Artouz ( ar, عَرْطُوْز, ʻArṭūz, �ar'tˤuːz

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

: ܥܰܪܛܽܘܙ;

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: עַרטוּז) is a town situated to the southwest 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 = , ...

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 ...

. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 16,199 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate.

Etymology

The name of the town is of uncertain etymology. The prevalent presumption traces the meaning of ''ʻArṭūz'' back to

(ܥܰܪܛܽܘܙ), loosely translating into ''being aside'' or ''the one out of the way,'' which is a reference to the town's original, secluded location on a nearby mountain away from the usual routes back then. Furthermore, the two,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

quadriliteral roots of ''ʻ-r-ṭ-z'' and ''ʻ-r-ṭ-s'' both mean ''to evade,'' which supports the presumption that the town was named after its remote position. A less popular translation assumes that ''ʻArṭūz'' means the scent of apple, and that the nearby mountain it was once situated on was called the mountain of apples.

History

Evidence of the town's history is scarce. Throughout time, the region that cradles modern-day Artouz has been under the rule of a plethora of peoples, e.g., ancient Middle Eastern civilisations, the

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...

, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

, the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

, the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, and more. There are historical references to a town in approximately the same location as Artouz during the Neo-Assyrian Empire. A system of canals constructed at the time of the Roman reign is still in use to this day to irrigate the fields in the northwestern part of Artouz. Artouz is believed to be the location of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

event known as the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle. On his road to Damascus in pursuit of persecuting

early Christians Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

(later christened

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

) was interrupted by the ascended Jesus in the whereabouts of today's Artouz, a place called Tal Kokab (

Levantine Arabic Levantine Arabic, also called Shami (autonym: or ), is a group of mutually intelligible vernacular Arabic varieties spoken in the Levant, in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Turkey (historically in Adana, Mersin and Hatay on ...

: تَل كوكَب, /'tal koː'kab/). The location where Jesus Christ appeared is now commemorated by an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

named ''the Vision of Saint Paul the Apostle Patriarchal Monastery,'' which was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

during his pilgrimage to Syria in May, 2001. Originally, and during the Ottoman Empire's rule, Artouz was located on a nearby mountain 2000 metres to the northwest of its present place. However, the destructive

Near East earthquakes of 1759 The Near East earthquakes of 1759 were a series of devastating earthquakes that shook a large portion of the Levant in October and November of that year. This geographical crossroads in the Eastern Mediterranean were at the time under the rule ...

reduced the little town to ruins. The inhabitants who survived and chose not to migrate elsewhere became displaced, and later descended from the mountains and occupied the region that is known today as Artouz. The region was an ideal choice because the people depended on water for their

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, and the Awaj river ran there after the earthquakes had altered its course. In 1838,

Eli Smith Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from Andov ...

noted Artouz as a 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 ...

village.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p
148
/ref> Artouz al-Kharaab (

: عَرْطُوْز الخَرَاب,

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

: ''ʻArṭūz al-ḵarāb'', /ʕar'tˤuːz elxa'raːb/) is a term used by the present inhabitants to refer to the remaining shambles of the old Artouz that used to exist on the nearby mountain. It means ''Artouz the Ruins,'' and the remnants still stand to this day. Most of the farms were owned by few rich families from

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 = , ...

during the Ottoman and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

periods, then the land was redistributed during the presidency of

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

Geography

Artouz is south west of Damascus, east of

Qatana Qatana ( ar, قَطَنَا, Qaţanā) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Qatana District of Rif Dimashq Governorate. Qatana has an altitude of 879 meters. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had ...

. It lies on the main road between Damascus and the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. The

Awaj The Awaj ( ar, نهر الأعوج ''Nahr al-A‘waj'', literally 'crooked') is a river in Syria. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Hermon near Arnah, flows east for to the south of Damascus and terminates in the Buhairat al-Hijanah. The ...

river passes through the town and splits into three branches. Artouze has a twin town only north called

Jdeidat Artouz Jdeidat Artouz ( ar, جديدة عرطوز, also spelled Jdeidet Artouz) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located southwest of Damascus. Nearby localities include Qatana to the west, Artouz to the s ...

. Expansion of the two towns has erased the green spaces between them. Artouz has great military importance, with many army detachments nearby.

Economy

Until the 1980s, the economy of Artouz depended largely on agriculture.

Olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

were the main agricultural products. However, with the expansion of Damascus, Artouz developed a fast-growing construction and service economy, which is now the main source of employment for its population. Artouz has no industrial region. Light industry located in and near the town is mainly limited to some dairy and poultry facilities. Trade is a source of income of many people, with the town serving as a commerce centre for several surrounding small villages.

Health care

There is only a small health centre, for day cases. The centre is not officially working as many of the public health centres in Syria. The nearest hospital is from the town centre: a private hospital in the nearby town of Jdeidat Artouz (Al kamal). Most patients go to Damascus for hospital care. Artouz has a central water and sewage system. However, the water shortage is a serious problem affecting the whole region. There is no recycling centre.

Transport

Artouz is well connected by roads to all neighbouring villages. A highway connecting Damascus to Al Quneitra (

Golan Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ci ...

) passes through the town. There is also a train station servicing a rail line built by the French between Damascus and the city of Qatana. However, the train has stopped running decades ago. Public transport is now limited to buses and mini buses, which serve to connect Artouz to Damascus. Residents also use the small mini cabs as taxis for short trips within the town.

Population and ethnic groups

The main historical ethnic group are

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

, and the town is predominantly

Sunni Muslims 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 disagr ...

. However, the nearby town of Jdeidat Artouz hosts a mix of

Orthodox Christians Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. There have been no sectarian issues in Artouz, but since 1967 many refugees (mainly

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

) have come to live in Artouz, and the newcomers (called ''nazheen'' (نازحين)) have clashed with the long-term residents. Some of these clashes have resulted in casualties. Also, a few

Iraqis Iraqis ( ar, العراقيون, ku, گه‌لی عیراق, gelê Iraqê) are people who originate from the country of Iraq. Iraq consists largely of most of ancient Mesopotamia, the native land of the indigenous Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, ...

have moved to Artouz following the American invasion of Iraq. Artouze has several

mosques A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

. Churches of other faiths are located only in nearby Jdeidat Artouz. Secularism flourished in the town in the 1970s, but the last two decades have witnessed growing religious fervour among the population.

Education

Schools are mixed in the town, with boys and girls attending the same schools. There are two secondary schools, one of which has been set up to serve the refugee community exclusively. Artouz has good percentage of educated people in its population. English is the second language for most of the educated people, but the knowledge of it is also limited and not enough to communicate efficiently. French is also understood with limitation, especially between old educated Artouzians.

References

Bibliography

External links

* http://thawra.alwehda.gov.sy/_archive.asp?FileName=44277363020071121002931 * http://wikimapia.org/3420123/ar/%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%B2 * https://web.archive.org/web/20080915215741/http://nourelalam.org/churches.php?page=churches&church=8 {{Rif Dimashq Governorate, qatana Populated places in Qatana District Towns in Syria