Al-Husn (Arabic: الحصن, also spelled al-Hisn) is a large village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located west of Homs and north of the border with Lebanon. Nearby localities include al-Huwash to the east, Anaz to the southeast, Aridah to the south, al-Zarah to the southwest, Zweitina to the west, al-Nasirah and Marmarita to the northwest, Muqlus to the north and Mazinah to the northeast.
al-Husn
الحصن al-Hisn | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Al-Husn village seen from the southeast tower of the Krak des Chevaliers | |
  al-Husn Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 34°45′32″N 36°17′49″E / 34.75889°N 36.29694°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Homs |
| District | Talkalakh |
| Subdistrict | Hawash |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 8,980 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (EEST) |
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Husn had a population of 8,980 in the 2004 census. It is the largest village in the al-Huwash nahiyah ("subdistrict"), which consisted of 19 localities with a collective population of 24,684 in 2004.[1] The inhabitants of the village are predominantly Sunni Muslims, with a Christian minority, in an area largely populated by Christians that is known as Wadi al-Nasara ("Valley of the Christians.")[2][3][4] The village has a Greek Catholic Church.[5]
The village is built around the Krak des Chevaliers fortress (known as Qalʿet al-Husn in Arabic) and the name al-Husn means "the Castle." The modern village was founded when the inhabitants of the fortress were relocated to the village site by the French authorities excavating the fortress. The village has since developed with little civic planning, which has resulted in urban sprawl surrounding the fortress.[6]
In 2014 it was the site of a battle of the Syrian Civil War.
References
edit- ^ General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. (in Arabic)
- ^ Smith, in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 181
- ^ "قلعة الحصن في الذكرى الرابعة لاجتياحها.. العودة رغم الخوف".
- ^ "سوريا: العثور في حمص على أسلحة أمريكية واسرائيلية من بينها صواريخ "لاو"".
- ^ "الموسوعة المسيحية العربية الإلكترونية".
- ^ Darke, 2006, pp. 198-199.
Bibliography
edit- Darke, Diane (2006). Syria. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 1841621625.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
