Turmus Ayya

Turmus Ayya (Arabic: ترمسعيّا‎) is a Palestinian town located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), it had a population of 3,736 in 2007.[2]

Turmus 'Ayyā
Municipality type D (Village council)
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicترمسعيّا
 • LatinTurmus'ayyeh (official)
Tourmous Ayyeh (unofficial)
Turmus 'Ayyā
Location of Turmus 'Ayyā within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°02′09″N 35°17′10″E
Palestine grid177/160
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateRamallah and al-Bireh
Government
 • TypeVillage council
 • Head of MunicipalityMohammed Ibrahim
Area
 • Total17,606 dunams (17.6 km2 or 6.8 sq mi)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total3,736
 • Density210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Name meaningThormasia[1]

Geography
Turmus Ayya in 2007.

Turmus Ayya is located 22 kilometres (14 mi) northeast of the city of Ramallah. Its surrounding villages are Sinjil (سنجل), Khirbet Abu Falah (خربة ابو فلاح) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo. Its jurisdiction is about 18,000 acres (73 km2). Turmus Ayya is 720 m above sea level. It is also the northernmost town in the Ramallah District. Turmus Ayya's climate is similar to that of the central West Bank, which is rainy in the winter, and hot and humid in the summer.

Etymology

Turmus Ayya appears in older maps and reference books, such as Mustafa Murad al-Dabbagh's encyclopedia "Palestine, Our Land,” as Thorinasia. The name is broken down into three parts - Tur-Massh-Ayya: Tur means mountain, Massh is the pulp left after squeezing grapes, and Ayya means humid. Alternately, the name might come from the Latin: Terra (land) and Mesia (Messiah), hence "Land of the Messiah."[1]

History
Roman sarcophagus, 3rd century, discovered at Turmus Ayya, now at Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem[3][4]

Potsherds from the late Iron Age (8 -7th century B.C.E.) period and later have been found, and it is estimated that the village has existed continuously since then.[5]

Turmus Ayya is generally accepted as being the Turbasaim in Crusader sources.[6]

Just North-East of Turmus Ayya is Kh. Ras ad Deir/Deir el Fikia, believed to be the Crusader village of Dere.[7][8]

In 1145, half of the income from both villages were given to the Abbey of Mount Tabor, so that they could maintain the church at Sinjil.[9] In 1175, all three villages; Turmus Ayya, Dere and Sinjil, were transferred to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[10]

Ottoman era

In 1517, Turmus Ayya was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 43 households, all Muslim, and paid taxes on wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and/or beehives; a total of 7,200 akçe. 11/24 of the revenue went to a Waqf.[11]

In 1838, Edward Robinson noted that Turmus Aya was within the province of Jerusalem, but the province of Nablus was just north of it.[12] It was further noted that it was situated "on a low rocky mound in the level valley."[13]

French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village in 1870 and found ancient cisterns, cut stones built up in the houses, a broken lintel with a garland carved upon, and the fragments of a column.[14] He further noted that the village had about seven hundred inhabitants, and was administered by two sheikhs and divided into two different areas. Some ancient cisterns were almost completely dry, and women were forced to fetch water either from Ain Siloun, or Ain Sindjel.[15] An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that "Turmus Aja" had a total of 88 houses and a population of 301, though the population count included men only.[16][17]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine Turmus 'Aya was described as "a village on a low knoll, in a fertile plain, with a spring to the south. The village is of moderate size, and surrounded by fruit trees. On the south at the foot of the mound is the conspicuous white dome of the sacred place."[18]

In 1896 the population of Turmus 'aija was estimated to be about 834 persons.[19]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Turmus Ayya had a population of 707, all Muslim,[20] while in the 1931 census, the village had 185 occupied houses and a population of 717, all Muslims except one Christian woman.[21]

In the 1945 statistics the population was 960, all Muslim,[22] while the total land area was 17,611 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[23] Of this, 3,665 dunams were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 7,357 for cereals,[24] while 54 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[25]

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Turmus Ayya came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,620 inhabitants.[26]

1967-present

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Turmus Ayya has been under Israeli occupation. According to an Israeli census in 1967, there were 1,562 people. By 1989, the population rose to 5,140. The original residents of Turmus Ayya come from the following clans: Abu-Awad (أبوعواد), Jebarah (جباره), Kük (كوك), Hazama/Nofal (حزمة) or Shalabi (شلبي).

Under the Oslo Accords of 1995, 64.7% of village land was classified as Area B, and the remaining 35.3% as Area C.[27] Israel has confiscated 752 dunams of village land for the Israeli settlement of Shilo, and another 372 dunams for Mizpe Rahel.[28]

In December 2014, the town was the site of the controversial death of Palestinian official Ziad Abu Ein, during a protest against Israeli occupation.[29]

Education

There are three schools in Turmus Ayya: a girls school (grades 1–12), a boys school (grades 1–12) and a co-ed school (grades 1–4). There is also a community center housing a pre-school and kindergarten.

Economy

The economy is based primarily on olive orchards and fruit trees. It is also the home of the Turmus Aya Equestrian Club.

Local services

Turmus Ayya is governed by a local council. Water is supplied by Ramallah Water Systems; electricity by Jerusalem Energy; and phone service by the Palestinian Communications Company. Turmus Ayya has a new hospital on the northern side of town (al-Muntazah). There are two mosques in the town: Masjid Abu Bakir Asadeek and the newer Masjid al Farook. An older, non-functioning mosque is Al-Masjid Alqadeem ("the old mosque)."

References
  1. Palmer, 1881, p. 246
  2. 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.112.
  3. Savignac, 1913, pp. 106–111
  4. Michon, 1913, pp. 111–118
  5. Finkelstein, 1997, pp. 651-652
  6. Röhricht, 1887, p. 206; cited in Finkelstein, 1997, p. 651
  7. "Foundations and heaps of stones. Ruins of a monastery and chapel, the masonry in the walls rude, the stones drafted in some cases with a rustic boss. The place appears to be Crusading work;" Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 331
  8. Pringle, 1993, p. 196
  9. Röhricht, 1893, RHH, p. 59, No. 234; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. 196
  10. Röhricht, 1893, RHH, p. 141, No. 529; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. 196
  11. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 113.
  12. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, p. 83
  13. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, p 85
  14. Guérin, 1875, p. 28, as translated in Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 378
  15. Guérin, 1875, p. 28
  16. Socin, 1879, p. 162 It was located in the Beni Murra district
  17. Hartmann, 1883, p. 115 noted 82 houses
  18. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 292
  19. Schick, 1896, p. 122
  20. Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 17
  21. Mills, 1932, p. 51.
  22. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26
  23. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 65
  24. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 113
  25. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 163
  26. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
  27. Turmus’ayya Town Profile, ARIJ, p. 16
  28. Turmus’ayya Town Profile, ARIJ, p. 17
  29. Palestine’s land conflict: Death in the olive groves, economist.com.

Bibliography
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