Harran al-Awamid

Harran al-'Awamid حران العواميد
Town
The basaltic Roman-era columns from which Harran al-Awamid receives its name, 1903
Harran al-'Awamid
Coordinates: 33°26′50″N 36°33′33″E / 33.44722°N 36.55917°E / 33.44722; 36.55917
Country	Syria
Governorate	Rif Dimashq
District	Douma
Subdistrict	Harran al-Awamid
Population (2004)
• Total	12,117
Time zone	EET (UTC+3)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+2)

Harran al-'Awamid (Arabic: حران العواميد‎‎) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located southeast of Damascus. It is situated on a plain that stretches to the marshes of Bahrat al-Qibliyah ("South Lake," the source of the Barada River) along the boundary of the fertile Ghouta region to the west to the north of the Hauran. Nearby localities include al-Kafrin and Judaydat al-Khas to the south, al-Atibah to the northeast, al-Abbadeh and al-Qisa to the north, al-Ahmadiyah to the northwest, Sakka to the west and Ghasulah and al-Ghizlaniyah to the southwest.

According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Harran al-'Awamid had a population of 12,117 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center and the most populous locality of the Harran al-'Awamid nahiyah ("subdistrict") which consisted of four localities with a collective population of 22,853 in 2004. The town was well known for its mudbrick architecture and three basalt columns of an ancient Roman temple, hence the name Harran al-'Awamid ("Harran of the Columns.") The columns themselves shoot out of the roof of a mudbrick building, which, along with many of the town's houses, have occupied the ruins of the temple.

Under Ottoman rule in the late 19th century, Harran al-Awamid was visited by archaeologist William McLure Thomson, who asserted that it was the Haran mentioned in the Bible. He noted that the plantation of Bahrat al-Qibliyah could be seen from the roof of the village's mosque. The area was inhabited by Bedouins (nomads) and semi-nomadic Arabs.