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Qamishli

Coordinates:37°03′N41°13′E/ 37.05°N 41.22°E/37.05; 41.22
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Qamishli
ٱلْقَامِشْلِي
Qamişlo
ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ / ܩܡܫܠܐ
Qamishlo
City
Qamishli is located in Syria
Qamishli
Qamishli
Location of Qamishli in Syria
Coordinates:37°03′N41°13′E/ 37.05°N 41.22°E/37.05; 41.22
CountrySyria
GovernorateAl-Hasakah
DistrictQamishli
SubdistrictQamishli
Established1926(1926)
ControlAutonomous Administration of North and East SyriaAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Elevation
455 m (1,493 ft)
Population
(2004)[1]
184,231
Time zoneUTC+2(EET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+3(EEST)
Area code+96352
GeocodeC4564

Qamishli[nb 1]is a city in northeasternSyriaon theSyria–Turkey border,adjoining the city ofNusaybininTurkey.TheJaghjagh Riverflows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231,[1]it is theninth most-populous city in Syriaand thesecond-largest in Al-Hasakah GovernorateafterAl-Hasakah.Qamishli has traditionally been a Christian Assyrian majority city,[6]but is now predominantly populated byKurdswith large numbers ofArabsandAssyriansand a smaller number ofArmenians.It is 680 kilometres (420 mi) northeast ofDamascus.[7]

The city is the administrative capital of theQamishli DistrictinAl-Hasakah Governorate,and the administrative center ofQamishli Subdistrict,consisting of 92 localities with a combined population of 232,095 in 2004. Qamishli was thede factocapital of theAANES,[8][9]until it was moved toAyn Issa.[10]

Etymology

The city was initially a small village inhabited byAssyrianscalledܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ(Bēṯ Zālīn) meaning "House of Reeds".[5]The modern name is the Turkish translation of this name.Kamışmeans "reed" and-lısuffixdenotes "place with" inTurkish.

History

Qamishli in 1964
Statue of formerPresidentHafez al-Assad

The city dates back to the 1920s, when a sizable amount of Assyrians, escaping theAssyrian genocidecarried out by theOttoman Empire,fled from northwestern Iran and southern Turkey and built a small town, under theFrench Mandateauthorities, which they initially called Bet-Zalin. The city itself was officially founded as Qamishli in 1926 as a railway station on the Taurus railway.[11]One of the most important funders of the early development projects in the city was Masoud Asfar, an Assyrian who survived theMassacres of Diyarbakır (1895)as a young child. Masoud, along with stepbrother, whose last name was Najjar, established the Asfar & Najjar Corporation, a company that produced wheat in Qamishli. Throughout the 1920s–1940s, the Asfar & Najjar Corporation funded hospitals, Assyrian schools, and churches throughout the city. At the same time, manyArmeniansandAssyrians,fleeing persecution in Iraq and Turkey, moved into the region.[12]This was followed by the emigration ofKurdsfrom Turkey, most of whom settled in the countryside and then began to move to the city. However, in the 1960s and until the late 1970s, when Assyrians still constituted two-thirds of the city's population, the government of theArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Regionactively confiscated Assyrian farms, lands, and areas, causing an Assyrian exodus.

Qamishli is considered a center for both theKurdishand theAssyrianethnic groups in Syria. It was heavily settled by refugees from theAssyrian genocide.Assyrians were the majority in the city until the 1970s, when Kurds from the surrounding countryside moved into the city in numbers. Qamishli is renowned for its largeChristmasparade, andNewrozandKha b-Nisanfestivals.

21st century

The President's street

In March 2004, during a chaotic soccer match, theQamishli riotsbegan when visiting Arab fans fromDeir ez-Zorstarted praisingSaddam Husseinto taunt the Kurdish home fans. The riot expanded out of the stadium and weapons were used against people of Kurdish background. In the aftermath, at least 30 Kurds were killed as the Syrian security services took over the city.[13]

In June 2005, thousands of Kurds demonstrated in Qamishli to protest the assassination of Sheikh Khaznawi, a Kurdish cleric in Syria, resulting in the death of one policeman and injury to four Kurdish civilians.[14][15]

In March 2008, according toHuman Rights Watch,[16]three more Kurds were killed when Syrian security forces opened fire on people celebrating the spring festival ofNewroz.

Civil war

Main articles:Syrian civil war,2015 Qamishli bombings,Battle of Qamishli (2016),July 2016 Qamishli bombings,Qamishli clashes (2018),Siege of Qamishli and Al-Hasakah,andBattle of Qamishli (2021)
2015 division of the city

With thecivil warand theRojava conflictfrom 2011, the city grew into a major political role, being the de facto capital of theAANES.Part of the city, as well as an area to the south which includesQamishli Airport,remain under the administration of theSyrian government.Unlike many Syrian cities, Qamishli has not seen large-scale fighting during the war, although it has been attacked by unknown perpetratorsin 2015and by Islamic Statein 2016,as well as brief skirmishes between AANES and Syrian forcesin 2016and2018.Qamishli is home to Chirkin prison, which houses detainedIslamic Statemilitants.[17]

On 17 August 2020,Syrian forcesreportedly clashed withUS troopsnear Qamishli, which resulted in the death of one Syrian. Two otherSyrian soldierswere said to have been injured during the clash,state mediaadded.[18][19]

In 2022, the Syrian government remains in control of a large part of the city centre as well as a substantial rural area to the south, including the airport, the border crossing, various government buildings, and many residential neighborhoods. The government still organises the production and the distribution of the harvest in the southern countryside, and organizes flights between Qamishli and other Syrian cities, as well asBeirut.However, most of the city is under the administration of the AANES.[20]

Climate

TheKöppen climate classificationsubtype for this climate is "Csa" (Mediterranean climate;dry-summer subtropical climate). The summers tend to be dry and warm, with July being the hottest month of the year, while the winters are usually cold and wet, with January being the coldest month and having an average of 11 days of rain. In total, around 53 days of rain occur every year.[21]

Climate data for Qamishli (1991–2020, extremes 1952–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.6
(74.5) 		24.5
(76.1) 		32.0
(89.6) 		37.4
(99.3) 		41.0
(105.8) 		46.0
(114.8) 		48.5
(119.3) 		47.3
(117.1) 		45.0
(113.0) 		38.6
(101.5) 		29.8
(85.6) 		27.4
(81.3) 		48.5
(119.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 11.3
(52.3) 		13.1
(55.6) 		17.4
(63.3) 		22.9
(73.2) 		30.0
(86.0) 		37.0
(98.6) 		40.6
(105.1) 		40.2
(104.4) 		35.3
(95.5) 		28.4
(83.1) 		19.6
(67.3) 		13.2
(55.8) 		25.7
(78.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 3.3
(37.9) 		4.1
(39.4) 		7.1
(44.8) 		10.9
(51.6) 		15.9
(60.6) 		21.3
(70.3) 		24.5
(76.1) 		24.1
(75.4) 		20.1
(68.2) 		15.8
(60.4) 		9.1
(48.4) 		5.0
(41.0) 		13.4
(56.1)
Record low °C (°F) −11.3
(11.7) 		−9.5
(14.9) 		−6.7
(19.9) 		−2.9
(26.8) 		4.6
(40.3) 		10.0
(50.0) 		15.3
(59.5) 		15.8
(60.4) 		9.8
(49.6) 		1.2
(34.2) 		−3.0
(26.6) 		−6.7
(19.9) 		−11.3
(11.7)
Averageprecipitationmm (inches) 66.0
(2.60) 		59.0
(2.32) 		55.2
(2.17) 		46.7
(1.84) 		22.4
(0.88) 		2.5
(0.10) 		0.6
(0.02) 		0.2
(0.01) 		1.3
(0.05) 		18.8
(0.74) 		36.8
(1.45) 		59.9
(2.36) 		361.1
(14.22)
Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) 8.3 7.8 7.7 6.4 3.8 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.4 2.9 4.0 6.8 48.0
Averagerelative humidity(%) 71 68 64 60 47 29 24 24 27 39 57 70 48
Mean monthlysunshine hours 148.8 154.0 204.6 222.0 288.3 339.0 356.5 350.3 312.0 254.2 192.0 148.8 2,970.5
Mean dailysunshine hours 4.8 5.5 6.6 7.4 9.3 11.3 11.5 11.3 10.4 8.2 6.4 4.8 8.1
Source 1: NOAA (sun 1961–1990)[22][23]
Source 2:Deutscher Wetterdienst(humidity, 1974–1978),[24]Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[25]

Demographics

Miami Street in Al-Wusta neighborhood during Christmas.
Historical population
YearPop.±%
198192,990—
1994144,286+55.2%
2004184,231+27.7%

In 1939, French mandate authorities reported the following population numbers for different ethnic/religious groups in Qamishli city centre.[26]

Arabs Kurds Assyrians Armenians
7990 5892 14,140 3500

Qamishli is an ethnically mixed city.Kurdsmake up a majority of the city's population,[27]which also has manyArabs,Assyrians,[28]andArmenians.[29]

Religion

Muslims

More than 80% of Qamishli's inhabitants areSunni Muslims.They are mainlyKurds,followed byArabs.

Christians

The city is considered to be a Christian center in Syria, and was a Christian-majority city for much of its history.[30]

In the 1930s it is estimated that out of the town's population of 23,000 individuals, 20,000 of those were Christians.[31]

Before thecivil war,the Christian population of Qamishli was about 40,000, of whom 25,000 belonged to theSyriac Orthodox Church,the biggest church in the city. As of 2014 it was believed that half of all Christians had left the city.[32]

Once a Christian-majority city, the rural migration to Qamishli has increased the Kurdish population of the city. In addition, since thePYDmilitia took control of the city in 2012 they carried out a Kurdification process touching all aspects of life, starting by changing the name of the city to Qamishlo, to cultural and social aspects of the city. The Christian and Arab population in the city were fiercely opposed to the PYD rule. Half the Christian population left by 2017 although no fighting happened in the city.[33]

Churches in the city

  • Syriac Orthodox Church of Saint Jacob of Nisibis (كنيسة القديس مار يعقوب النصيبيني للسريان الأرثوذكس)
  • Syriac Orthodox Church of Our Lady (كنيسة السيده العذراء للسريان الأرثوذكس)
  • Syriac Orthodox Church of Saint Ephrem the Syrian (كنيسة مار افرام السرياني للسريان الأرثوذكس)
  • Syriac Orthodox Church of Saint Quriaqos (كنيسة مار قرياقوس للسريان الأرثوذكس)
  • Syriac Catholic Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (كنيسة القديسين مار بطرس وبولس للسريان الكاثوليك)
  • Assyrian Church of Saint George (كنيسة مار جرجس للآشوريين)
  • Assyrian Church of Saint Ephrem (كنيسة مار أفرام للآشوريين)
  • Chaldean Catholic Church of Saint Jacob of Nisibis (كنيسة القديس مار يعقوب النصيبيني للكلدان الكاثوليك)
  • Armenian Orthodox Church of Saint Hagop (كنيسة القديس هاكوب الأرمن الأورثوذكس)
  • Armenian Catholic Church of Saint Joseph (كنيسة مار يوسف الأرمن الكاثوليك)
  • National Evangelical Presbyterian Church (الكنيسة الأنجيلية المشيخية الوطنية)

Jews

Historically, Qamishli was also home to a significant Jewish community. The origin of the Jews of Qamishli (unlike the Jews ofDamascusandAleppowho are a mixture ofSephardi JewsandMusta'arabi Jews) is the adjoining city ofNusaybin,on the other side of theTurkish-Syrian border.As after the foundation of Turkey in 1923, the major economic hubs were allocated to Turkey, theFrench Mandateauthorities deemed it necessary to encourage the settlement or foundation of new villages and towns in the region.[34]The current town was founded in 1926 by the French Mandate, which following encouraged the settlement of the population in Nusaybin, which is located just across the border.[34]Within a few years, Qamishli was more populous than Nusaybin.[34]The major part of the Christian, and also of the Jewish population from Nusaybin moved to Qamsihli.[34]In the 1930s the Jewish population of Qamishli numbered 3,000. After the escalation of theIsraeli–Palestinian conflictin 1947, the situation of the Jews of Qamishli deteriorated. Theexodus of Jews from Syriapeaked due to violence, such as the1947 anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo.By 1963, the community had dwindled to 800, and after theSix-Day Warit went down further to 150, of whom no one remain today.[35]

Neighborhoods

Hotels on President Hafiz al-Assad Street

Qamishli is divided into several districts, which are further divided into neighborhoods.

This is a list of the neighborhoods of Qamishli.

  • Al-Zahra (Al-Wusta)
  • Al-Qusour
  • Al-Muwazafin
  • Qudour Bek
  • Al-Gharbiyah
  • Corniche
  • Al-Arbawiyah
  • Al-Ashouriyin (Assyrian)
  • Al-Siryan (Syriac)
  • Al-Bashiriyah
  • Tay
  • Al-Thawra
  • Al-Golan (Berkila)
  • Qanat al-Suways
  • Al-Antariyah
  • Maysaloun
  • Al-Hilaliyah
  • Jurnak
  • Alaiya (Hattin)
  • Mahmakiyah
  • Jumaayah
  • Halko

Transportation

Qamishli Airportwas closed to civilians in October 2015, but later reopened. Syrian airline companies includingCham Wings Airlines,FlyDamasandSyrian Airprovide flights between Qamishli andDamascus,Latakia,andBeirut.

Media and education

The Kurdish-language newspaperNu Demhas its headquarters in Qamishli.[7]

While prior to theRojava conflict,there had been no institution of higher education in northeastern Syria, in September 2014 theMesopotamian Social Sciences Academystarted teaching.[8][36]Following theUniversity of Afrin,[37]in July 2016 theJazira Canton's Board of Education officially established the second Syrian Kurdish university in Qamishli. TheUniversity of Rojavainitially comprised four faculties: Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. Programs taught include health, oil, computer and agricultural engineering, physics, chemistry, history, psychology, geography, mathematics, primary school teaching, andKurdish literature.[38][39]

Sports

7 April Stadium

Al-Jihad SCis the largest football club in the city and plays at7 April Stadium.

Notable people

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^also known as Al-Qamishli, Kamishli, Kamishly, Qamishlo or Zalin, (Arabic:ٱلْقَامِشْلِي,romanized:Al-Qāmišlī;[2]Kurdish:Qamişlo;[3][4]Syriac:ܩܡܫܠܐ,romanized:Qamishlo;Classical Syriac:ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ,romanized:Bēṯ Zālīn,lit. 'House of Reeds'[5])

References

  1. ^ab"2004 Census Data forNahiya Qamishli"(in Arabic). SyrianCentral Bureau of Statistics.Also available in English:UN OCHA."2004 Census Data".Humanitarian Data Exchange.
  2. ^Welle, Deutsche."سوريا: قتلى وجرحى في ثلاثة انفجارات تهز مدينة القامشلي"(in Arabic). Dw.com.Retrieved24 December2019.
  3. ^"Şaredariya Qamişlo bajar paqij dike"(in Kurdish).Retrieved24 December2019.
  4. ^"بەکاتی قامشلۆ 10/12/2019"(in Kurdish). Rudaw.net.Retrieved24 December2019.
  5. ^ab[1]
  6. ^"From Qamishli to Qamishlo: A Trip to Rojava's New Capital".
  7. ^abZurutuza, Carlos. "Syria's first Kurdish-language newspaper"(Archive).Al Jazeera.18 October 2013. Retrieved on 22 October 2013.
  8. ^ab"A Dream of Secular Utopia in ISIS' Backyard".The New York Times.2015-11-29.Retrieved2016-05-10.
  9. ^Radpey, Loqman (September 2016)."Kurdish Regional Self-rule Administration in Syria: A new Model of Statehood and its Status in International Law Compared to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq".Japanese Journal of Political Science.17(3): 468–488.doi:10.1017/S1468109916000190.ISSN1468-1099.
  10. ^"Ain Issa: from an obscure town to SDF headquarters".Enab Baladi.2019-12-05.Retrieved2020-12-18.
  11. ^"Al-Qāmishlī | Syria".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2019-06-14.
  12. ^"From Qamishli to Qamishlo: A Trip to Rojava's New Capital".
  13. ^James Brandon (February 15, 2007)."The PKK and Syria's Kurds".Terrorism Monitor.Washington, DC: The Jamestown Foundation. p. Volume 5, Issue 3. Archived fromthe originalon November 7, 2007.
  14. ^Blanford, Nicholas (June 15, 2005)."A murder stirs Kurds in Syria".USA Today.
  15. ^Fattah, Hassan M. (July 2, 2005)."Kurds, Emboldened by Lebanon, Rise Up in Tense Syria".The New York Times.
  16. ^"Syria: Investigate Killing of Kurds".Human Rights Watch.23 March 2008.Retrieved24 April2016.
  17. ^Perry, Tom (October 10, 2019). Kasolowsky, Raissa (ed.)."Turkey shelled prison holding IS foreign fighters Kurdish-led administration".Reuters.
  18. ^"Deadly clash reported between U.S. and Syrian forces".CBS News.17 August 2020.
  19. ^"Syria says U.S. forces clash with Syrian troops, killing 1".ABC News.
  20. ^"'We have nothing': Syrian Kurds risk their lives crossing into Turkey ".Middle East Eye.Retrieved24 April2016.
  21. ^"Qamishli, Syria Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".Weatherbase.Retrieved24 April2016.
  22. ^"Kamishli Climate Normals 1991–2020".World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020).National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe originalon 2 September 2023.Retrieved2 September2023.
  23. ^ "Kamishli Climate Normals 1961–1990".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.RetrievedApril 26,2017.
  24. ^"Klimatafel von Kamishly / Syrien"(PDF).Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world(in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst.RetrievedApril 26,2017.
  25. ^"Station Kamishli"(in French). Meteo Climat.RetrievedApril 26,2017.
  26. ^Altug, S (2011)."Sectarianism in the Syrian Jazira: community, land and violence in the memories of World War I and the French mandate (1915- 1939)".Utrecht University Repository.hdl:1874/205821.
  27. ^The Kurds of Northern Syria: Governance, Diversity and Conflicts,pg. 15
  28. ^See also the articleTerms for Syriac Christians
  29. ^(in Armenian)Ծննդավայրս՝ Գամիշլի կամ ԵղէգնուտArchived2012-03-01 at theWayback Machine
  30. ^"al-Qamishli – Syria".Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved24 April2016.
  31. ^Joseph, John.Muslim-Christian Relations and Inter-Christian Rivalries in the Middle East The Case of the Jacobites in an Age of Transition.p. 108.
  32. ^Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH (24 November 2014)."Islamischer Staat: Die Kirche der Jungfrau in Qamischli".FAZ.NET.Retrieved24 April2016.
  33. ^Balanche, Fabrice(13 April 2017)."From Qamishli to Qamishlo: A Trip to Rojava's New Capital".The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.Retrieved9 December2020.
  34. ^abcdSchmidinger, Thomas (2017-03-22).Krieg und Revolution in Syrisch-Kurdistan: Analysen und Stimmen aus Rojava(in German). Mandelbaum Verlag. p. 63.ISBN978-3-85476-665-0.
  35. ^"Jews of Syria".Jewishvirtuallibrary.org.Retrieved23 February2022.
  36. ^"First New University To Open In Rojava".Rojava Report.31 August 2014.Retrieved7 July2016.
  37. ^Sardar Mlla Drwish (18 May 2016)."Syria's first Kurdish university attracts controversy as well as students".Al Monitor.Archived fromthe originalon 21 May 2016.Retrieved7 July2016.
  38. ^"'University of Rojava' to be opened ".ANF. 2016-07-04. Archived fromthe originalon 2017-01-04.Retrieved2016-07-04.
  39. ^"Kurds establish university in Rojava amid Syrian instability".Kurdistan24. 2016-07-07.Retrieved2016-07-07.
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