Wadi Barada ( ar, وادي بردى) is a river valley in southwestern Syria. The valley is home to 17 villages and towns.
Etymology
The word ''wadi'' () means valley in Arabic.
[ "Barada" is thought to be derived from the word ''barid'' (), which means "cold" in ]Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...
.
The ancient Greek name (Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: , translit. ''Chrysorrhoas'', means "streaming with gold"). The river has also suffered from severe drought in the last decades, mainly due to the lower rainfall rates and the large increase in the population in the area.
Geography
Wadi Barada is located in the north-western part of the Syrian capital of Damascus, in the Qalamoun district. It is known for being a mountainous area and in direct contact with the eastern mountain range of Lebanon.
The Barada River is located in the western suburb of Damascus, it is 84 km long, stems from Zabadani, and drains in Al Otaiba Lake.
The region also has a main water source. The water of Ein Fajja in the Barada valley is a major source of the capital, providing drinking water to more than six million people in Damascus and its countryside.
Villages and towns of Wadi Barada
The following villages and towns make up Wadi Barada. The population numbers are according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for 2004.
Syrian civil war
Syrian rebels captured the village of Ain al-Fijah in February 2012. Engineers and technicians who worked at the water spring remained in place. After the rebel capture of Wadi Barada, government forces imposed a blockade on the villages. The army retook control of the town on 28 January 2017 and the next day the Army took full control of Wadi Barada.
See also
*Barada
, name_etymology = From ''barid'', meaning 'cold' in Semitic languages
, image = Barada river in Damascus (April 2009).jpg
, image_size = 300
, image_caption = Barada river in Damascus near the Four Seasons Hote ...
References
{{coord missing, Syria
Barada
, name_etymology = From ''barid'', meaning 'cold' in Semitic languages
, image = Barada river in Damascus (April 2009).jpg
, image_size = 300
, image_caption = Barada river in Damascus near the Four Seasons Hote ...
Populated places in An-Nabek District