People in the city depend on trade and public services as the main source of income. It has six mosques and two main small squares: Al Hurria and Al Saha Al Amma Squares.
History
During the Ottoman era, between the 18th and 19th centuries, Talkalakh was home to the wealthy and influential Danadisha (also spelled Dandashi) clan.[3] They stiffly competed with Hammadi family and the al-Jundi family of Homs and Hama.[4]
Syrian civil war
On May 15, 2011, as a part of the Syrian civil war, the Syrian Armyshelled Talkalakh in response to attacks on the army that occurred a day before in the city. Seven civilians were killed and at least 2,000 residents tried to flee from the city into Lebanon.[5]
A resident claimed that Shabiha militias were targeting the Sunni inhabitants, assuring that "The city of Talkalakh is empty of people. Most of them have fled to Lebanon,".[6] The remainder of its Sunni residents continued protesting against the government.[7]
On 12 February 2013, a CNN report from inside Talkalakh revealed that the town itself was under rebel control, though government forces were only a matter of yards away, surrounding the town. Nevertheless, there was no fighting in or around the town thanks to a tenuous ceasefire between the warring sides brokered by a local sheikh and an Alawite member of parliament.[8] The ceasefire ended in June 2013, when government forces drove out the rebels and took control of the town.[9]