History
Ottoman era
During the late
Ottoman era, in the late 1840s, Kaftin was a Druze village headed by a ''
sheikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
'' ("local chief") named Abu Sharif Nasif. At the time most of the once-large Druze community of A'la Mountain had fled the area after being embroiled in a feud between the two Muslim villages of
Kafr Takharim
Kafr Takharim ( ar, كَفْر تَخَارِيم, Kafr Takhārīm, also spelled Kafar Takhareem or Kfar Takharam) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located in the north of Idlib. Nearby localities inc ...
and
Armanaz
Armanaz ( ar, أَرْمَنَاز, Armanāz) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Harem District, in the Idlib Governorate. It is located 20 kilometers northwest of Idlib near the Syrian- Turkish borders.[Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...]
they assaulted the Druze of A'la Mountain. The Druze were decisively defeated and their ''sheikh'' was killed resulting in a mass flight towards
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at .
Geography
The Mount Le ...
, the
Hauran
The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...
and
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 =
, ...
. A small number of Druze had returned to Kaftin and A'la Mountain by the mid-19th-century.
Kaftin was noted for its numerous
pigeon houses where thousands of white pigeons would breed annually.
In the 1790s English traveler
William George Browne
William George Browne (25 July 17681813) was an English traveller, whose journey took him through Egypt and the Near East. He published a book of his travels in 1799. Browne was murdered while attempting to reach Tehran.
Life
Browne was born at ...
described the houses as "remarkable."
[Browne, 1806, p. 439.] When the young pigeons were able to fly, they would be collected and supplied to the markets of the nearby villages and
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
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, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
where they would be sold as valuable commodities.
The pigeon houses were tall and narrow buildings, some of them reaching a height of 50 feet, and they numbered 72, although at the time the majority of them were in ruins.
[Bibliotheca Sacra, 1848, p. 666.]
In November 1875 a petition by the residents of Kaftin was sent to the British consul in Aleppo requesting intervention with the provincial Ottoman authorities of Aleppo who they accused of seizing and selling off their properties which they paid taxes for and planted olive trees on during the preceding generations.
[Firro, 1992, p. 166.]
Syrian civil war
During the ongoing
Syrian civil war, Kaftin's residents provided shelter for internal refugees. although the Idlib region (with the exception of
Idlib
ar, إدلبي, Idlibi
, coordinates =
, elevation_m = 500
, area_code = 23
, geocode = C3871
, blank_name = Climate
, blank_info ...
and small pockets of territory) is largely under opposition control, the
Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
(FSA) had not entered Kaftin or other Druze villages because the villages maintained their neutrality in the conflict and host many displaced families from neighboring towns. However, towards the end of 2013, militants from the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...
(ISIS), a
Salafist
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
-
jihadist
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
organization, largely became dominant over the FSA and captured Kaftin along with other Druze-majority villages in area. They reportedly demanded that residents "announce their Islam" by converting their prayer houses into
mosque
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, ...
s and trimming their mustaches.
See also
*
Kafr Kila
*
Qalb Loze
Qalb Loze ( ar, قلب لوزة, also spelled Qalb Lawzah or Qalb Lozeh) is a Druze village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate located about west of Aleppo. It is situated near the border with Turkey, in the A'l ...
*
Maarrat al-Ikhwan
Ma'arrat al-Ikhwan ( ar, معارة الاخوان, also spelled Ma'arrat al-Akwan, Maaret Ikhwan or Martahwan) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate located north of Idlib. Nearby localities include Maarrat ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
{{Idlib Governorate, idlib
Populated places in Idlib District
Druze communities in Syria