Beit Jinn

This article is about the town in southern Syria. For the Arab town in Israel, see Beit Jann.
Beit Jinn
بيت جن
Town
Beit Jinn
Coordinates: 33°18′38″N 35°55′8″E / 33.31056°N 35.91889°E / 33.31056; 35.91889
Country  Syria
Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate
District Qatana District
Nahiyah Beit Jinn
Population (2004 census)[1]
  Total 2,846
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Area code(s) 11

Beit Jinn (Arabic: بيت جن) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located southwest of Damascus on the foothills of Mount Hermon. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Beit Jinn had a population of 2,846 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.[2]

The town is also the administrative center of the Beit Jinn Subdistrict which consists of nine towns with a combined population of 15,668.[1] The subdistrict has a mixed Sunni and Druze population and Beit Jinn contains a Druze religious shrine.[3] Nearby localities include Kafr Hawr, Qalaat al-Jandal and Qatana to the northeast and Sa'sa', Kanaker and Deir Maker to the southeast. The Nahr al-Awaj river (ancient Pharpar) passes near the town.

History

Beit Jinn was visited by Andalusian geographer Ibn Jubayr in the late 12th-century, during Ayyubid rule. He noted that it was "a village between Darayyah and Baniyas lying among the hills."[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. (Arabic)
  2. Gilbert, Ben (2013-11-02). "Syria: Refugees dodge patrols on deadly mountain hike to safety". Al-Jazeera America.
  3. Sharrouf, Ayman (2014-11-11). "Assad’s Druze game exposed". NOW News.
  4. le Strange, 1890, p. 412.

Bibliography

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