Al-Ziyarah ??????? Zeyareh
Town
Al-Ziyarah Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°41′21″N 36°20′18″E  /  35.68917°N 36.33833°E  / 35.68917; 36.33833
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama
District	Al-Suqaylabiyah
Subdistrict	Al-Ziyarah
Occupation	Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
Population   (2004)
? Total	3,541
Time zone	UTC+2 ( EET )
? Summer ( DST )	UTC+3 ( EEST )

Al-Ziyarah ( Arabic : ??????? , also spelled Zeyareh ) is a town in northern Syria , administratively part of the Hama Governorate , located 75 kilometers northwest of Hama . It is situated in the Ghab plain , on the eastern bank of the Orontes River . ^[1] Nearby localities include Qarqur 7 kilometers to the north, Sirmaniyah to the northwest, Qastun to the east and Farikah , Khirbet al-Arus and al-Amqiyah Tahta to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics , al-Ziyarah had a population of 3,541 in the 2004 census. It is also the center of the Al-Ziyarah Nahiyah ("subdistrict"), part of the Al-Suqaylabiyah District , consisting of 25 localities and with a combined population of 38,872 in 2004. ^[2]

History [ edit ]

Al-Ziyarah has been identified as the ancient Aramaean city of "Ziara", which was part of the Hamath kingdom. ^[1]

The name al-Ziyarah is Arabic for "visiting place." Al-Ziyarah receives its name from a double-domed shrine located in the town. ^[3] The dome is white and surrounded by oak trees. ^[4] It has a view over the surrounding plain and the Nusayriyah Mountain range . ^[3]

Prior to 1960 the nahiyah of al-Ziyarah was part of the Idlib Governorate , after which it became a part of the Hama Governorate. ^[5] In 1970 the average household in al-Ziyarah consisted of nearly nine members. ^[6] An irrigation project for 17,400 hectares in the al-Ziyarah area was started in 1990. ^[7] The project was completed with the construction of the Zeyzoun Dam in 1995. On 4 June 2002 the dam collapsed causing mass flooding in the area. Five towns, including al-Ziyarah, saw hundreds of homes either destroyed or severely damaged, prompting the Syrian government to request urgent international aid. Out of a total of ten people killed, five, including two women, two children and an employee of the dam, were residents of al-Ziyarah. ^[8]

On 5 November 2012, during the ongoing Syrian Civil War between the Syrian government and opposition rebels, a car bomb exploded outside a government-run development agency in al-Ziyarah. While state media claimed two people were killed and 10 injured, opposition activists claimed the attack left 50 Syrian soldiers and pro-government militiamen dead. ^[9]

References [ edit ]

Bibliography [ edit ]