Marj al-Sultan
|
Marj al-Sultan مرج السلطان |
|
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Marj al-Sultan
|
|
| Coordinates: 33°29′36″N 36°28′13″E / 33.49333°N 36.47028°E | |
| Country |
 Syria
|
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq |
| District | Douma |
| Subdistrict | Al-Nashabiyah |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 1,860 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+3) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+2) |
Marj al-Sultan (Arabic: مرج السلطان, also spelled Marj Sultan) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located 15 kilometers east of Damascus city. The village is situated in the fertile Ghouta region amid an orchard-filled area. Nearby localities include Harasta al-Qantarah and Zabdin to the west, al-Nashabiyah to the north, al-Bilaliyah to the east, Deir Salman to the southeast, Sakka to the south and Deir al-Asafir to the southwest.
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Marj al-Sultan had a population of 1,860 in the 2004 census. In 2012 the population was estimated to be 2,500. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of Syria's Circassian community.
Marj al-Sultan was founded in 1877-78 by some 25 Circassian refugee families, mostly from the Abzakh and Shapsugh tribes, from Anatolia whose settlement in the area was facilitated by the Ottoman authorities. This group of Circassians had come to Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) after being relocated from Bulgaria, which itself was a refuge for the Circassians after they had been forced out of their homeland in the Caucasus in 1864 by invading Russian forces. They arrived to Marj al-Sultan via the land route through Aleppo and Homs in the north of Syria. The governor of Damascus Province at the time, Medhat Pasha, took a liking to the Circassians, himself having a Circassian wife, offered the Circassian migrants residence in the Damascus city suburbs of Diwaniyyah and Muhajirun, but they refused opting to take up residence in Marj al-Sultan and the Golan Heights region. The former abounded in water springs, trees and grassy areas.
...
Wikipedia