Al-Sarkha (Bakhah)
Al-Sarkha
ܒܟܥܐ - בכעא الصرخة, بخعة | |
|---|---|
Depopulated village | |
Al-Sarkha Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 33°53′4″N 36°33′46″E / 33.88444°N 36.56278°E | |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq Governorate |
| District | Yabroud District |
| Nahiyah | Yabroud |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Sarkha, Bakh'ah or Bakh'a (Western Neo-Aramaic: ܒܟܥܐ - בכעא lit. 'to cry or to weep', Arabic: الصرخة or بخعة) is a depopulated Syrian village in the Yabroud District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Al-Sarkha had a population of 1,405 in the 2004 census. The village, inhabited by Sunni Muslims of Aramean descent, it was vastly damaged during the Syrian Civil War, and all of the inhabitants fled to other parts of Syria or to Lebanon as refugees. As of 1 February 2025, the village is still completely uninhabited. It was one of the only three remaining villages where Western Neo-Aramaic is spoken, alongside Maaloula and Jubb'adin.
Following their conversion to Islam in the 18th century, the inhabitants of Bakh'a underwent a religious transformation, shifting from being exclusively Christian to entirely Muslim.