Al-Qastal ( ar, القسطل) is a village in southern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, administratively part of the

Rif Dimashq Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate ( ar, محافظة ريف دمشق, ', literally, the "Governorate of the Countryside of Damascus", Damascus Suburb) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the c ...

, located on the northeast of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, on the ancient caravan route to

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

and

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, in the

Qalamoun Mountains The Qalamoun Mountains ( ar, جبال القلمون, Jabāl al-Qalamūn) are the northeastern portion of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, and they are northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus. They run from Barada River Valley in the southwest to ...

. Nearby localities include

Yabroud Yabroud or Yabrud ( ar, يَبْرُود, Yabrūd) is a city in Syria, located in the ''Rif Dimashq'' (i.e. Damascus' countryside) governorate about north of the capital Damascus. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Yab ...

an-Nabek An-Nabek or Al-Nabek ( ar, ٱلنَّبْك, an-Nabk) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. Located north of Damascus and south of Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. According to the S ...

al-Sahel Al-Sahel ( ar, السحل, also transliterated As-Sahel and As-Sehel) is a Syrian village in the An-Nabek District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Sahel had a population of 5,677 in th ...

and

Deir Atiyah Deir Atiyah or Dayr Atiyah ( ar, ديرعطية) is a town in Syria, located between the Qalamoun Mountains and the Eastern Lebanon Mountains Series, north of the capital Damascus and on the road to the city of Homs. According to the Syria Cent ...

to the north, ar-Ruhaybah,

Jayroud Jairoud ( ar, جيرود; also spelled Jerud or Jayroud) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located northeast of Damascus in the Qalamoun Mountains. Nearby localities include ar-Ruhaybah, al-Qutayfah ...

al-Dumayr Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr ( ar, الضمير) is a city located 45 kilometers north-east of Damascus, Syria. Archaeology An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity, Baalshamin in 94 CE, now in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, ind ...

and

al-Qutayfah Al-Qutayfah ( ar, ٱلْقُطَيْفَة, al-Quṭayfah) is a city in Syria, administratively belonging to the Rif Dimashq Governorate, capital of the al-Qutayfah District. It is located approximately east of Damascus. According to the Syri ...

to the south, and

Ma'loula Maaloula or Maʿlūlā ( arc, ܡܥܠܘܠܐ in Eastern Aramaic Syriac script, ' in Western Aramaic Maalouli script; ar, مَعلُولَا) is a town in the Rif Dimashq Governorate in Syria. The town is located 56 km to the northeast of Dama ...

Assal al-Ward Assal al-Ward ( ar, عسال الورد; also spelled Asal el-Ward) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located northeast of Damascus along the Syrian– Lebanese borders. Nearby localities include Ha ...

and

Hosh Arab Hosh Arab or Hawsh Arab ( ar, حوش عرب) is a Syrian village in the Al-Tall District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Hosh Arab had a population of 2,073 in the 2004 census. Reference ...

to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Qastal had a population of 3,486 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

History

Al-Qastal was visited by Syrian geographer

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known fo ...

in the early 13th-century, during

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...

rule. He noted that it was "a place between Hims and Damascus where the caravans stop. It is said to be the name of the Kurah (or district)."Le Strange, 1890, p
483
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* * Populated places in An-Nabek District {{RifDimashqSY-geo-stub