Al-Ghab Plain
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Geo_siria_ghab.png/220px-Geo_siria_ghab.png)
The Ghab Plain (
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Sahl_el_Ghab.jpg/220px-Sahl_el_Ghab.jpg)
The valley was flooded for centuries by the waters of the Orontes River, which rendered it a swamp.[3][4] The "Ghab project", beginning in the 1950s, drained the valley to make it habitable, arable land,[5] providing an extra 41,000 hectares (160 sq mi) of irrigated farmland.[6]
The valley separates the
Fisheries
Before its drainage, the Ghab was the center of the catfish (
Ghab project
Other advantages of the Ghab project were the improvements in the systems of communication through the building of road and rail networks, previously not possible due to the swamps. In addition, malaria decreased because there was no longer stagnant water.[5]
Al-Ruj Plain
Northeast of the Ghab Plain is found another smaller plain, known as al-Ruj Plain (Rouj basin).[8] It is located between the Ghab Plain, and Amouk Plain. This is an agriculturally prosperous enclave just west of the town of Idlib.[2] Many ancient archaeological sites are located there.
References
- ^ a b Federal Research Division, 2004, p. 74.
- ^ a b Topography and Hydrology Map of the Orontes valley Archived 2017-04-13 at the Wayback Machine water-security.org
- ^ a b Sofer, 1999, p. 205.
- ^ South, Coleman. Syria. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2006. Print.
- ^ a b c de Miranda, 2007, p. 267.
- ^ Salman, 2009, p. 28.
- ^ J. Gaulmier, "Notes sur la pêche du silure dans la vallée du Ĝāb", Mélanges de l'Institut Français de Damas 1 (1929), p. 19-25
- ^ Wikimapia location
Bibliography
- Federal Research Division (2004), Syria a Country Study, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4191-5022-7
- Sofer, Arnon (1999), Rivers of fire: the conflict over water in the Middle East, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 978-0-8476-8511-0
- de Miranda, Adriana (2007), Water architecture in the lands of Syria: the water-wheels, L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER, ISBN 978-88-8265-433-7
- Salman, Salman M. A. (2009), The World Bank Policy for Projects on International Waterways: An Historical and Legal Analysis, World Bank Publications, ISBN 978-0-8213-7953-0