Qaṭma, ( ar, قطمة) or Qatmet Efrin is a village in northwestern Syria, within

Afrin District Afrin District ( ar, منطقة عفرين, manṭiqat Afrīn) is a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Afrin. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 172,095. Also available i ...

(

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of t ...

). It is also within

Afrin Canton Afrin Canton ( ku, Kantona Efrînê, ar, مقاطعة عفرين, syc, ܦܠܩܐ ܕܥܦܪܝܢ, translit=Pelqā dha-ʻAfrin) was one of the cantons of Rojava. Syria's Afrin District fell under the control of the People's Protection Units (YPG) aro ...

, "de facto" autonomous since January 2014. It lies northeast of Afrin and west of

Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.

. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Qaṭma had a population of 1,215 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. On March 7th 2018, the town came under the control of the Syrian National Army.

Religions

''Qatma'' consists of Islam and

Yezidism Yazidism , alternatively Sharfadin is a monotheistic ethnic religion that has roots in a western Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion directly derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition. It is followed by the mainly Kurmanji-speaking Yazidis and is ...

. In addition to a

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, ...

, there are two holy places in proximity to the village.

Economy

Agriculture is the main source of income of the population in the village:

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 ...

, grain,

chickpeas The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are hi ...

and

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

are cultivated there, in addition,

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

, cherries and further fruits. The work is mainly done with modern agricultural machines, for example

tractors A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

and combines. It is very important that olives are pressed in the village's own olive presses. In the village are some

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, which offer facilities for

weddings A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marria ...

, etc.

Traffic

In the village there is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

at which travelers board for Aleppo or

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. There are many

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

and

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s in the village.

Education

The illiteracy rate has been reduced to a minimum, to the point where only the most elderly cannot read or write. The first school in Qatma was established in the middle of the 1940s. At that time there was only one teacher, who instructed three/four classes. At present the school maintains some 100 pupils, up to the ninth class, who are instructed by several teachers, including particular subject teachers, with classes taught in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French.

Climate

Qatma is situated in the subtropics, where there are also winter rains. The village is approximately 80 km distant from the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

; it is set on the

Kurd Mountains Kurd Mountain or Kurd Dagh ( ku, چیای کورمنج, Çiyayê Kurmênc; tr, Kürt Dağı, officially ; ar, جبل الأكراد) is a highland region in northwestern Syria and southeastern Turkey. It is located in the Aleppo Governorate o ...

, also called Kurd-Dagh, at elevations near 600m.

References

{{Aleppo Governorate, afrin Populated places in Afrin District Kurdish communities in Syria Villages in Aleppo Governorate Yazidi villages in Syria