Al-Mataaiyah
المتاعية | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 32°29′46″N 36°17′34″E / 32.49611°N 36.29278°E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | Daraa Governorate |
District | Daraa District |
Nahiyah | Al-Jiza |
Population (2004 census)
[1] | |
• Total | 2,734 |
Time zone | UTC+2 ( EET) |
• Summer ( DST) | UTC+3 ( EEST) |
Al-Mataaiyah, also spelled al-Muta'iya or Mataeiyeh ( Arabic: المتاعية), is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located northeast of Daraa and west of Bosra. Nearby localities include Nasib to the east, al-Taybeh to the northwest, al-Jiza to the north, Ghasm to the northeast, Bosra to the east and the Jordanian village of Sama al-Sirhan to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Mataaiyah had a population of 2,744 in the 2004 census. [1]
Al-Mataaiyah was a khirba (ruined village) by the 19th century during Ottoman rule. However, the second half of that century saw a resurgence in grain cultivation and security in the Hauran region, of which al-Mataaiyah was part. [2] In 1892, a certain entrepreneurial local chieftain, Sheikh Khuntush, purchased the then-abandoned village for 1,000 Turkish gold liras. [2] Afterward, he moved farmers into al-Mataaiyah and built cisterns inside the dry village to collect rainwater. [2] In 1895, there were about 150 inhabitants and Sheikh Khuntush resolved to bring in more peasants. By 1905, the population grew to 200. [2] During the 1890s, some people from al-Mataaiyah also reestablished the village of Sama, 7 kilometers to the southwest. [2]