Balata al-Balad
| Balata al-Balad | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | بلاطة البلد |
 Balata al-Balad
|
|
| Coordinates: 32°12′41.65″N 35°16′58.56″E / 32.2115694°N 35.2829333°ECoordinates: 32°12′41.65″N 35°16′58.56″E / 32.2115694°N 35.2829333°E | |
| Palestine grid | 176/179 |
| Governorate | Nablus |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 100 dunams (0.1 km2 or 0.04 sq mi) |
| Population (1996) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 5,500 |
| Name meaning | "village of Balata" |
Balata al-Balad (Arabic: بلاطة البلد) is a Palestinian suburb of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, located 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) east of the city center. Formerly its own village, it was annexed to the municipality of Nablus during Jordanian rule (1948– 67).
The village's name is Balata, the name of an old Arab village, which was preserved by local residents. Its pseudonymn, al-Balad (meaning "the village"), is used to distinguish it from the Palestinian refugee camp of Balata which lies to the east and was established in 1950.
The village's name is transcribed in the writings of Eusebius (d. circa 339) and Jerome (d. 420), as Balanus or Balata. In the Samartian chronicles, its Arabic names are transcribed as Balata ("a pavement of flat stone slabs") and Shejr al-Kheir ("tree of grace"). In the writings of Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229), the Syrian geographer, its name is transcribed as al-Bulāṭa.
One theory holds that balata is a derivation of the Aramaic word Balut, meaning "acorn" (or, in Arabic, "oak"), while another theory holds that it is a derivation of the Byzantine-Roman era, from the Greek word platanos, meaning "terebinth", a type of tree that grew around the village spring.
A suburb of the city of Nablus, the village is situated on the southern part of Tell Balata, and covers about one-third of the tell. The built-up area was made up of 2.5 hectares (25 dunams) in 1945, and increased to more than 10 hectares (100 dunams) in 1980. To the east, is a vast plain, with the ways running east-west leading out through the pass from Jerusalem to Nablus and the coast, and the way to the northeast around Mount Ebal leading down to Wadi Fa'rah and the ford across the Jordan River at Jisr el-Damiyah.
...
Wikipedia