Daraa

Daraa
دَرْعَا
City
Daraa is located in Syria
Daraa
Daraa
Coordinates: 32°37′N 36°6′E / 32.617°N 36.100°E / 32.617; 36.100
Grid position253/224 PAL
Country Syria
GovernorateDaraa
DistrictDaraa
SubdistrictDaraa
Government
 • GovernorLouay Khareta[1]
Elevation
435 m (1,427 ft)
Population
 (2004 census)[2]
 • City97,969
 • Metro
146,481
Demonym(s)Arabic: درعاوي, romanizedDarʿāwi
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code15
GeocodeC5993
Websitehttp://www.esyria.sy/edaraa/
Location of Daraa city in the namesake district and governorate.

Daraa (Arabic: دَرْعَا, romanizedDarʿā, Levantine Arabic: [ˈdarʕa], also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "fortress", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate, historically part of the ancient Hauran region. The city is located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Damascus on the Damascus–Amman highway, and is used as a stopping station for travelers. Nearby localities include Umm al-Mayazen and Nasib to the southeast, Al-Naimah to the east, Ataman to the north, al-Yadudah to the northwest and Ramtha, Jordan, to the southwest.

According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics, Daraa had a population of 97,969 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a nahiyah ("sub-district") which contains eight localities with a collective population of 146,481 in 2004.[2] Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.[3]

Daraa became known as the "cradle of the revolution"[4] after protests at the arrest of 15 boys from prominent families for painting graffiti with anti-government slogans[5] sparked the beginning of the 2011 Syrian Revolution.[6]

  1. ^ "President al-Assad issues decrees appointing new governors for four Syrian provinces". SANA. 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  2. ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2012-07-23 at archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)
  3. ^ Sterling, Joe. Daraa: The spark that lit the Syrian flame. CNN. 2012-03-01.
  4. ^ "Three years later, south Syria's Daraa province locked in stalemate". Syria Direct. Retrieved 2016-02-17.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Syria: How it all began". GlobalPost. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  6. ^ "Syria: Crimes Against Humanity in Daraa". Human Rights Watch. June 2011. Retrieved 2016-02-17.

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