Mount Ḥaṣṣ or Mount Aḥaṣṣ ( ar, جبل الحص or جبل الأحص;
northern Syrian vernacular: ǧabal əl-Ḥəṣṣ) is a 500-metre-high plateau (maximum height 638 m) on the northern fringe of the
Syrian Desert
The Syrian Desert ( ar, بادية الشام ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of sou ...
. It is located in the
Safīrah District of
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 the ...
in
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 ...
.
Location and description
The plateau extends for 60 km with a width of about 30 km on the western side of
Lake Jabboul from
Safīrah in the north to
Sabkhat Kharāyij ( ar, سبخة الخرايج) and
Sabkhat Ḥammām ( ar, سبخة همام) in the south. To the east lie the
Qinnasrīn
Qinnasrin ( ar, قنسرين; syr, ܩܢܫܪܝܢ, ''Qinnašrīn'', lit=Nest of Eagles), also known by numerous other romanizations and originally known as ( la, Chalcis ad Belum; grc-gre, Χαλκὶς, ''Khalkìs''), was a historical town in ...
plain (southern
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
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plain) and the Maṭkh lowland. A lesser elevation called Mount Shabīth ( ar, جبل شبيث) (highest point 360 m) is found in the southeast, beyond which lie Sabkhat Shabīth ( ar, سبخة شبيث). The plain of
Khunāṣir separates between Mount Ḥaṣṣ and Mount Shabīth.
The area has more than 150 villages inhabited by
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 ...
s or people of Bedouinic ancestry. It is one of the poorest regions in Syria. A development project aims to improve living standards.
An ancient fortress dating to
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
has been recently uncovered on Mount Ḥaṣṣ.
References
Aleppo
Aleppo Governorate
Mountains of Syria
{{AleppoSY-geo-stub