Maharda

Maharda (Arabic: محردة, romanized: Mḥarda, IPA: [maˈħarda]; also transliterated Mhardeh, Muhardah, Mahardah or Mharda) is a Christian city in western Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located about 23 kilometers northwest of Hama. It is situated along the Orontes River, near the Ghab Plain. Nearby localities include Halfaya and Taybat al-Imam to the east, Khitab to the southeast, Maarzaf to the south, Asilah and Jubb Ramlah to the southwest, Shaizar, Safsafiyah, Tremseh and Kafr Hud to the west and Kafr Zita and al-Lataminah to the north. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Maharda had a population of 17,578 in the 2004 census. It is the center of Mahardah District, one of the Hama Governorate's five districts, and the nahiyah ("subdistrict") of Maharda, which contained 21 localities with a combined population of 80,165 in 2004. Maharda's population was estimated to be 22,442 in 2010. Its inhabitants are predominantly Christians of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Orontes River was dammed 3 kilometers north, and the Mahardah Dam on the Ghab Plain is used to generate hydroelectric power.