Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Assal al-Ward
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Assal al-Ward ("the rose makers") was long famous for its flower produce. The flowers produced in the town were supplied to the <a href="/facts/Ittar/hDssd9F6">attar</a> makers of <a href="/facts/Damascus/IL0Qwt6R">Damascus</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> But unrestricted grazing reduced the town's once burgeoning yearly harvest of sixty to seventy <a href="/facts/Kantar/Y0debQXd">Kantars</a> (hundredweights) to one or one and a half by the end of the 19th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> During the early 1870s, the village was described as a "well-to-do place" with an entirely <a href="/facts/Shafi/tE6xsQxj">Shafi'i Muslim</a> population. Armed men from the village possessed about 250 guns and were led by a local chief, Shaykh Salih. The inhabitants were noted for their hospitality, intelligence and willingness to fight.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> In 1874, the town was visited by British geographer, Sir <a href="/facts/Richard_Francis_Burton/VtHDnaGT">Richard Francis Burton</a>, and he noted that the town was affluent, with cool fresh air and healthy inhabitants.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> In its <i>Quarterly Statement</i> of 1892, the <a href="/facts/Palestine_Exploration_Fund/YejAap5y">Palestine Exploration Fund</a> described Assal al-Ward as a "village of a few hundred people" with a cool water spring.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="geography">Geography</h2> <p>Assal al-Ward lies on a high plateau that starts at 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) between the <a href="/facts/Qalamoun_Mountains/kCW074Ev">Qalamoun</a> and <a href="/facts/Anti-Lebanon_Mountains/CGxUQDNX">Anti-Lebanon Mountains</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> The large <a href="/facts/Tertiary/Krcz3olj">Tertiary</a>-<a href="/facts/Quaternary/3cEgHAqc">Quaternary</a> basin<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> of Assal al-Ward is watered by several springs, and drains northwards towards the towns of <a href="/facts/Jayroud/pcfKpp7q">Jayroud</a> and <a href="/facts/An-Nabek/qbDIwC61">an-Nabek</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> The area's forest vegetation is dominated by <i><a href="/facts/Juniperus_excelsa/6cmzyDzQ">Juniperus excelsa</a></i> (Greek Juniper) which is observed between 1,880 to 2,200 metres (6,170 to 7,220 ft).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Richard_Francis_Burton/VtHDnaGT">Burton, R. F.</a>; <a href="/facts/Charles_Francis_Tyrwhitt-Drake/aMG0HLU8">Tyrwhitt-Drake, C. F.</a> (1872). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=sowrAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA107"><i>Unexplored Syria: Visits to the Libanus, the Tulúl el Safá, the Anti-Libanus, the northern Libanus, and the 'Aláh</i></a>. Vol. 2. Tinsley Brothers. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the <a href="/facts/Public_domain/YWKMDKw4">public domain</a>.</li> <li>Hastings, James (2004). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=-WC7UgQHQlcC&pg=PA92"><i>A Dictionary of the Bible: Volume III: (Part I: Kir – Nympha)</i></a>. The Minerva Group, Inc. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781410217264.</li> <li>Beck, Barry F. (1989). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=jibiJUka3sQC&pg=PA18"><i>Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Sinkholes and Karts: Proceedings of the third multidisciplinary conference, St. Petersburg-Beach, Florida, 2–4 October 1989</i></a>. Taylor & Francis. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9789061919872.</li> <li>Merlo, Maurizio; Croitory, Lelia, eds. (2005). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=gQ4XcwOZ-YYC&pg=PA183"><i>Valuing Mediterranean Forests: Towards Total Economic Value</i></a>. CABI. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780851999975.</li> <li>Palestine Exploration Fund (1892). <a href="https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme23pale"><i>Quarterly statement</i></a>. Vol. 23–24. Palestine Exploration Fund. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the <a href="/facts/Public_domain/YWKMDKw4">public domain</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Edward_Robinson_(scholar)/0ognGyx5">Robinson, E.</a>; <a href="/facts/Eli_Smith/vt5zDwdD">Smith, E.</a> (1841). <a href="https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft"><i>Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838</i></a>. Vol. 3. Boston: <a href="/facts/Crocker_%2526_Brewster/zRGcop1M">Crocker & Brewster</a>.</li> <li>Royal Geographical Society (1872). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=gWz_3GhqSiUC&q=Assal+Ward"><i>The journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London</i></a>. Vol. 42. J. Murray. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the <a href="/facts/Public_domain/YWKMDKw4">public domain</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. (in Arabic) <a href="https://archive.today/20130112164950/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB03-23-2004.htm" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130112164950/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB03-23-2004.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. (in Arabic) <a href="https://archive.today/20130112164950/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB03-23-2004.htm" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130112164950/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB03-23-2004.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 172 <a href="https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/172/mode/1up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/172/mode/1up</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Burton; Drake, 1872, p. 45. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Burton; Drake, 1872, p. 45. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Royal Geographical Society, 1872, p. 415. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Burton; Drake, 1872, p. 45. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Palestine Exploration Fund, 1892, p. 167. <a href="/wiki/Palestine_Exploration_Fund" target="_blank">/wiki/Palestine_Exploration_Fund</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Hastings, 2004, p. 92. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Beck, 1989, p. 18. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Hastings, 2004, p. 92. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Merlo; Croitory, ed., 2005, p. 183. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>