الجولة الثالثة دمشق ـ قطنا - عرنة .. كتاب في ربوع سورية

The third round, Damascus - Qatana - Arnah

The asphalt road continues at the end of the Mezzeh highway towards the city of Qatana, which is about 25 km away from Damascus. Along the way to Qatna, we encounter the following human gatherings - Figure (6):

- Moadamiya is a large town (10,000 people), its buildings are spread on both sides of the road, and its buildings are dominated by modernity.

- . Artouz is a village that currently forms a continuation of the town of Moadamiya, and is far from

Damascus about 8 km.

From Jdeidet Artouz: a newer and more developed village than Artouz (New Artouz). It is located east of the Damascus-Qatana road, and its center is about 1000 km from the road. It has a large area, with a population of about 400 people, and is surrounded by farms and orchards of fruit trees. Its territory is almost a western extension of the lands of Western Ghouta. It is beautiful in its age, in its nature, and in the kindness of its inhabitants.

Qatna After Artuz by about 3 km, the Damascus-Qatna road branches into two branches, one of which heads west to Qatna for a distance of 1 km, and the other continues southwest towards Quneitra. Qatana is the center of an area about 25 km away from Damascus, about 875 m above sea level, with a population of about 25,000. In its construction, it combines the old, which tends towards disintegration, and the modern, medium in its architecture and size, and there are no ancient ruins in it except the remains of an old monastery called (Deir Qatana), which is said to have been ruined at the hands of the Mongols in one of their invasions of Damascus. It has a number of beautiful springs and parks, including: Ras Al-Nabaa Park
With fresh water and beautiful scenery.

As for the beautiful villages of the Hermon Road, which are spread on both sides of the asphalt road that extends from Qatna to Arna, they are according to the sequence of their distance from Qatna:

- Eisam Al-Fawqa: a small village whose development spreads on both sides of the road

About our cat towards you.

Qatna Qalaat Al-Jandal: a beautiful mountain village located to the right of the road, about 700 meters away from it. Its average height is 1472 m above sea level. It is about 15 km away. It is located at the northeastern foot of Jabal al-Sheikh within a valley between me, in the south of it a branch of Jabal al-Sheikh known as Jabal Berber (1845 m), and in the north of it another branch known as Jabal Burj Qanun, above which a castle with its name stands. Its lands abound in watery springs and are adorned with greenery in several parts. It is a suitable place for summer because of the sweetness of its air, the abundance of its water, and the beauty of its location. It contains many archaeological sites, including the ruins of a fort (castle) on top of a rocky hill overlooking

the village .

In - Rimah: a mountainous village located about 15 km from Qatana, located on the southeastern slope of Mount Sheikh, at a height of about 1474 m above sea level. It overlooks the abyssal valley of Buhairan in the east. It contains a number of springs, and its lands abound with apple orchards.

Arna: A beautiful mountain village, about 17 km away from Qatana. It is located at the foot of Jabal al-Sheikh, at an altitude of approximately 1,450 m, with clean, fresh air and cool fresh water. It is considered one of the beautiful summer villages with wonderful views due to the large number of apple and pear orchards in it, and the beauty of its construction, which is dominated by stones. There are abundant springs of water, and its land is covered with thick winter snow
Sometimes it reaches more than a meter. Among the beautiful springs that people go to for picnics is Ain Issa, and the Al-Aouj River passes near it, a little to the north of it.

From Arna, the asphalt road extends towards the southeast, passing through the village of Darbel (3 km from Arna), and then Hinah (8 km from Arna), which is located at the eastern fronts of Jabal al-Sheikh, at an altitude of about 920 meters. From now on, it is possible to turn towards the east, a distance of 5 km, to the village of Kafr Hour, which has a population of about 900 people, and its height above sea level is about 900 meters, and it belongs administratively to the Quneitra Governorate. To the east of it is the Al-Awaj River. It is a beautiful summer village, with many ancient caves and the remains of a fort built by the French during the period 1925-1927 AD. One of the legends is the presence of Nimrod's tomb in it.

Another road extends from Hinah towards the north for a distance of 5 km to Ayn ​​al-Sha’ra, which is located at an altitude of about 1372 m above a high peak. It is surrounded by a beautiful halo of orchards of fruit trees and fields of vegetables, its climate is good for summer, and its building is beautiful, to ease the condition of its people who relied on emigration outside Syria, especially towards South America. Its population is about 3,000 people.

From the village of Qalaat al-Jandal, it branches off through the Qatana-Arna road, an asphalt road that extends towards the south-southeast for a distance of about 18 km, to meet the Damascus-Quneitra road about 3 km before the village of Qaliya. A plateau of low height overlooking the Buhairan Valley, and in the southeast, Tal al-Nasara