Wadi Barada

Wadi means “valley” in Arabic. The name Barada is thought to derive from barid (“cold”); the ancient Greek name Chrysorrhoas means “streaming with gold”. English Wikipedia describes the valley as mountainous and places it in the Qalamoun district. According to that source the Barada is 84 km long, rises at Zabadani and drains into Lake Otaiba.

Arabic Wikipedia describes the wadi as the course of the river from its source at the lake in the mountains north-west of Damascus, winding between the mountains to al-Rabwa at the edge of the city. The valley consists of a chain of villages from al-Takiyya to al-Hama; Souq Wadi Barada is named as the first village of the chain and one of the most populous. English Wikipedia notes that the river has suffered severe drought in recent decades, mainly due to lower rainfall and a large increase in population.[1][2]

The historic railway known as the “summer resorts train” (Qitar al-Masayif) runs through the valley. During the Syrian civil war, rebels captured Ain al-Fijah in February 2012; engineers and technicians at the spring stayed in place. Government forces then imposed a blockade on the villages. On 28 January 2017 the army retook the town, and on the following day it took full control of Wadi Barada.[1][2]

According to English Wikipedia, water from Ain al-Fijah supplies more than six million people in Damascus and its countryside. Arabic Wikipedia calls the valley the most important summer-resort and excursion area in the Damascus countryside, with long-established resorts such as Dummar, al-Hama, Ain al-Khadra and Ain al-Fijah.

German Wikipedia states that the mausoleum of Abel (Qubbat an-Nabi Habil), venerated by Muslim pilgrims, stands on a mountain in the Barada valley about 25 km north-west of Mount Qasioun.[1][2][3]