Burj Qa'i برج قاعي Burj al-Qa'y al-Burj | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Burj Qa'i Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:34°52′56″N36°34′35″E / 34.88222°N 36.57639°E /34.88222; 36.57639 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Homs Governorate |
| District | Homs District |
| Nahiya | Taldou |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 2,351 |
Burj Qa'i (Arabic:برج قاعي, also spelledBurj al-Qa'y or simplyal-Burj) is a village in centralSyria, administratively part of theHoms Governorate, located northwest ofHoms. Nearby localities includeTaldou and theHoula 5 kilometers to the west,Talaf to the north,Kisin to the northeast,Kafr Nan to the east,Tasnin andAkrad Dayasinah to the southeast andGhur Gharbiyah to the south. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Burj Qa'i had a population of 2,351 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantlySunni Muslims and ethnicTurkmens.[2]
During theRoman era in Syria, Burj Qa'i was a village of army veterans by the 3rd-century CE. The localpagandeity wasSemea, a goddess previously worshiped in northern areas of Syria. A temple dedicated to Semea was constructed in 196-97 upon the decision of the village's Council of Six.Christianity later spread to Burj Qa'i during theByzantine period, as evidenced by the existence of a Christian tomb in the village dating to 457. A Christianmartyrion built in 539-40 through funds raised by a bishop named Peter also exists in Burj Qa'i. The building's construction was supervised by the episcopal officials Leontius and Isaiah, who wereoikonomos.Pagans and Christians inhabited Burj al-Qa'i simultaneously in the period between 457 and 532.[3]
In 1838, during lateOttoman rule, Burj al-Qa'i was classified as aMuslim village in theHoula region by Americal biblical scholarEli Smith.[4] The village was also mentioned in passing in the fifth volume of theBibliotheca Sacra in the mid-1840s.[5]
In the aftermath of theHoula massacre on 25 May 2012, during the ongoingSyrian civil war, Burj Qa'i hosted around 5,000 refugees fleeing nearbyTaldou, the scene of the massacre. Most refugees took shelter in schools, public buildings or the homes of host families. TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited in June to provide food, medicines and mattresses to the displaced.[6] In early October 2012 Syrian state television reported thatSyrian Army forces killed several opposition fighters in Burj Qa'i.[7]
