Project trip of Fr. Dr. Andrzej Halemba

Syria 08 April 2016
a mute Syriac Orthodox man smoking water pipe in the street in Al-Qaryatayn few days after liberated from ISIS
Al-Qaryatayn (also spelled Karyatayn, Qaratin or Cariatein) is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate located southeast of Homs. It is situated on an oasis in the Syrian Desert. Nearby localities include Tadmur (Palmyra) to the northeast, Furqlus to the north, al-Riqama and Dardaghan to the northwest, Mahin, Huwwarin and Sadad to the west, Qarah, Deir Atiyah and al-Nabk to the southwest and Jayrud to the south. Al-Qaryatayn translates as «the two villages».
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Qaryatayn had a population of 14,208 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the al-Qaryatayn nahiyah («subdistrict») which consists of three localities with a collective population of 16,795 in 2004. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims and Christians.
On 5 August 2015, the town was captured by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. al-Qaryatayn is important to ISIL because the town is one of many along the Damascus-Homs Highway. On 6 August 2015, ISIL abducted 230 civilians, including at least 60 Christians from al-Qaryatayn. ISIL later advanced even further, taking control of Mahin and Huwwarin by 8 August, thus forcing hundreds of Christians to flee persecution by the terrorist group. On 9 August 2015, the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) bombed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant positions in al-Qaryatayn, resulting in the death of around 30 militants as well as the destruction of seven vehicles and a rocket depot, according to government sources. Meanwhile, ISIL announced a 30-day ultimatum for the remaining Syrian officials in the city to «declare their repentance», or else their houses would be seized.
On 21 August, ISIL released images showing their demolition of the Monastery of St. Elian in al-Qaryatayn. Parts of the monastery were 1,500 years old.
On 3 April 2016, the Syrian Army regained control of the town from ISIL.