Khan Dannun خان دنون Khan Danoun |
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Village | |
Coordinates: 33°19′55″N 36°19′56″E / 33.33194°N 36.33222°E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | Rif Dimashq Governorate |
District | Markaz Rif Dimashq |
Nahiya | Al-Kiswah |
Population (2004) | |
• Total | 8,727 |
Time zone | EET (UTC+3) |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+2) |
Khan Dannun (Arabic: خان دنون, also spelled Khan Danun, Khan Dunnun or Khan Dhul-Nun) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Markaz Rif Dimashq District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. Located south of Damascus, nearby localities include al-Taybah to the west, Muqaylibah to the northwest, al-Kiswah 5 kilometers to the north and Khiyarat Dannun to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Dannun had a population of 8,727 in the 2004 census.
Khan Dannun also contains a refugee camp with the same name and is one of ten Palestinian refugee camps in Syria recognized by UNRWA. According to UNRWA statistics the camp had a population of 7,841 in 1998. According to UNRWA the population of the camp in June 2008 was 9,479 persons and 2,192 families.
Khan Dannun was originally a large khan ("caravansary") completed in 1376 by the Mamluk governor of Damascus, Manjak al-Yusufi, during the reign of the Bahri Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban. The khan was designed by Ali ibn al-Badri, known as muhandis ash-Sham ("engineer of Damascus.") The name "Dan nun" is the colloquial version of "Dhul-Nun," a highly venerated 9th-century Muslim figure. He is considered to be the early patriarch of the Sufis. Khan Dannun became a stopping point on the hajj ("pilgrimage to Mecca") caravan route after al-Kiswah, and before Ghabaghib.