Sahnaya (Şaḩnāyā)
Sahnaya (صحنايا, also spelled Sihnaya or Sehnaya) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located southwest of Damascus in the western Ghouta. Nearby localities include Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, Darayya, Muadamiyat al-Sham, Jdeidat Artouz, Khan Danun and Al-Kiswah. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Sahnaya had a population of 13,993 in the 2004 census. The town is also the administrative center of the Sahnaya nahiyah consisting of two towns with a combined population of 44,512. Sahnaya is one of the few towns in the Ghouta with a majority Druze community, along with Jaramana, Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and Deir Ali.
Sahnaya's residents are predominantly Druze and Greek Orthodox. The cavern of St. Paul near the town was supposedly the hiding place of Paul the Apostle when he was pursued in Damascus.
In 1838, Eli Smith noted Sahnaya as being located in the Wady el-'Ajam, and being populated with Druze and "Greek" Christians.
A former Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Argentina, Malatios Alsweti, comes from Sahnaya. The town is also known for its old olive trees, some of which are around 500 years old.
Sahnaya's residents are predominantly Druze and Greek Orthodox. The cavern of St. Paul near the town was supposedly the hiding place of Paul the Apostle when he was pursued in Damascus.
In 1838, Eli Smith noted Sahnaya as being located in the Wady el-'Ajam, and being populated with Druze and "Greek" Christians.
A former Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Argentina, Malatios Alsweti, comes from Sahnaya. The town is also known for its old olive trees, some of which are around 500 years old.
Map - Sahnaya (Şaḩnāyā)
Map
Country - Syria
Flag of Syria |
The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region, broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule. After a period as a French mandate (1923–1946), the newly-created state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a democratic parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when the Republic of Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French mandate (although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946).
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
SYP | Syrian pound | £ or لس | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AR | Arabic language |
HY | Armenian language |
EN | English language |
FR | French language |
KU | Kurdish language |