Lajat

Leja, also al - Laja; is a landscape in the south of Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the volcanic basalt plains of the Hauran.

The rocky desert of Leja is the largest contiguous block of basalt field in southern Syria, and covers the northwestern foothills of the Jebel al-Druze, a vegetated area of ​​900 square kilometers. In some sinks ( Qaa ) with a diameter of a few hundred meters or kilometers, a fine Lavaverwitterungsboden has collected. Here lie the fields of small villages whose water supply can only be done cisterns.

History

In ancient times Ledja belonged to the territory Trachonitis, which was dominated from the 2nd century BC by the Nabataeans. In Roman times the existing trade routes were developed that linked among other things, with Bosra Damascus. Along the course of the road you will find the ruins of several small towns dating from Roman times.

The interior of the Leja was to the 19th century only by Bedouins (most of the tribe of Sulut ) used for grazing. Furthermore, the Leja until the 20th century, a refuge for bandits. Around 1860, some settled Druze by Dama, the main town in the middle of the area. Until then lived in Dama few Christian families in the ruins of an early Byzantine settlement, of which there were still the remains of more than 300 houses and several churches. The Sulut did not want to tolerate, so that it came in the summer of 1868 fighting between the two groups, by which the Druzes temporarily withdrew the newcomers. Upon their return they performed the duties Sulut a portion of their harvest. 1884 lived in Dama 40 Druze and 12 Catholic families. In 1900, the Christians had left the place, the Druze had stopped paying tribute and had to defend themselves against attacks by the Sulut to defend without outside help.

From the 1860s there were some settlements along the Wadi al Liwa on the eastern edge of the Leja. Other small Druze settlements were established in the following decade. The Druze of the Halabi family clans came from the middle of the northern Syrian limestone massif, from Qalb Loze on the Djebel il -Ala and from places in the hill country of the east adjacent Jebel Barisha. 1927 there were 26 Druze villages with an average of 295 inhabitants. No village had 1000 inhabitants.