Barada

{{About|the river in Syria}} {{Infobox river | name = Barada | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = {{langx|ar|بَرَدَىٰ}} | name_etymology = From ''barid'', meaning 'cold' in Semitic languages  | image = Barada river in Damascus (April 2009).jpg | image_size = 300 | image_caption = Barada river in Damascus near the Four Seasons Hotel. The water level is uncharacteristically high in this view from the spring of 2009. | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption=  | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = {{flagicon|Syria}} Syria | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = City | subdivision_name5 = Damascus  | length = | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max =  | source1 = | source1_location = | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = | mouth_location = | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }}

The '''Barada''' ({{langx|ar|بَرَدَىٰ}} / ALA-LC: ''Baradā'') is the main river of Damascus, the capital city of Syria.

==Etymology== [[File:Barada River, Damascus, Syria.jpg|thumb|left|Barada river near the Citadel of Damascus, 2006]] The word "Barada" is thought to be derived from the word ''barid'', which means "cold" in Semitic languages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rihani |first=Ameen |date=2016 |title=The Book of Khalid: A Critical Edition |publisher=Syracuse University Press |page=455 |isbn=978-0815653325 }}</ref> The ancient Greek name ({{langx|el|Χρυσορρόας|Chrysorrhoas}}), means "streaming with gold".<ref>{{cite book |last=Kraeling |first=Emil G. H. |date=2008 |title=Aram and Israel: The Aramaeans in Syria and Mesopotamia |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |page=46 |isbn=978-1606083949 }}</ref>

== Topography and source== Throughout the arid plateau region east of Damascus, oases, streams, and a few minor rivers that empty into swamps and small lakes provide water for local irrigation. Most important of these is the Barada, a river that rises in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and disappears into the desert. The Barada flows out of the karst spring of Ain al-Fijah, about {{convert|27|km|mi}} north west of Damascus in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, but its true source is Lake Barada, a small lake that is also a karst spring located about {{convert|8|km|mi}} from Al-Zabadani. The Barada descends through a steep, narrow gorge named "Rabwe" before it arrives at Damascus, where it divides into seven branches that irrigate the Al Ghutah (الغوطة) oasis, the location of Damascus. Eventually the Ghouta reached a size of 370 square kilometers, although in the 1980s urban growth started replacing agricultural use with housing and industry.<ref name=countrystudy>{{cite book |title=Syria: a country study |url=http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/sytoc.html#sy0030 |chapter=Land, Water, and Climate |editor-first=Thomas |editor-last=Collelo |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |date=1988 |lccn=87600488}} Note: text doesn't have permanent URL. Click "Land, Water, and Climate" at link.</ref> The river has suffered from severe drought in the following decades, mainly due to the lower rainfall rates and the large increase in the population in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alhayat.com/Articles/21639937/النظام-في-وادي-بردى--النهب-المستمر----تعفيش-وتحريق-وتنحيس |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513002638/http://www.alhayat.com/Articles/21639937/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%89--%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B1----%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82-%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%B3 |archive-date=2017-05-13 |title=الحياة - النظام في وادي بردى: النهب المستمر... تعفيش وتحريق وتنحيس}}</ref> It also suffers from serious pollution, especially in the summer, when there is almost no flow and little water in the basin.

In early 2026, the Barada river showed increased but unstable flow due to heavy rainfall, prompting precautionary measures in areas such as al-Otaybah within its drainage basin. Local authorities carried out channel cleaning to regulate water flow, prevent flooding, and support irrigation, as rising water levels from storms led to runoff and temporary surges in the river system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sana.sy/locals/2435307/ |title=إجراءات استباقية في العتيبة بريف دمشق لضبط مياه بردى ودعم الري |publisher=SANA |language=ar |date=27 March 2026 }}</ref>

==Biblical mention== The Barada is identified as '''Abana''' (or ''Amana'', in Qere and Ketiv variation in Tanakh and classical Chrysorrhoas), which is the more important of the two rivers of Damascus, Syria, and was mentioned in the ''Book of Kings'' (2 Kings 5:12). As the Barada rises in the Anti-Libanus and escapes from the mountains through a narrow gorge, its waters debouch fan-like, in canals or ''rivers'', the name of one of which, the River Banias, retains a trace of ''Abana''.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=6}}

John MacGregor, who gives a description of them in his book ''Rob Roy on the Jordan'', affirms that as a work of hydraulic engineering the system and construction of the canals, by which the Abana and Pharpar were used for irrigation, might be considered as one of the most complete and extensive in the world. In the Bible, Naaman exclaims that the Abana and Pharpar are greater than all the waters of Israel.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=6}}

== Branching == The Barada branches at the village of Hameh and the gorge of Rabweh into six distributaries or canals, two of which, Yazid and Tora, branch off the northern bank whilst the remaining four, Mezzawi, Derani, Qanawat and Banias, are formed from the southern bank.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Damascus |first=Born In |date=2016-02-07 |title=Born In Damascus: The River Barada |url=http://bornindamascus.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-river-barada.html |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=Born In Damascus}}</ref>

The Yazid canal runs north to the districts of Salihya and Qabun; Tora, the oldest of all, passes through the district of Al-Jisr Al-Abyad, heading to Jobar and Harasta; Mezzawi tears through Mezzeh; Derani runs towards Darya; Banias runs by the National Museum north of the Citadel and reaches Bab Touma; and finally the Qanawat canal pours into the southern quarters of the old city following Via Recta.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=http://naim-almadani.com/cc/showthread.php?t=3536 |title=دمشق فيضان نهر برطى عام 1970 ساحة المرجا وفكتوريا |publisher=منتديات المدني |archive-date=2023-03-26 |access-date=2023-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326021747/http://naim-almadani.com/cc/showthread.php?t=3536 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Outside the city of Damascus, the water gathers to pour into the River Qleit, which runs to Eastern Ghouta.<ref name=":0" />

==Gallery== <gallery> File:TOBIN(1855) p282 PASS OF SOOC BARRADA.jpg|The upper valley of the Barada in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains 1855 File:Damascus-8.jpg|Barada river 1868 File:Barada2.jpg|Barada river around 1930 File:Feeja Spring.jpg|Feeja Spring in 2007 File:Barada River desiccated.jpg|The dry riverbed Barada in August 2010 File:ISS036-E-012047.jpg|Annotated view of Barada and Damascus with surroundings, as seen from space in 2013 </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links and further reading== {{Commons category|Barada river}} *''[https://vimeo.com/96206780 Before Vanishing]'', a 2005 documentary short about the decline of Barada (French titles, no narration). *{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=A&artid=116|article=Abana}} *{{cite web |title=A Drought in Eden |url=https://www.academia.edu/3406408 |work=Syria Today |author=De Chatel, Francesca |date=January 2008 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} *{{EB1911|wstitle=Abana|volume=1|page=6}}

Category:Rivers of Syria Category:Geography of Damascus Category:Hebrew Bible rivers