Yarka
| Yirka | |
|---|---|
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • Hebrew | יִרְכָּא |
| • Also spelled | Yarka (unofficial) |
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | يركا |
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 Yirka
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| Coordinates: 32°57′14.39″N 35°12′44.16″E / 32.9539972°N 35.2122667°ECoordinates: 32°57′14.39″N 35°12′44.16″E / 32.9539972°N 35.2122667°E | |
| District | North |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 15,564 dunams (15.564 km2 or 6.009 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 13,000 |
Yarka (Hebrew: יִרְכָּא, Arabic: يركا) is an Israeli Druze village in Israel's North District, northeast of Acre.
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[edit] History
In 1596, Yarka appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Akka of the Liwa of Safad. It had a population of 174 Muslim households and 24 bachelors and paid taxes on an olive press.[1]
A visitor to the Yarka in the late nineteenth century wrote that "cut stones of ancient appearance have been used in building the modern houses. [..] About a hundred cisterns cut in rock, a half of which are no longer used, and the other half serve for the wants of the people, reveal the existence in this place of an ancient locality of some importance."[2]In the Survey of Western Palestine, Yarka is described as a well-built stone village inhabited by 400 Druze who grew olives and figs.[3]The tomb of Sheikh Abu Saraya Ghanem, a Druze religious scholar is located in Yarka.
[edit] Economy
One of the largest factories in the Middle East[citation needed], a steel mill built and owned by the Kadmani family, is located in Yarka. My Baby, with 11,000 meters of retail space, is Israel's largest store for children's and baby's supplies. The store has an annual turnover of NIS 100 million.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth and Kamal Abdulfattah (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. p. 191.
- ^ Guérin, 1880, p.16-17, as translated and cited by Conder and Kitchener, 1881, p.193
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, p.148
- ^ Israel's only American-style baby store, in the heart of a Druze village
[edit] Bibliography
- Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener (1881): The Survey of Western Palestine: memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 1 (p. 152)
- Guérin, M. V. (1880): Description Géographique, Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine. ptie. Galilée (t. 1-2), Volume 3. Part 2. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale
- Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth and Kamal Abdulfattah (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. (p191, P16)
- (1881, 1882): Quarterly statement - Palestine Exploration Fund Volume: 13-14 (p.37-38)
[edit] External links
- Druze, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
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