Morek (, also spelled ''Murik'', ''Mork'', or ''Murak'') is a town in central

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, administratively part of the Suran Subdistrict of

Hama District Hama District ( ') is a district ( mantiqah) administratively belonging to Hama Governorate, Syria. At the time of the 2023 Census, it had a population of 1,054,000 Its administrative centre is the city of Hama. It is now controlled by the Syrian ...

, about northeast of

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

city. It is located on the M5 highway, which connects Hama with

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Morek had a population of 14,307 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

s. Morek is the center of the country's

pistachio The pistachio (, ; ''Pistacia vera'') is a small to medium-sized tree of the Anacardiaceae, cashew family, originating in Iran. The tree produces nut (fruit)#Culinary definition and uses, seeds that are widely consumed as food. In 2022, world ...

production.

History

Murik contains the ruins, including

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s, of a 5th-century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

church, similar to those found in nearby

Qamhana Qamhana (, also spelled ''Qomhane'' or ''Qomhana'') is a Syrian town located in the Hama Subdistrict of the Hama District in Hama Governorate. It is situated immediately west of the Zayn al-Abidin Mountain. According to the Syria Central Bureau o ...

and Taybet al-Imam.

Ottoman period

In 1818, due to the impoverished state of its inhabitants, Morek was partially exempted from taxes. In a tax record from that year, the village consisted of 23

feddan A feddan () is a unit of area used in Egypt, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Oman. In Classical Arabic, the word means 'a yoke of oxen', implying the area of ground that could be tilled by oxen in a certain time. In Egypt, the feddan is the only n ...

s, paid the relatively small amount of 1,100 qirsh in taxes but also was extorted to pay 4,720 qirsh by the mutasallim of Hama, Faraj Agha, who was dismissed from his post for corrupt practices. In 1838, its inhabitants were noted to be predominantly

s. In May 1841, amid the chaotic withdrawal of Egyptian forces from Syria, which they had controlled since 1831,

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

s from the Anaza tribes of Fad'an and Sba'a raided Morek, kidnapping a boy and stealing numerous livestock from the inhabitants.

French Mandatory period

In the early 20th century, during French Mandatory rule, Morek's 300 small landowners were split between two disputing factions. They sought arbitration from the notables of

city, who thereupon took ownership of two-thirds of the village's lands. The inhabitants of Morek were Sunni Muslim Arabs of

origin.

Syrian civil war

During the Syrian civil war, the city was the site of the Battle of Morek. By 2018 it was under the control of Hayat Tahrir al Sham and had become the sight of an important crossing point from rebel held areas into those held by the Syrian government. On August 12, 2018, the Syrian Arab Army closed that crossing in preparation for their assault on rebel held territory in the region. The Turkish government had also deployed special forces to Morek in preparation for the SAA's anticipated advance on the Idlib region. The anticipated advance was averted by a de-militarization agreement signed between

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in September 2018. By May 2019 a group called Jaysh al-Izza was stationed in the city and was refusing to allow Russian patrols within the demilitarized zone. On 20 August, the

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. ...

reported that the rebel and Islamic factions including jihadi groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had completely withdrawn from Morek in the northern countryside of Hama. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the Turkish troops were staying at the Turkish observation post in Morek. Turkey withdrew its military presence from Morek on 19 October 2020. On 30 November 2024, HTS rebels captured the city from the Syrian Army during the Hama offensive.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Hama Governorate, hama Towns in Hama Governorate Populated places in Hama District