Village in Rif Dimashq, Syria
Al-Qastal (Arabic : القسطل ) is a village in southern Syria , administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate , located on the northeast of Damascus , on the ancient caravan route to Homs and Aleppo , in the Qalamoun Mountains . Nearby localities include Yabroud , an-Nabek , al-Sahel and Deir Atiyah to the north, ar-Ruhaybah , Jayroud , al-Dumayr and al-Qutayfah to the south, and Ma'loula , Assal al-Ward and Hosh Arab to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics , al-Qastal had a population of 3,486 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims .[2]
History
Al-Qastal was visited by Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in the early 13th-century, during Ayyubid rule. He noted that it was "a place between Hims and Damascus where the caravans stop. It is said to be the name of the Kurah (or district)."[3]
References
Bibliography
Kiswah Subdistrict Babbila Subdistrict Jaramana Subdistrict Malihah Subdistrict Kafr Batna Subdistrict Arbin Subdistrict
Douma Subdistrict Harasta Subdistrict Sabe Biyar Subdistrict Dumayr Subdistrict Nashabiyeh Subdistrict Ghazlaniyeh Subdistrict Harran al-Awamid Subdistrict
Qutayfah Subdistrict Jayrud Subdistrict Maloula Subdistrict Raheiba Subdistrict
Al-Tall Subdistrict Sednaya Subdistrict Rankous Subdistrict
Yabroud Subdistrict Assal al-Ward Subdistrict
An-Nabek Subdistrict Deir Atiyeh Subdistrict Qara Subdistrict
Al-Zabadani Subdistrict Madaya Subdistrict Serghaya Subdistrict
Qatana Subdistrict Beit Jann Subdistrict Sa'sa Subdistrict
Darayya Subdistrict Sahnaya Subdistrict Hajar al-Aswad Subdistrict
Qudsaya Subdistrict ad-Dimas Subdistrict Ein al-Fijeh Subdistrict