Al-Riqama (Arabic: الرقاما, also spelled ar-Raqamah) is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located 34 kilometers southeast of Homs. Nearby localities include Dardaghan to the southwest, Shayrat to the southeast and Tell al-Naqa further to the north. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Riqama had a population of 3,900 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.[2]
Many of al-Riqama's inhabitants work in agriculture, cultivating dry cereals, grapes and almonds in irrigated fields, and raise sheep. The town's traditional houses are built from stone and have wood roofing.[3] Al-Riqama had been classified as an abandoned village or khirba by English scholar Eli Smith in 1838.[4] The town contains ruined historic structures noted for the dominant cone-shaped dome roofs. The structures have square bases with two-meter-high walls and are built from red mud brick.[3]
Syria
