Darayya ( ar, دَارَيَّا, Dārayyā) is a suburb 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 ...

, the centre of Darayya lying south-west of the centre of Damascus. Administratively it belongs to Rif Dimashq.

History and population

Darayya is one of the oldest cities in

, reportedly the place where

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

had his

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

(30s AD), "on

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 = , ...

road". 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 And ...

noted ''Daraya'' as being located in the ''Wady el-'Ajam'', and being populated by

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 disagre ...

s and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in c ...

Gregory III Laham Gregory III Laham, Basilian Salvatorian Order, B.S. ( ar, غريغوريوس الثالث لحام; la, Gregorius III Lahamus; born Lutfy Laham, December 15, 1933, in Darayya, Syria), Emeritus Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, Patriarch ...

, the former leader of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία , image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = , abbreviatio ...

was born here on 15 December 1933 as ''Lutfy Laham''. The city had a population of 131,501 , making it the 19th largest city per geographical entity in Syria.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. Darayya has an altitude of . After 2011, the number of inhabitants decreased gradually, as a result of the conflict between the Syrian government forces and the opposition forces, to seven thousand civilians and combatants until 26 August 2016. After that and as a result of the tight siege imposed on the city, the Syrian government forced the rest of the population to accept

forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, ...

to the North of Syria, so the city became empty of its residents. Recently, the Syrian government allowed some families to return to their homes after obtaining the necessary security clearances.

Darayya during the war

Darayya has seen heavy fighting during the Syrian Civil War. The city was an early hotspot for anti-government protests. In August 2012, opposition groups denounced that government forces performed a mass killing that was later known as

Darayya massacre The Darayya massacre ( ar, مجزرة داريا) was a massacre carried out by Syrian government forces of Bashar al-Assad that occurred between 20 and 25 August 2012 in the town of Darayya in the Rif Dimashq province of Syria, during the S ...

, and a second time on 4 January 2013.Сирийские войска вытеснили боевиков с юго-запада Дамаска
However, as of summer 2013 fighting continued in the city with most of the municipality controlled by the armed opposition forces. By mid-2016, the Syrian Army controlled approximately 65% of Darayya, steadily advancing and tightening the siege. In August 2016, an agreement allowed for the evacuation of rebel fighters as well as civilians. Some 700 rebels were safely transported to the rebel stronghold city of

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

in the north. This agreement was essentially a rebel surrender. Amid the constant bombings and conflict, a group of young people (mostly former college students) have founded an underground

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamen ...

that has amassed a collection of more than 15,000 books. Most of the books were found in the rubble of ruined houses, and the librarians are documenting the name of the homeowner so that the books can be returned after the war.

Climate

Darayya has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: ''BSk''). Rainfall is higher in winter than in summer. The average annual temperature in Darraya is . About of precipitation falls annually.

Notable residents

Yusra Mardini Yusra Mardini OLY ( ar, يسرى مارديني; born 5 March 1998) is a Syrian former competition swimmer and refugee of the Syrian civil war. She was a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team (ROT) that competed under the Olympic flag ...

, Olympic swimmer, and her sister, activist

Sarah Mardini Sarah Mardini ( ar, سارة مارديني; born 1995) is a Syrian former competition swimmer, lifeguard and human rights activist. Fleeing her country in 2015 during the Syrian civil war with her sister, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, they pul ...

, grew up in Darayya.

References

Bibliography

External links

Darayya, Rif Dimashq
- Video of bombardment of Darayya during the Syrian civil war on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Report on Syria's secret library
by BBC News {{Rif Dimashq Governorate, darayya Cities in Syria Populated places in Darayya District