Urban Keypoints

The Orontes River basin is undoubtedly complex. The history of human settlement and the spatial distribution of activities are largely related to the availability and exploitation of water resources (Weulersse 1940).

The oldest dated water infrastructures, dating back to the Bronze Age, are found in the upper reach of the basin.

These installations were extended in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods and restored from the 1920s (Chambrade and Saadé-Sbeih 2015). While the Orontes River and the numerous springs located in the basin were the main source of water until recently, underground resources currently provide over 50% of the water extracted in the basin. 

Furthermore, over 80% of the surface water originates from springs fed mainly by the karstic hydrogeological structures (Zwahlen et al. 2014; Droubi 2013). Groundwater management has become a critical issue and is strongly related to the socio-economic-political system which was partly shaped in relation to the access to water. 

The Beqaa Valley- Hermel, Baalbak

The Beqaa Valley is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important farming region Industry also flourishes in Beqaa, especially that related to agriculture. The valley is situated between Mount Lebanon to the west and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains to the east. It is the northern continuation of the Jordan Rift Valley, and thus part of the Great Rift Valley, which stretches from Syria to the Red Sea. Beqaa Valley is 120 kilometres (75 mi) long and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) wide on average. It has a Mediterranean climate of wet, often snowy winters and dry, warm summers.

"Global eye – Spring 2006 – Eye on Lebanon – The Bekaa Valley". Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. 

Homs

Homs , known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa, is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres (1,644 ft) above sea level and is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast. For approximately 2,000 years, Homs has served as a key agricultural market, production site and trade center for the villages of northern Syria. 

Al-Dbiyat, Mohamed (5 September 2013). Homs et Hama en Syrie centrale. ISBN 9782351594704..

Al-Rastan

Al Rastan is  the third largest city in the Homs Governorate,located 25 kilometers north of its administrative capital Homs and 22 kilometers (14 mi) from Hama. Nearby localities include Talbiseh and al-Ghantu to the south, al-Zaafaraniyah and al-Mashrafah to the southeast, Murayj al-Durr to the northeast, Tumin to the north, Deir al-Fardis to the northwest and Kafr Nan and the Houla village cluster to the west.Ar-Rastan had a population of nearly 40,000 in 2004.

It occupies the site of the Hellenistic-era city of Arethusa and still contains some of its ancient ruins. It continued to exist as a relatively small, but strategic town throughout the early Islamic and Ottoman eras. Ar-Rastan is situated adjacently south of the large bridge linking Homs and Hama.

Butcher, Kevin (2003). Roman Syria and the Near East. Getty Publications. ISBN 0892367156.

 Hama

Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 km north of Damascus and 46 kilometres north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate With a population of 854,000 (2009 census).

The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show. 

"Hamah (Syria)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 3 June 2013. 

Tal Salhab

Tal Salhab ( is a town in the western center of Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located 48 kilometresnorthwest of Hama. It is situated on the southern edge of the Ghab plain and by the western bank of the Orontes River. Nearby localities include Nahr al-Bared, Asharnah and al-Suqaylabiyah to the north, Deir Shamil and Deir Mama to the south, Tremseh, Mhardeh and Halfaya to the east. 

Boulanger, Robert (1966). The Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran. Hachette. p. 452. 

Al Ghab Plain

The Ghab Plain is a fertile depression lying mainly in the Al-Suqaylabiyah District in northwest Syria. The Orontes River, flowing north, enters the Plain near Muhradah, around 25 km north-west of Hama.

The valley was flooded for centuries by the waters of the Orontes River, which rendered it a swamp. The "Ghab project", beginning in the 1950s, drained the valley to make it habitable, arable land, providing an extra 41,000 hectares of irrigated farmland.

The valley separates the al-Ansariyah mountains in the west from the Zawiyah mountain range and the plateau region to the east.[1It is 63 kilometres long and 12.1 kilometres) wide.

de Miranda, Adriana (2007), Water architecture in the lands of Syria: the water-wheels, L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER, ISBN 978-88-8265-433-7