Sahnaya صحنايا | |
|---|---|
  Sahnaya | |
| Coordinates:33°25′27″N36°13′28″E / 33.42417°N 36.22444°E /33.42417; 36.22444 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq |
| District | Darayaa |
| Subdistrict | Sahnaya |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 13,993 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Sahnaya (Arabic:صحنايا, also spelledSihnaya or Sehnaya) is a town in southernSyria, administratively part of theRif Dimashq Governorate, located southwest ofDamascus in the westernGhouta. Nearby localities includeAshrafiyat Sahnaya,Darayya,Muadamiyat al-Sham,Jdeidat Artouz,Khan Danun andAl-Kiswah. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, Sahnaya had a population of 13,993 in the 2004 census.[1] The town is also the administrative center of the Sahnayanahiyah consisting of two towns with a combined population of 44,512.[1] Sahnaya is one of the few towns in theGhouta with a majority Druze community, along withJaramana, Ashrafiyat Sahnaya andDeir Ali.[2]
Sahnaya's residents are predominantlyDruze andGreek Orthodox. The cavern of St. Paul near the town was supposedly the hiding place ofPaul the Apostle when he was pursued in Damascus.[3]
In 1838,Eli Smith notedSahnaya as being located in theWady el-'Ajam, and being populated withDruze and "Greek"Christians.[4]
A formerGreek Orthodox Metropolitan of Argentina,Malatios Alsweti, comes from Sahnaya.The town is also known for its old olive trees, some of which are around 500 years old.
Until the start of theSyrian Civil War in 2011, Sahnaya was home to the main campus of the Little Village private school.[5] The school relocated to some unconnected campuses in Damascus.
Sahnaya has a rural population and a hot climate. Most houses are simple; they are mostly made of cement because it is located inDamascus, one of the oldest cities in the world.
In Sahnaya, 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 Sahnaya is 17.0 °C (62.6 °F). About 217 mm (8.54 in) of precipitation falls annually.
| Climate data for Sahnaya | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 12.1 (53.8) | 13.9 (57.0) | 17.7 (63.9) | 22.6 (72.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 33.1 (91.6) | 35.2 (95.4) | 35.6 (96.1) | 31.9 (89.4) | 27.0 (80.6) | 20.0 (68.0) | 14.3 (57.7) | 24.3 (75.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.3 (36.1) | 3.0 (37.4) | 5.3 (41.5) | 8.4 (47.1) | 12.1 (53.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 16.9 (62.4) | 17.2 (63.0) | 14.5 (58.1) | 11.5 (52.7) | 7.2 (45.0) | 4.1 (39.4) | 9.8 (49.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 49 (1.9) | 39 (1.5) | 26 (1.0) | 13 (0.5) | 8 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 8 (0.3) | 29 (1.1) | 45 (1.8) | 217 (8.5) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org, Climate data | |||||||||||||
Before the Syrian civil war, Sahanya was a Druzo-Christian town ( nearly 55% Druze 45% Greek Orthodox Christians)Recently, however, and due to the armed conflicts in Syria, other religious groups ( mainly Sunni Muslims) moved to live in Sahnaya.The town has an old church built from stone & named afterProphet Elijah and aDruze majlis (a Druze religious council for worshiping and meeting ).
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