Daraa

Daraa
Daraa
درعا
Daraa is located in Syria
Daraa
Coordinates: 32°37′N 36°6′E / 32.617°N 36.1°E / 32.617; 36.1
Country  Syria
Governorate Daraa Governorate
District Daraa District
Government
 – Governor Mohammad Khaled al-Hannus[1]
Elevation 435 m (1,427 ft)
Population
 – Total 77,203
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 – Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Area code(s) 15

Daraa (Arabic: درعا‎), also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera, and Derʿā ("fortress", compare Dura-Europos), is a city in southwestern Syria, near the border with Jordan, with a population of approximately 77,203.[2] It is the capital of Daraa Governorate, historically part of the ancient Hauran region. The city is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Damascus on the Damascus-Amman highway, and is used as a stopping station for travelers.

Daraa is an ancient city dating back to the Canaanites. It was mentioned in Egyptian hieroglyphic tablets at the time of the Pharaoh Thutmose III between 1490 and 1436 BC. It was known in those days as the city of Atharaa, and was later mentioned in the Old Testament as Edrei in the Kingdom of Bashan. Located in the city itself are a few ruins including caves and ancient dwellings, a Roman amphitheater, and the old Oumari Mosque which is of some architectural significance, dating back to the Umayyad and Ayyubid eras.

Daraa has recently suffered from reduced water supply in the region. Thousands of people protested in the city as part of the 2011 Syrian protests.[3]

Contents

Climate

Climate data for Dara'a
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 13.3
(55.9)
14.7
(58.5)
18.0
(64.4)
23.6
(74.5)
28.5
(83.3)
31.3
(88.3)
32.6
(90.7)
32.6
(90.7)
31.3
(88.3)
27.8
(82.0)
21.0
(69.8)
15.2
(59.4)
24.16
(75.48)
Average low °C (°F) 3.2
(37.8)
4.0
(39.2)
6.0
(42.8)
9.3
(48.7)
12.5
(54.5)
15.8
(60.4)
18.3
(64.9)
18.6
(65.5)
16.5
(61.7)
12.8
(55.0)
7.8
(46.0)
4.6
(40.3)
10.78
(51.41)
Precipitation mm (inches) 60.9
(2.398)
49.4
(1.945)
42.3
(1.665)
15.2
(0.598)
3.4
(0.134)
1.0
(0.039)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.4
(0.016)
9.4
(0.37)
22.9
(0.902)
45.9
(1.807)
250.8
(9.874)
Avg. precipitation days 10 11 7 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 8 48
Source: World Meteorological Organization

2011 uprising

The city of Daraa was the starting point of the 2011 uprising against the regime lead by Bashar Al-Assad. It all started when 15 children from the same family (Al-Abazeed) were arrested in early March 2011 for writing an anti regime slogan on the wall of their school. The children's ages ranged between 9 and 15 years. After attempts to negotiate the release of the children were rejected by the local government, a few hundred protesters gathered in front of Oumari Mosque on March 15, 2011 calling for reforms and end of corruption. Soon after the gathering increased in size and it is reported that over 3000 people protested on the first day. This protest was faced with Syrian security forces opening fire on the protesters killing 4 people[4].

Since then, the city of Daraa and the surrounding villages have had daily protests. Which lead to several waves of major crack downs on the city which started on March 23 with invading the Oumari mosque which was being used as a field hospital for the injured during the protests. In early April, the Syrian Army's fourth fleet lead by Maher Al-Assad (Bashar's younger brother) surrounded the area of Oumari mosque shelling neighborhoods with heavy artillery.

It is reported that over 500 civilians have been killed in Daraa since the start of the uprising.

Notes

Further reading

  • T.E. Lawrence, (various editions) Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Chapter LXXX
  • J.G. Schumacher,(1886) Across the Jordan, pp. 1–148;

External links

Coordinates: 32°37′31″N 36°6′22″E / 32.62528°N 36.10611°E / 32.62528; 36.10611


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Daraa — Daraa, District u. Stadt im Reiche Marocco (Afrika), südlich des Atlas gelegen; die Stadt treibt ansehnlichen Handel mit Indigo u. Ziegenhäuten …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Daraa — Sp Daraà nkt. Ap Daraá L u. Brazilijoje (Amazonės v ja) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Daraá — Sp Daraà nkt. Ap Daraá L u. Brazilijoje (Amazonės v ja) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Daraa — Admin ASC 1 Code Orig. name Daraa Country and Admin Code SY.06 SY …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

  • Daraa Border Crossing — Official name Daraa Border Crossing مركز درعا الحدودي Carries Commercial Goods, Vehicles, Train Crosses Border between Jordan and Syria Locale …   Wikipedia

  • Daraá River — Origin Amazonas state Basin countries Brazil Daraá River is a river of Amazonas state in north western Brazil. See also List of rivers of Amazonas References …   Wikipedia

  • Daraa Governorate — Dar a Governorate مُحافظة درعا   Governorate   Map of Syria with Dar a highlighted …   Wikipedia

  • Daraa District — Dar a District (Arabic: منطقة درعا‎) is a Syrian district (mantiqah) administratively belonging to Daraa Governorate. At the 2004 Census it had a population of 428,681. Its capital city is the city of Daraa. Anti government protests were staged… …   Wikipedia

  • DARAA — Tevazu etmek, alçak gönüllü olmak. * Emre uymak, muti olmak. * Zayıf ve zelil olmak …   Yeni Lügat Türkçe Sözlük

  • November 2011 Daraa province ambush — Daraa province ambush Part of 2011 Syrian uprising Date 14 November 2011 Location Daraa Governorate, Syria …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”