Mafraq
Mafraq
مدينة المَفْرَق | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Mafraq city center Mafraq city center | |
|
Flag of Mafraq Flag | |
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| Coordinates: Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Country | File:Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan |
| Province | Mafraq Governorate |
| Founded | 333 B.C. |
| Municipality established | 1945 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Abdullah arqan |
| Area | |
• City | 14 km2 (5.4 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 128 km2 (49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 700 m (2,300 ft) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
• City | 580,000 |
| Time zone | GMT +2 |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
| Area code | +(962)2 |
| Website | www |
Mafraq (Arabic: المفرق Al-Mafraq, local dialects: Mafrag or Mafra; lit. 'crossroads') is the capital city of Mafraq Governorate in Jordan, located 80 km to the north of the national capital, Amman. It is located at a crossroads, with a road north going to Syria and another road to the east going to Iraq. It had 56,340 inhabitants in 2004.
History
[edit | edit source]Mafraq was first settled[clarification needed] in the 4th century BC.[citation needed] It is located about 17 km west of the historic Nabataean and Byzantine town of Umm el-Jimal, which was built in the 1st century.
In pre-Ottoman times, what is now the city of Mafraq was named Fudain,[when?] which comes from the word for fortress[which?] in Arabic.[citation needed] The Ottoman Turks renamed the city "Mafraq", which means "crossroads" in Arabic.[when?][citation needed]
In Ottoman times, there was a pilgrims' inn or khan there, known as Khan or Qal'at el-Mafraq, which was part of the Syrian Hajj route, used annually by Muslims on their way to Medina and Mecca.[2] The city gained more significance after the establishment of the Hejaz Railway connecting Damascus (and by extension Istanbul) to Medina in 1908.
Mafraq was the location of a British military base and airport during the British post-WWI Mandate. During the Second World War, the city's military base hosted British troops from India, Australia and other British colonies. It later became the base for the Arab Legion during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Mafraq is the headquarters of the Third Division of the Jordanian Army. King Hussein Air College and an air base of the Royal Jordanian Air Force are also located in the city.
In 1945, the Municipality of Mafraq was established, with Ali Abdeyyah as its first mayor.
As of 2016, 50% of the population of Mafraq were Syrian refugees.[3]
Geography
[edit | edit source]The city of Mafraq is located in northern Jordan at the boundary between the Hauran plateau and the Syrian Desert, about 80 km north of Amman. It is the capital and largest city of Mafraq Governorate. The city is close to three major cities in the region, Amman to the south, Irbid to the west, and Damascus to the north.
Climate
[edit | edit source]Mafraq has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). Most rain falls in the winter. The average annual temperature in Mafraq is 16.6 °C (61.9 °F). About 184 mm (7.24 in) of precipitation falls annually.
| Climate data for Mafraq, elevation 683 m (2,241 ft) (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 13.5 (56.3) |
15.2 (59.4) |
19.5 (67.1) |
24.6 (76.3) |
29.5 (85.1) |
32.3 (90.1) |
34.1 (93.4) |
34.0 (93.2) |
31.7 (89.1) |
28.0 (82.4) |
21.0 (69.8) |
15.4 (59.7) |
24.9 (76.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) |
9.4 (48.9) |
12.7 (54.9) |
16.8 (62.2) |
21.2 (70.2) |
23.9 (75.0) |
25.8 (78.4) |
25.8 (78.4) |
24.0 (75.2) |
20.3 (68.5) |
14.3 (57.7) |
9.7 (49.5) |
17.7 (63.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) |
3.6 (38.5) |
6.0 (42.8) |
9.1 (48.4) |
12.7 (54.9) |
15.3 (59.5) |
17.4 (63.3) |
17.8 (64.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
12.7 (54.9) |
7.5 (45.5) |
3.8 (38.8) |
10.4 (50.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 37.0 (1.46) |
28.3 (1.11) |
15.6 (0.61) |
5.3 (0.21) |
1.5 (0.06) |
0.2 (0.01) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
4.5 (0.18) |
15.3 (0.60) |
26.9 (1.06) |
134.6 (5.3) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.7 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 24.7 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 172.1 | 176.1 | 227.0 | 251.3 | 300.5 | 340.2 | 357.4 | 332.4 | 294.3 | 249.2 | 201.6 | 171.9 | 3,074 |
| Source 1: Starlings Roost Weather[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: German Met Office (sun 1997-2022)[5] | |||||||||||||
Transport
[edit | edit source]The international highway that connects Damascus to Riyadh passes through the city. Mafraq has a station on the 1,050 mm (3 ft 5+11⁄32 in) national railway system.
Education
[edit | edit source]Al al-Bayt University is the only university in the city. It was established in 1992 and is located on the south-eastern outskirts of Mafraq city.[6]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Official city website (in Arabic). Archived 2010-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
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External links
[edit | edit source]
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