Dayr 'Amr دير عمرو | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: Khurbet Deir 'Amr (transl. the ruin of the monastery of Amr)[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Dayr Amr (click the buttons) | |
  Dayr 'Amr Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°46′37″N35°05′48″E / 31.77694°N 35.09667°E /31.77694; 35.09667 | |
| Palestine grid | 159/131 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jerusalem |
| Date of depopulation | July 17, 1948 |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,072dunams (3.072 km2; 1.186 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 10[2][3] |
| Current Localities | Eitanim[4] |
Dayr 'Amr was aPalestinianArab village in theJerusalem Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War on July 17, 1948, by the Fourth Battalion of the Har'el Brigade, during the second stage ofOperation Dan. It was located 12.5 km west ofJerusalem. Dayr 'Amr was named after a local sage known by al-Sa'i 'Amr and a shrine was in the village dedicated to him.
In 1863,Victor Guérin found here awali, devoted to aSheikh Amer, and this wali gave name to the neighbouring "ruin", which he described as "twenty small chambers, half of which have been collapsed and enclosed within the same enclosure: they were constructed with materials of all kinds and date from the Middle Ages." He also noted fivecisterns had been excavated from the rock, and appeared to be older.[5]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine found "ruined walls" atKhurbet Deir 'Amr.[6]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Dair Amr had a population of 5, all Muslims,[7] while in the1931 census, it was counted withSuba, and together they had a population of 434 Muslims, in 110 houses.[8]
Freya Stark recalled how she met with Ahmad Samih Khalidi, the principal ofArab College (Jerusalem), and "his charming Syrian wife" and inspected the orphanage which was built at Dayr 'Amr. The first £ 1,000 was collected among fourteen Arabs of Jerusalem, who started it in 1940. They built a school, a farm, and a directors house in "strong stone" at the top of a stony hill. The student learned agriculture, which they could use when they returned to their villages.[9]
In the1945 statistics only 10 Muslims were recorded,[2] with a total of 3,072dunums of land.[3] Of this, 18 dunams were for irrigable land or plantations, 650 forcereals,[10] while 2,404 dunams were non-cultivable land.[11]
In 1952, the buildings of the boys' farm were transformed into the Israeli mental hospitalEitanim.[4]
In 1992, the place was described in the following terms: "The site is surrounded with a fence and a guarded gate. All the houses still stand and new extensions have been added to some of them. Large cypress and carob trees grow among the houses. There is an olive grove on the southern edge of the village. The Bezek telephone and television company has established a large facility, with radar equipment, at the southern edge of the site. The psychiatric hospital of Eytanim is nearby."[12]
.png)
