Tell Abyad District ( ar, منطقة تل أبيض, Manṭiqat Tall Abyaḍ; ku, Devera Girê Spî) is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
of the
Raqqa Governorate
Raqqa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة الرقة, Muḥāfaẓat ar-Raqqah) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State ...
in northern
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
administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
is the city of
Tell Abyad
Tell Abyad; ku, گرێ سپی, Girê Spî; hy, Թել Աբյադ; syr, ܬܠ ܐܒܝܕ. is a town in northern Syria. It is the administrative center of the Tell Abyad District within the Raqqa Governorate. Located along the Balikh River, it cons ...
. Parts of the district are currently under the
Turkish occupation of northern Syria.
Demographics
At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 129,714.
The majority of inhabitants are
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
, with considerable
Kurdish and
Turkmen minorities. All three groups are overwhelmingly
Sunni
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 dis ...
. The western part of the district is mainly inhabited by Kurds, the Turkmens are mainly concentrated in
Suluk and southwest of the town and the rest of the district is almost all Arab.
Subdistricts
The district of Tell Abyad is divided into three subdistricts or
nawāḥī (population as of 2004
):
*
Tell Abyad Subdistrict
Tell Abyad Subdistrict or Tell Abyad Nahiyah ( ar, ناحية تل أبيض) is a Syrian nahiyah (subdistrict) located in Tell Abyad District in Raqqa. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Tell Abyad Subdistrict had a popu ...
(ناحية تل أبيض): population 44,671.
*
Suluk Subdistrict
Suluk Subdistrict or Suluk Nahiyah ( ar, ناحية سلوك) is a Syrian Nahiyah (Subdistrict) located in Tell Abyad District in Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) ( Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the n ...
(ناحية سلوك): population 44,131
*
Ayn Issa Subdistrict
Ayn Issa Subdistrict or Ayn Issa Nahiyah ( ar, ناحية عين عيسى) is a Syrian Nahiyah (Subdistrict) located in Tell Abyad District in Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) ( Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in ...
(ناحية عين عيسى): population 40,912.
Archaeology
In the valley of the
Balikh River
The Balikh River ( ar, نهر البليخ) is a perennial river that originates in the spring of Ain al-Arous near Tell Abyad in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion. It flows due south and joins the Euph ...
, there exists an archaeological site called
Tell Sabi Abyad
Tell Sabi Abyad ( ar, تل صبي أبيض) is an archaeological site in the Balikh River valley in northern Syria. It lies about 2 kilometers south of Tell Hammam et-Turkman.The site consists of four prehistoric mounds that are numbered Tell Sab ...
.
References
Districts of Raqqa Governorate
{{RaqqaSY-geo-stub