An-Nabk

An Nabk or Al-Nabk (Arabic: النبك‎) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. Located 81 kilometers (50 mi) north of Damascus and south of Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. It has a population of 52,502 as of 2007, making it the 35th largest city per geographical entity in Syria. The Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian (Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi) is located along the Anti-Lebanon Mountains near Nabk and dates back to at least the 6th century. Al-Nabk has been mentioned by Arab geographers from the 12th to 13th centuries CE. Ibn Jubayr recorded that it was a village north of Damascus "with much running water and broad arable fields." Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote in 1225 that "is a fine...