Girê Aran or Tel-Aran… From painful history to hopeful present

MOHAMMED ABDO-AHMED RASHEED /ALEPPO

Tel- Aran is a Kurdish district located in the southeast of the province of Aleppo about 20 kilometers and administratively follows to al-Safira area in the Syrian province of Aleppo, and has a population of about 35, ,000 people.

In 2009, a district’s center was established because of its historical, cultural, demographic and cultural significance from the rest al-Safira regions. It is considered the largest point of the gathering of the Kurds in the south of Aleppo, where the estimated number of Kurds there is 70 thousand in each of the town of Tel-Hasel and(Tel- Aran/Girê Aran), Kabra , Balat , and Tel –Aran's villages as well as mixed villages of Kurdish and Arab components.

The Kurdish people live in four villages and towns, each of (Tel-Hassal, Tel-Alam, Kabra, and (Girê Aran/Tel-Aran city).

In this dossier, we present information about Tel-Aran district, its history, its customs and traditions, its inhabitants, its name and its economic situation.

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The area was named Tel-Aran in relation to a historical hill located in the center of the district about 360 years ago. According to the inhabitants of the area, the area between Aleppo and Palmyra in the south was known as "Warê Kurda" south Palmyra a place where Kurdish people lived."

Under the hill there are huge caves attributed by the villagers to the king of Aran, Valtl was the center of the king's residence, that is a castle to run the affairs of the kingdom, and from the hill and the name of the king appeared the name of "Tel- Aran/Girê Aran" to exist, according to residents of the district.

The hills in the region are the cities of (Tel- Aran/Girê Aran), Dowila, Herodit, Heger and other hills, dating back to 2500 BC, and their antiquities indicate the presence of the Kurdish people in those areas and their deep historical roots.

According to the notables and people's district, the lands in Tel- Aran were planted with grape vines and belong to the Arab tribe of Assan. The children of the Kurdish Yazidi clan and the Rashwan clan migrated from Bakur to Kurdistan due to tribal differences. They settled in Tel-Aran and began to work in agriculture and livestock.

In addition, there is another story that says that the history of the Kurds in the region dates back to 2500 years ago, the region witnessed several invasions and wars to settle the two tribes of "Dana and Rashwan" in the area , which was then extending from Aleppo to Palmyra through al-Maskana, the Kurdish "Dana tribe" controlled Aleppo and its borders while the Rashwan clan controlled the area between Maskana and Palmyra's cities during the rule of the Hittites of the region in 1200 BC, and both tribes believe in the Yezidi religion.

The story does not differ from the first story, as the villagers used to feed the sheep for their daily strength.

However, because of increasing pressure on both communities and the continuation of invasions against them from all directions, the control of the two clans has decreased. The dominant parties have changed the demography of the real region, causing a disintegration in the community and limiting the lands of the Kurds and the Kurdish communities in five villages, towns in the region(Tel-Aran , Tel-Hasel, Balat, Tel-Alam, and Kabra ) about 360 ​​years ago, the date of the appearance of the name Tel -Aran.

Tal Aran in the Mujam al-Buldan book is mentioned as follows:

There is a large archaeological hill in the area; it is the largest archaeological hill in the countryside of Aleppo in general, and Arna (Tel- Aran/Girê Aran) has been inhabited since the Mitani Kurdish period, and it witnessed the war between the Mitani and the Pharaohs.

Then, it became the capital of the Arameans (Beit Kos), but the demographics remained in favor of the Mitani.

In 849 BC, the Assyrians ruled the kingdom of Bayt Kos, which made the Arameans abandon (Girê Aran- Tel- Arana) and took Tal Rifat (Arbad - Arfad) as their alternative and capital.

Tel -Aran remained inhabited until the middle ages; until the Islamic era, it was mentioned by Islamic geographers like Yakut al-Hamawi in the lexicon of countries and other books.

Because of the availability of pastures and fertile land, sheep grazing has been inherited from fathers to the sons. Since the Kurdish tribes came to the region, they have been grazing sheep, goats and camels, they have been living in tents made of goats' hair, and over time, they have built mud houses to settle and work in agriculture as well as raising animals.

The importance of (Tel- Aran/Girê Aran) is the existence of a large fertile area suitable for agriculture. The total area is estimated at 120 thousand hectares. The vine was dominant in these areas, but the need for vegetables and the availability of materials and the requirements for planting them gave the people opportunities to improve their economic situation. To benefit from the annual crop, who benefit from the seasonal crop may reach the number of times the cultivation of land in one year to four times, according to people of the region.

Agriculture is cultivated periodically to avoid damage to the land. Corn, cotton, legumes and vegetables, which make up most of the area, are cultivated as a strategic crop for increasing demand by traders. The town also has its own vegetable market, which includes 95 commercial stores and send surplus to neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

Moreover, two plants were opened for gypsum and the second for the manufacture of irrigation hoses and a maintenance center to achieve self-sufficiency for the city. All that is necessary is the farmer in the town or the village itself without any need for the city in any way.

In addition, the opening of factories in the area provided great employment opportunities for the people of (Tel –Aran/Girê Aran) Gypsum known among the commercial circles of its high quality and low cost. The factory of the hoses and the maintenance center to reduce the suffering of farmers and enable them to speed work and not create problems for them.

A high level of education and a medical hospital

(Tel Aran /Girê Aran) district has more than seven primary and secondary schools in the district where the educational level has been booming since the early 20th century.

here is in center of the district of (Tel –Aran/Girê Aran) has a hospital in the name of the region. It specializes in all medical departments. It is noteworthy that the members of the medical staff and the staff of the hospital are doctors and nurses to the users, all of whom are from the region who have completed their education and obtained university degrees

The chronology of (Tel- Aran/Girê Aran) during the so-called Syrian revolution

With the outbreak of the so-called Syrian revolution and its arrival in the countryside of Aleppo, young men began to join the neighborhood of Tel-Aran to the Kurdish Front Brigade to protect their region from theft and looting in addition to the killings and kidnappings of mercenaries.

But the security enjoyed by these villages and towns did not fit the ideas and ambition of mercenaries of the Turkish occupation army, represented by( al-Nusra Front/Jabhit al-Nusra)and supporters until they declared war on those areas to occupy and change their demographics.

On July 27, 2013, more than 17 mercenary gangs attacked them without showing any difference on the objective, namely, the presence of the Kurdish identity in the region. Among these factions (Jabhit al-Nusra/al-Nusra Front), (IS gangs/Daesh) al-Liwa’ al-Tawhaid, Ahar Jabl al-Zaweya, Azadi and Salahaddin Brigades belonging to the Kurdish National Council.

On the 30th of the same month and after 3 days of resistance against mercenaries in these villages intensified fighting and increased shelling on the people, and resulted in the rise of more than 40 young men and women defenders of the villages to the rank of martyrdom and the occupation of mercenaries of (Tel-Aran/Girê Aran). Afterwards, a new black day began came on the Kurdish people, the massacre that claimed the lives of dozens of innocent people, the massacre of (Tel- Aran/Girê Aran) and Tal Hasel which is still inscripted in the memory of each Kurd.

The mercenaries displaced thousands of people from their homes and forced them to go to Afrin canton to evict their property and land and change the demographics of the region once again to the request of the Turkish Intelligence Service, which is manipulating these groups. The mercenaries also slaughtered 7 young people from (Tel- Aran/Girê Aran).

(T/S)

ANHA