Al-Bab
| Al-Bab الباب Bab Biza'ah | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates: 36°22′21″N 37°31′4″E / 36.37250°N 37.51778°ECoordinates: 36°22′21″N 37°31′4″E / 36.37250°N 37.51778°E | |
| Country |
 Syria |
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Al-Bab |
| Subdistrict | Al-Bab |
| Occupation |
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Elevation | 471 m (1,545 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 63,069 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Al-Bab (Arabic: الباب / ALA-LC: al-Bāb) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate. Al-Bab is located northeast of Aleppo and has an area of 30 square kilometres (12 square miles). Al-Bab has an altitude of 471 metres (1,545 feet). According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), it had a population of 63,069 in 2004.[1] Its inhabitants are a mix of Sunni Kurds and Arabs.[2] Until 2013, there was also a shrinking number of Levantine Christians in Al-Bab
Name
Al-Bāb in Arabic means the door. According to Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in 1226, the name is a shortening of Bāb Bizāʻah (the gate to Bizāʻah). Bizāʻah (also Buzāʻah and Bzāʻā) is a town located about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) east of Al-Bāb.
History
Al-Bab was conquered by the Arab army of the Rashidun Caliphate under caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. It received its name, meaning "the Gate", during Islamic rule as it served as "the gate" between Aleppo and the adjacent town of Buza'ah. The tomb and shrine of Aqil ibn Abi Talib (the brother of Ali) was located in al-Bāb, and until its rule by the Ayyubids in the 13th century, the town was populated mostly by Shias of the Ismaili sect.[3]
According to Yaqut al-Hamawi in 1226, it was a small town in the district of Aleppo. In the town were markets filled with a type of cotton product called kirbas which were exported to Damascus and Egypt. Abu al-Fida writes that al-Bab was a small town with a market, a bath, pleasant gardens, and a mosque (the Great Mosque of al-Bab).[3]
Syrian civil war
Until April 2012, Al-Bab had been relatively unscathed by the Syrian civil war. On April 20, the Syrian Army opened fire on protesters in the city, sparking the growth of the rebel movement in Al-Bab. Between mid-May and mid-July, some 15 rebel groups formed within the city. The fight for Al-Bab included a series of raids and assaults on government offices over the course of two months, finally culminating on July 18 when rebels seized the final regime stronghold within the city limits. According to opposition activists, an army garrison remains outside al-Bab and has been shelling the city since the FSA's capture.[4] Rebel forces pushed the regime from this garrison on the south edge of town on July 29, With the seizure of al-Bab, the armed opposition in northern Aleppo gained considerable momentum.[5][6][7] The city's capture gave the FSA full control of the areas northeast of Aleppo.[8] But, by mid November, 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was in full control of the town.[9]
Al Bab Climate
Al Bab has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with influences of a continental climate during winter with hot dry summers and cool wet and occasionally snowy winters. The average high temperature in January is 8.3 °C (47 °F) and the average high temperature in July is 36.2 °C (97 °F), The snow usually falls in December or January.
| Climate data for Aleppo | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17 (63) |
21 (70) |
31 (88) |
34 (93) |
41 (106) |
47 (117) |
46 (115) |
43 (109) |
41 (106) |
37 (99) |
30 (86) |
18 (64) |
47 (117) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
14.7 (58.5) |
19.6 (67.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
31.6 (88.9) |
36.2 (97.2) |
36.1 (97) |
31.2 (88.2) |
24.0 (75.2) |
16.8 (62.2) |
10.1 (50.2) |
23.8 (74.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −1.1 (30) |
0.1 (32.2) |
3.0 (37.4) |
7.6 (45.7) |
13.5 (56.3) |
17.1 (62.8) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.9 (69.6) |
17.3 (63.1) |
11.4 (52.5) |
3.4 (38.1) |
1.3 (34.3) |
10.9 (51.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −13 (9) |
−10 (14) |
−7 (19) |
−2 (28) |
0 (32) |
9 (48) |
16 (61) |
15 (59) |
7 (45) |
5 (41) |
−3 (27) |
−8 (18) |
−13 (9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 60.3 (2.374) |
52.0 (2.047) |
46.1 (1.815) |
33.6 (1.323) |
17.9 (0.705) |
2.3 (0.091) |
0.1 (0.004) |
0.3 (0.012) |
2.2 (0.087) |
19.2 (0.756) |
35.2 (1.386) |
59.6 (2.346) |
328.8 (12.946) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 13 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 72 |
| Average rainy days | 12.3 | 12.3 | 12.1 | 10.6 | 6.8 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 11.9 | 84.7 |
| Average snowy days | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 5.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 72 | 68 | 63 | 61 | 54 | 45 | 37 | 38 | 45 | 56 | 68 | 71 | 56.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 120.9 | 140.0 | 198.4 | 243.0 | 319.3 | 366.0 | 387.5 | 365.8 | 303.0 | 244.9 | 186.0 | 127.1 | 3,001.9 |
| Source #1: World Meteorological Organization,[10] Hong Kong Observatory (sun 1961–1990)[11] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: BBC Weather (record highs and lows)[12] | |||||||||||||
References
- ↑ General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. (Arabic)
- ↑ Khaddour, Kheder; Mazur, Kevin (Winter 2013). "The Struggle for Syria's Regions". Middle East Research and Information Project. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- 1 2 le Strange, 1890, p.406.
- ↑ McElroy, Damien. Syria dispatch: Rebels forced to share guns as Assad's tanks roll in to Aleppo. The Daily Telegraph. 2012-07-26.
- ↑ Holliday, Joseph (September 17, 2012), Campaign for North Syria, September 2012, Institute for the Study of War
- ↑ Al Jazeera speaks to Syria secret police, Al Jazeera, 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Rebels claim victory in Syria's al-Bab. Al Jazeera English. 2012-07-31.
- ↑ McCormick, Ty. Morning Brief: Syrian rebels make gains in Aleppo, Al-Bab. Foreign Policy. 2012-07-31.
- ↑ The Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham Expands Into Rural Northern Syria Joshualandis.com, 18 July 2013
- ↑ "World Weather Information Service – Aleppo". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ↑ "Climatological Information for Aleppo, Syria". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ↑ "Average Conditions Al Bab, Syria". BBC Weather. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
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