Deir Atiyah

Deir Atiyah or Dayr Atiyah (Arabic: دير عطية) is a town in Syria, located between the Qalamoun Mountains and the Eastern Lebanon Mountains Series, 88 kilometres (55 mi) north of the capital Damascus and on the road to the city of Homs. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Deir Atiyah had a population of 10,984 in the 2004 census. Deir Atiyah enjoys a moderate climate in summer and cold in the winter as it is located at an altitude of 1,250 metres (4,100 ft) above sea level. The proximity to a desert region, where the average rainfall does not exceed more than 125 millimetres (4.9 in) annually, means that environmental conditions, including poor soil, does not provide adequate resources to economically sustain the local population. Many locals immigrated to the Americas in the early 20th century, to the Persian Gulf countries after the emergence of job opportunities there, and to East Asia.