Ra's al-'Ayn

Ra's al-'Ayn (Arabic: رأس العين‎ Ra's al 'Ayn, Kurdish: Serêkanî, Syriac: ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ‎ Rēṣḥ 'Aynā, Turkish: Resuleyn) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. Ra's al-'Ayn has an altitude of 360 m. It has a population of 55,247, many of them being Assyrian/Syriacs, Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Chechens, or Syrian Turkmen. There is a border crossing to Ceylanpınar in Turkey. The city has been inhabited from 1500 BC or earlier. In ancient times it was known as Washukani,Sikan, Resaina, and Theodosiopolis. During the Armenian Genocide many Armenians were deported to the desert death camps of Ra's al-'Ayn, a site that would become "synonymous with Armenian suffering". The city is the birthplace of the popular Syrian...