View source for Al-Qamishli

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{{Infobox Settlement
|name                   =Al-Qamishli
|official_name          = 
|other_name             = Qamişlo
|native_name            = القامشلي<!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|nickname               = 
|motto                  =
|settlement_type        =City
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
|image_skyline          = Kamishly view.jpg
|imagesize              = 300px
|image_caption          = Al-Qamishli
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|pushpin_map            = Syria 
|pushpin_label_position =bottom
|pushpin_map_caption    =Location in Syria
|pushpin_mapsize        =300
<!-- Location ------------------>
|coordinates_region     = SY
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = {{flag|Syria}}
|subdivision_type1      = [[Governorates of Syria|Governorate]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Al-Hasakah Governorate|Al Hasakah]]
|subdivision_type2      = [[Districts of Syria|District]]
|subdivision_name2      = [[Al-Qamishli District|Al-Qamishli]]
|subdivision_type3      = [[Nahiyah]]
|subdivision_name3      = Al-Qamishli
|subdivision_type4      = 
|subdivision_name4      =
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|leader_title1          =  <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
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|established_title      =  Founded
|established_date       = 1926
|established_title2     =  <!-- Incorporated (town) -->
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|area_total_km2           = <!-- ALL fields dealing with a measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion-->
|area_land_km2            = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion-->
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<!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of               = 2004
|population_footnotes           = Census
|population_note                =
|population_total               = 184,231
|population_density_km2         =
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|population_metro               =
|population_density_metro_km2   =

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|population_blank1_title        =Ethnicities
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<!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone               = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
|utc_offset             = +2
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|latd=37|latm=03|lats= |latNS=N
|longd=41|longm=13|longs=|longEW=E
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|elevation_ft           =
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|postal_code_type       =  <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... -->
|postal_code            =
|area_code              = 52|52
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}} 

'''Al-Qamishli''' ({{lang-ar|القامشلي}}, {{lang-ku|Qamişlo}}, {{lang-syr|ܩܡܫܠܐ}} ''{{transl|syc|Qamišlo}}'' or {{lang|syr|ܒܝܬ ܙܐܠܝ̈ܢ}} ''{{transl|syc|Beṯ Zālin}}'') also known as '''Al-Qamishly''', '''Kamishli''' or '''Kamishly''', is a city in northeastern [[Syria]] on the border with Turkey, adjoining the Turkish city of [[Nusaybin]], and close to [[Iraq]]. It is part of the [[Al-Hasakah Governorate]], and is the administrative capital of the [[Al-Qamishli District]] within the governorate. According to the [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)|Syria Central Bureau of Statistics]] (CBS), Al-Qamishli had a population of 184,231 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a nahiyah ("subdistrict") consisting of 92 localities with a combined population of 232,095 in 2004.<ref>[http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB08-8-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004]. [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)|Syria Central Bureau of Statistics]] (CBS). Al-Hasakah Governorate. {{ar icon}}</ref> Al-Qamishli is {{convert|680|km|mi}} northeast of [[Damascus]].<ref name=Zurutuza>Zurutuza, Carlos. "[http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/10/syria-first-kurdish-language-newspaper-20131013124859345177.html Syria's first Kurdish-language newspaper]." ([http://archive.is/E7xbU Archive]) ''[[Al Jazeera]]''. 18 October 2013. Retrieved on 22 October 2013.</ref>

==Etymology==
The city was initially a small village inhabited by [[Assyrian people|Assyrians/Syriacs]] called ''beṯ zālin'' ({{lang|syr|ܒܝܬ ܙܐܠܝ̈ܢ}})  meaning "house of reed". The current name is a turkified form of it, where "kamış" means "reed" in Turkish.

==Demographics==
[[File:شارع البريد بالقامشلي.JPG|thumb|left|The President's street]]
With a population of 184,231 (2004 Census), Al-Qamishli is among the 10 largest cities in Syria by population.

Al-Qamishli is a somewhat mixed city with ethnic groups predominantly [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]], [[Arabs]], and [[Christians]] which make up a significant minority. The Christians of the city consist mainly of [[Assyrian people|Assyrians/Syriacs]] and [[Armenians]], and the city is considered to be a Christian capital in Syria. The city was founded by Assyrian/Syriac refugees fleeing the [[Assyrian Genocide]] in modern [[Turkey]].  Today [[Kurds]], Assyrians/Syriacs, Arabs and Armenians (about 8,500, of whom 2,000 are [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian Catholics]]<ref>{{hy icon}} [http://www.hayernaysor.am/news.php?p=11&c=g&t=0&r=0&year=2009&month=07&day=28&shownews=2479&LangID=4#2479 Ծննդավայրս՝ Գամիշլի կամ Եղէգնուտ]</ref>) live side by side in the city.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485435/Al-Qamishli Al-Qamishli (Syria) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia]</ref>

The pre-war population of the Christians in Al-Qamishli was about 40,000, of whom 25,000 belonged to the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], the biggest church in the city. Today it is believed that half of all Christians have left the town.<ref>http://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/islamischer-staat-die-kirche-der-jungfrau-in-qamischli-13282271.html</ref>

Al-Qamishli was also home to a significant [[Syrian Jews|Jewish community]]. In the 1930s the Jewish population of Al-Qamishli numbered 3,000. Since 1947, the situation of the Jews of Al-Qamishli deteriorated. All Jews employed in government offices were sacked at once. Many Jewish women were imprisoned and beaten with the approval of the authorities. [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim lands|Massive emigration of Jews from Syria]] peaked due to violence, such as [[1947 Aleppo pogrom]]. By 1963, the community had dwindled to 800 Jewish persons, and after the [[Six-Day War]] it went down further to 150 of whom only few remain today.
Unlike the [[Syrian Jews]] of [[Damascus]] and [[Aleppo]] who are a mixture of [[Sephardic Jews]] and [[Mustarabim]] (native Jews), the Jews of Al-Qamishli are originate in the ancient Jewish community of [[Nusaybin|Nisbis]] which was also depopulated during the creation of the State of [[Israel]].

==History==
[[File:Qamishli in winter.jpg|thumb|Al-Qamishli streets during Christmas days]]
Al-Qamishli is situated at the base of the [[Taurus Mountains]], located near the area of ancient [[Hurrian]] city of [[Urkesh]] which was founded during the fourth millennium BC.

The city dates back to the 1920s, when a sizable amount of Assyrians escaping the [[Assyrian Genocide]] carried out by the [[Ottoman Empire]] fled from northwestern Iran and southern Turkey built a small town which they initially called Bet-Zalin. One of the most important funders of the early development projects in the city was Masoud Asfar, an Assyrian who survived the [[Massacres of Diyarbakir]] as a young child. Masoud, along with stepbrother, whose last name was Najjar, established the Asfar & Najjar Corporation, a company that produced wheat in Al-Qamishli. Throughout the 1920s-1940s, the Asfar & Najjar Corporation funded hospitals, Assyrian schools, and churches throughout the city. However, in the 1960s and until the late 1970s, when Assyrians constituted two-thirds of the city's population, the [[Baath]] government actively confiscated Assyrian farms, lands, and areas, causing an Assyrian exodus. At this same time, many Kurds, fleeing persecution from Iraq and Turkey, moved in to the region.<ref>Nineveh Magazine, 2014, Bet-Shlimon, Andrew</ref>

The city itself (not the Assyrian Bet Zain) was officially founded as Al-Qamishli in 1926 as a railway station on the Taurus railway.<ref name="britannica">"[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9062100 Al-Qamishli]" - Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.</ref> 

Al-Qamishli is the second largest city in Al-Hasakah governorate and since 2013 it is regarded as the capital of [[Syrian Kurdistan]], the [[Assyrians/Syriacs]] also claim it to be a community capital. 

In March 2004, during a chaotic soccer match, a [[Qamishli massacre (2004)|riot]] started when some people started praising Saddam, turning the match into political conflict against the Kurds. 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.<ref>{{cite news | first = | last = | author = James Brandon | title = The PKK and Syria's Kurds | url = http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370250 | publisher = Terrorism Monitor, ''The Jamestown Foundation'' | location = Washington, DC 20036, United States | page = Volume 5, Issue 3 | date = February 15, 2007}}</ref> The event became known as [[Qamishli massacre (2004)|"Al-Qamishli massacre"]].

In June 2005, thousands of Kurds demonstrated in Al-Qamishli to protest the assassination of Sheikh Khaznawi, a Kurdish cleric in Syria, resulting in the death of one policeman and injury to four Kurds.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-06-15-syria-kurds_x.htm | work=USA Today | title=A murder stirs Kurds in Syria | first=Nicholas | last=Blanford | date=June 15, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/international/middleeast/02kurds.html | work=The New York Times | title=Kurds, Emboldened by Lebanon, Rise Up in Tense Syria | first=Hassan M. | last=Fattah | date=July 2, 2005}}</ref> In March 2008, according to [[Human Rights Watch]],<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/03/23/syria-investigate-killing-kurds Syria: Investigate Killing of Kurds - Human Rights Watch]</ref> Kurds were also killed when Syrian security forces opened fire on the Kurds when celebrating the spring festival of [[Newroz]] and purportedly gathering to revive the 2004 riot in Al-Qamishli. The shooting left three people dead. 

The city is renowned for throwing a large [[Christmas]] parade every year in December, and celebrating Newroz festival by a large crowd every year in March.

==Government==
The Syrian government remains in control of the airport, the border crossing, and several government buildings and Arab neighborhoods, but most of the city is in the hands of [[People's Protection Units|Kurdish]] and [[Syriac Military Council|Assyrian]] militas.<ref>http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/syrian-kurds-risk-lives-cross-turkey-33769556</ref>

==Climate==
The [[Köppen Climate Classification]] subtype for this climate is "[[Mediterranean climate|Csa]]" (dry-summer subtropical climate).<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=592625&cityname=Qamishli%2C+Al-Hasakah%2C+Syria&units= Climate Summary]</ref>
{{Weather box
|location = Al-Qamishli
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan high C = 10.9
|Feb high C = 12.6
|Mar high C = 16.7
|Apr high C = 22.1
|May high C = 29.2
|Jun high C = 36.1
|Jul high C = 40.3
|Aug high C = 39.8
|Sep high C = 35.4
|Oct high C = 28.3
|Nov high C = 19.3
|Dec high C = 12.7

|Jan low C =  2.7
|Feb low C =  3.5
|Mar low C =  6.3
|Apr low C = 10.3
|May low C = 14.9
|Jun low C = 20.0
|Jul low C = 23.5
|Aug low C = 23.0
|Sep low C = 19.5
|Oct low C = 15.0
|Nov low C =  8.8
|Dec low C =  4.4
|year high C= 25.3 |year low C= 12.7
|year high F =77.5 |year low F =54.8
|Jan precipitation mm = 77.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 71.9
|Mar precipitation mm = 68.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 59.0
|May precipitation mm = 29.0
|Jun precipitation mm =  2.2
|Jul precipitation mm =  0.3
|Aug precipitation mm =  0.1
|Sep precipitation mm =  0.8
|Oct precipitation mm = 18.0
|Nov precipitation mm = 38.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 66.9
|year precipitation mm= 
|Jan precipitation days = 11
|Feb precipitation days = 11
|Mar precipitation days = 11
|Apr precipitation days = 10
|May precipitation days =  6
|Jun precipitation days =  1
|Jul precipitation days =  0
|Aug precipitation days =  0
|Sep precipitation days =  0
|Oct precipitation days =  4
|Nov precipitation days =  7
|Dec precipitation days = 10
|source 1 = [http://worldweather.wmo.int/099/c01265.htm World Meteorological Organization]
}}

==Transportation==
[[File:Qamishli Granaries.jpg|thumb|Al-Qamishli Granaries]]
It has an international airport, [[Kamishly Airport]], with [[IATA airport code|IATA code]] KAC. 

[[Chemins de Fer Syriens]] (the Syrian railroad company) operated a freight and passenger railway service to other parts of Syria from the city.

==Media==
The Kurdish-language newspaper ''[[Nu Dem]]'' has its headquarters in Al-Qamishli.<ref name=Zurutuza/>

==See also==
* [[Assyrians in Syria]]
* [[Kurds in Syria]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Qamishli}}
* [http://globalag.igc.org/armedconflict/countryreports/middleeast/kurd.htm Kurds in Al-Qamishli]

{{Al-Hasakah Governorate|qamishli}}

{{coord|37|03|N|41|13|E|display=title}}

[[Category:Populated places in al-Qamishli District]]
[[Category:Cities in Syria]]
[[Category:Al-Qamishli|*]]
[[Category:Kurdish settlements]]
[[Category:Assyrian settlements]]
[[Category:Upper Mesopotamia]]
[[Category:Al-Hasakah Governorate]]
[[Category:Al-Qamishli District]]