Jdeidat Artouz


Jdeidat Artouz is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located southwest of Damascus. Nearby localities include Qatana to the west, Artouz to the south, Khan al-Shih to the southeast, and Darayya to the northeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Jdeidat Artouz had a population of 45,000 in the 2004 census.
The presence of Druze around Mount Hermon is documented since the founding of the Druze religion in the beginning of the 11th century.
However, the town has a mixed population of Sunni Muslims, Greek Orthodox Christians, Greek Catholics, Druze and Alawites. Christians and Druze primarily live in the southern district of Jdeidat Artouz al-Balad, while Sunnis primarily live in the northern district of Jdeidat al-Fadel and also in Jdeidat Artouz al-Balad.

History

In 1838, Eli Smith noted el-Judeideh as being located in the Wady el-'Ajam, and being populated by Sunni Muslims and Antiochian Greek Christians.

Climate

In Jdeidat Artouz, there is a local steppe climate. Rainfall is higher in winter than in summer. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BSk. The average annual temperature in Jdeidat Artouz is. About of precipitation falls annually.
The driest month is June, with 0 mm of rain. In January, the precipitation reaches its peak, with an average of 56 mm.
August is the warmest month of the year. The temperature in August averages 26.0 °C. At 7.0 °C on average, January is the coldest month of the year.

Religious buildings

There are eleven mosques and three churches distributed throughout the town:
Jdeidat al-Balad:
Near the town and 3 km away is the St. Paul Vision Abbey at Tell Koukab, which was established in the place where Christians believe that Jesus appeared to St. Paul while heading to Damascus. The monastery was built in the 1950s on the ruins of the archeological monastery.
Jdeidat al-Fadel:
  • Fadel ibn Abbas Mosque
  • Al-Ahmad Mosque
  • Al-Mustafa Mosque
  • Salah ad-Din Mosque
Dahiyat Yusuf al-Azma:
  • Al-Ghaleb Mosque