- published: 30 Mar 2015
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Idlib (Arabic: ادلب, also spelled Idleb) is a city in northwestern Syria, capital of the Idlib Governorate, and 59 kilometers (37 mi) west of Aleppo. It has an elevation of nearly 500 meters (1,600 ft) above sea level. In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics, Idlib had a population of 97,969 (2004 census). The inhabitants are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims. Idlib is divided into six main districts: Ashrafiyeh (the most populous), Hittin, Hejaz, Downtown, Hurriya, and al-Qusur.
A major agricultural center of Syria, the Idlib area is also historically significant, containing many "dead cities" and man-made tells. Idlib contains the ancient city of Ebla, once the capital of a powerful kingdom. (See Ibrium)
During the Ottoman Empire era of rule in Syria between the 16th and 19th centuries, Idlib was a center of olive production which in turn gave way to a prosperous olive-based soap industry in the city. Soap from Idlib was exported as far as the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. Idlib was also a major producer of cotton fabrics. The city served as the capital of a kada ("subdistrict capital") bearing its name, part of the larger vilayet ("province") of Aleppo. In the late 19th-century, the city was "flourishing" and contained a number of Christian families according to German writers working for Karl Baedeker.
RADIO STATION | GENRE | LOCATION |
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Sham FM | News,Oldies,World Middle East | Syria |
Sout al-shabab | World Middle East | Syria |
Radio Dengê Kobanê | Classical | Syria |
Arabesque FM | World Middle East | Syria |
Version FM 94.4 | Varied | Syria |