| Barada Arabic:بَرَدَىٰ | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Barada river in Damascus near theFour Seasons Hotel. The water level is uncharacteristically high in this view from the spring of 2009. | |
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| Etymology | Frombarid, meaning 'cold' inSemitic languages |
| Location | |
| Country |  Syria |
| City | Damascus |
TheBarada (Arabic:بَرَدَىٰ /ALA-LC:Baradā) is the mainriver ofDamascus, the capital city of Syria.
The word "Barada" is thought to be derived from the wordbarid, which means "cold" inSemitic languages.[1] The ancient Greek name (Greek:Χρυσορρόας,romanized: Chrysorrhoas), means "streaming with gold".[2]
Throughout the arid plateau region east of Damascus, oases, streams, and a few minor rivers that empty into swamps and small lakes provide water for local irrigation. Most important of these is the Barada, a river that rises in theAnti-Lebanon Mountains and disappears into the desert. The Barada flows out of thekarst spring ofAin al-Fijah, about 27 kilometres (17 mi) north west of Damascus in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, but its true source is Lake Barada, a small lake that is also a karst spring located about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) fromAl-Zabadani. The Barada descends through a steep, narrowgorge named "Rabwe" before it arrives at Damascus, where it divides into seven branches that irrigate theAl Ghutah (الغوطة) oasis, the location of Damascus. Eventually the Ghouta reached a size of 370 square kilometers, although in the 1980s urban growth started replacing agricultural use with housing and industry.[3] The river has suffered from severe drought in recent decades, mainly due to the lower rainfall rates and the large increase in the population in the area.[4] It also suffers from serious pollution, especially in the summer, when there is almost no flow and little water in the basin.
The Barada is identified asAbana (orAmana, inQere and Ketiv variation inTanakh and classicalChrysorrhoas), which is the more important of the two rivers ofDamascus, Syria, and was mentioned in theBook of Kings (2 Kings 5:12). As the Barada rises in theAnti-Libanus and escapes from the mountains through a narrow gorge, its watersdebouch fan-like, in canals orrivers, the name of one of which, the RiverBanias, retains a trace ofAbana.[5]
John MacGregor, who gives a description of them in his bookRob Roy on the Jordan, affirms that as a work ofhydraulic engineering the system and construction of the canals, by which the Abana and Pharpar were used for irrigation, might be considered as one of the most complete and extensive in the world. In theBible,Naaman exclaims that the Abana andPharpar are greater than all the waters ofIsrael.[5]
The Barada branches at the village of Hameh and the gorge of Rabweh into six distributaries or canals, two of which, Yazid and Tora, branch off the northern bank whilst the remaining four, Mezzawi, Derani, Qanawat and Banias, are formed from the southern bank.[6]
The Yazid canal runs north to the districts of Salihya and Qabun; Tora, the oldest of all, passes through the district of Al-Jisr Al-Abyad, heading to Jobar and Harasta; Mezzawi tears through Mezzeh; Derani runs towards Darya; Banias runs by the National Museum north of the Citadel and reaches Bab Touma; and finally the Qanawat canal pours into the southern quarters of the old city following Via Recta.[7]
Outside the city of Damascus, the water gathers to pour into the River Qleit, which runs to Eastern Ghouta.[7]
_p282_PASS_OF_SOOC_BARRADA.jpg)
Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Abana".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abana".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 6.| Mediterranean | |
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33°30′48.75″N36°18′18″E / 33.5135417°N 36.30500°E /33.5135417; 36.30500
