density_km2 =0,386 mi² | population_note = | timezone = EET | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = +3 | utc_offset_DST = | postal_code_type =  | postal_code = | area_code = | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Ariqah''' ({{langx|ar|عريقة|ʿArīqa}}), formerly known as '''Ahira''', is a town in southern Syria with a population of about 3,798, according to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in the 2004 census.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140307124815/http://www.cbssyr.sy/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB13-11-2004.htm </ref> It is located in the heart of the rocky volcanic plateau of Lajat. Administratively Ariqah is situated in the Shahba District of Suwayda Governorate. Ariqah is known for its volcanic cave which is located in a 10 meters deep hollow in the centre of the village. This cave is known as Ariqa Cave which extends from 2 to 3 kilometers in the old lava streams, it is the biggest known cave in southern Syria. Its inhabitants are predominantly Druze, with a Sunni Muslim Bedouin minority.<ref name="BDS">{{cite web|title=Druze communities in the Middle East |url=//www.britishdruze.org.uk/popups/detailed_druzes.html |publisher=British Druze Society |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911063025/http://www.britishdruze.org.uk/popups/detailed_druzes.html |archivedate=September 11, 2011 }}</ref>

==History== Historically ‘Arīqah was considered the centre of the inaccessible Lajat, many houses from the Byzantine epoch were found in the town and they are still inhabited by locals, there is also an old ruined Byzantine monastery in the town known as "Deir Ariqa".{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

===Ottoman era=== In 1596 Al-Ariqah appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as '''Ahiri'' and was part of the ''nahiya'' of Bani Abdullah in the Hauran Sanjak. It had an entirely Muslim population consisting of 18 households and 3 bachelors. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives and a water mill; a total of 6,500 akçe.<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 215.</ref>

In 1838, it was noted as ''Ahiry'', a Druze and Catholic village, situated "in the Lejah, south of Dama".<ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/156/mode/1up 156]</ref>

==Religious buildings== * Maqam Ammar bin Yasser (Druze Shrine)

==See also== * Druze in Syria

==References== {{reflist |25em}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book | last1 = Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth | last2 = Abdulfattah|first2=K. |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah | title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft |isbn= 3-920405-41-2}} *{{cite book |last1=Robinson|first1=E.|authorlink1=Edward Robinson (scholar) |last2=Smith|first2=E.|authorlink2=Eli Smith |year=1841 |url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}} {{refend}}

==External links== *[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ariqa,+Syria/@32.8888846,36.4852953,15z Map of the town], Google Maps *[http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview/?pi=nla.map-vn745520-s20m Ezra-map, 20m] {{coord|32|53|10|N|36|28|50|E|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariqah}} Category:Populated places in Shahba District Category:Towns in Syria Category:Druze communities in Syria