Al-Quniyah (Arabic: القنية, Syriac: ܩܢܙܐ, al-Knaya, also spelled Quniya or Qunaya) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib, 35 km north of Jisr ash-Shugur, and is in between Lattakia (90 km (56 mi)) and Aleppo ( 120 km (75 mi)). Al-Quniyah is situated 450 meters (1476 ft) above sea level. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Quniyah had a population of 587 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Catholic Christians with a small Alawite minority.[2][3]
Al-Quniyah
القنية | |
|---|---|
  Al-Quniyah Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 35°55′N 36°19′E / 35.917°N 36.317°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Idlib |
| District | Jisr al-Shugur |
| Subdistrict | Al-Janudiyah |
| Elevation | 450 m (1,480 ft) |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 587 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Website | Qunaya.com |
Geography
editNearby localities include Kafr Dibbin (Hamama) to the east, Zarzur, Amud, and Darkush to the northeast, Yakubiyah, Judaida to the west and Jisr al-Shughur to the south.
Town climate is Mediterranean, whereas the winter is cold, rainy, snowy at times; the summer is warm.
History
editSome archaeological artifacts date back to 2000 BC There is an ancient church in the village cemetery of the Church of St.Kiprianos from the fifth century AD.
Missionaries of the Franciscan Fathers (the Holy Land Rangers) (From Latin Catholic) came to the village in 1878 and built a church, Monastery, clinic and the first Arabic school in northwestern Syria, they re-built the church in 1885 and the current church dates to 1932.
Postal Service began in 1927 and the telephone arrived to the village in 1929. The municipality was established in 1932 and electricity came to the village in 1935 and the customs in 1937.
In January 2013, during the ongoing Syrian civil war, al-Quniyah and the nearby Christian-inhabited villages of al-Yacoubiyah and Judayda were captured by anti-government rebels.[2] On 11 May 2015, the village was bombed by the Syrian Air Force, leading to the death of 18 people.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2013-02-06 at the Wayback Machine. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. (in Arabic)
- ^ a b Hubbard, Ben. Civil war gives Syrian minorities no clear option. Yahoo News. Originally published by Associated Press. 2013-03-07.
- ^ "تقرير الطائفة المسيحية في إدلب".
- ^ "The 14th Annual Report on human rights in Syria 2015" (PDF). Syrian Human Rights Committee. January 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2024.