Ain al arab

Before World War I, the territories on which Kobani and its environs are now located were inhabited mainly by semi-nomadic Kurd tribes. , partially supplanting Arabs in the 19th century.

According to a study by Professor Hussein Amin Hussein, based mainly on a survey of local old-timers, ^{[2] the} first settlement (three houses and two mills built by Armenians) in this place dates back to about 1892 . After 20 years, when German engineers came to these places, who designed the Baghdad railway , in the territory now occupied by Kobani there were two villages - Arappinar ( Kurd. Kanîya Êreban , Turkish . Arappınar - “Arab source”, named after the stream, which in summer nomad Arabs brought herds to a watering hole) east of the current city center and Mürşitpınar ( Kurd. Kanîya Murşidê , Turkish . Mürşitpınar , Ottoman. مرشد بنار ) to the west. The modern Arabic name of the city is tracing paper with the name of the first village, while the name of the second was given to the railway station built north of both villages in the present territory of Turkey until 1914 ^[3] .

The etymology of the Kurdish name “Kobanî” is unknown, but the urban legend claims that it appeared due to the illiterate Kurdish workers employed by a German company ( German Kompanie ) that built this road. Over time, the answer to the question “Where do you work?” Turned from “In company” to “In Koban”. According to another version, this company was allegedly called “Ko. Bahn ”, however, there is no information about the participation of a company with this name in the construction of this station ^[4] .

The settlement acquired its modern look and layout during the French mandate in Syria , when it housed a small contingent of French soldiers who were gathering militias from among local residents ^[5] . Many buildings constructed at that time existed and were used for their intended purpose until at least 2014. ^[6] .

During the Syrian civil war, Kobani was taken under control by the Kurdish self-defense forces on July 19, 2012. According to Shahin Bekir Sorekli, an Australian journalist and writer of Kurdish origin who grew up in the city ^[5] , around this time an inscription appeared at the entrance to the city with an illiterate (Kurdish was not taught in Syria) with the inclined name of the city, from whence they were sieged using other scripts Iraqi Kurds began to spread the distorted name Kobanê.

At the end of 2014, fierce clashes took place in the city between Kurdish people's self-defense units ( YPG ) and Islamic State militants. Control of the city was of fundamental importance to both sides. By analogy with Stalingrad, local left-wing Kurds called the city “Kobanigrad” ^[7] . During the fighting, ISIS fighters were destroyed, but the city was almost completely destroyed ^[8] . At the end of June 2015, Kobani was repeatedly attacked by Islamic terrorists , but the Kurds retained control of the city.

The city is located in the north-eastern part of the governorate, on the border with Turkey , at an altitude of 494 meters above sea ​​level ^[9] .

Ain al-Arab is located approximately 125 kilometers northeast of Aleppo , the provincial capital, and 415 kilometers northeast (NNE) from Damascus , the country's capital. The nearest airport is in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa ^[9] .

According to the last official census of 1981 , the population was 12,393 people ^[10] . The dynamics of the population of the city by years:

The ethnic composition of the population is dominated by Kurds . After the events of 1915, many Armenian refugees appeared in Koban. ^[4] According to Salikh Muslim , in the middle of the 20th century the Armenian population of the city was quite significant, there were 3 Armenian churches in the city, but most of the Armenians subsequently repatriated to the Armenian SSR in 1960. ^[13] According to 2013 data, Kurds made up almost 90% of the city’s population, Arabs and Turkmens - about 5% each, Armenians - about 1% . ^[6]

• Salih Muslim Muhammad

• Ain al-Arab on a topographic map of the General Staff
• Ivan Shmatko, Daphne Rachok. Refugees from a city that is not // Political criticism. - 03/14/2015.