Mount al-Durūz
Mount al-Durūz, mountain just east of Al-Suwaydāʾ in southern Syria. Mount al-Durūz rises to about 5,900 feet (1,800 metres). The name in Arabic means “Mountain of the Druzes.”
The Druze, a sect derived from the Ismāʿīliyyah branch of Shīʿite Islam, have been settled in the area of Mount al-Durūz since the 11th century. There are some 120 Druze villages located on or near the mountain, among them Sālah (Roman Salamanestha), the largest on the eastern slope, and Qanawāt (Roman Canatha), on the west, the seat of the highest ranking jawwād (spiritual leader) in the locality. Qanawāt is a place of pilgrimage for the Druze. The entire area of Mount al-Durūz, which is located strategically on the north-south trade route, contains the remains of many Roman towns and forts.