Al-Gharia village a history dating back to old ages

Al-Gharia village in al-Sweida province is one of three villages in Horan area named after the laurel trees which is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. The symbolism of laurel trees carried over to Roman culture, which held the laurel as a symbol of victory. It is also the source of the words baccalaureate and poet laureate, as well as the expressions "assume the laurel" and "resting on one's laurels". Al-Gharia village is located 45 kms to the south of al-Sweida city. It witnessed urban and agricultural development during the Nabatean and Roman eras. During the Ayyubid era, the village was a station for cravans heading to Amman and Jerusalem. Ancient human habitation of this town dates back to the era between 12000-4000  BC the stone ages, leaving traces of human drawings and in the existing caves. Starting from the third millennium BC, Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula: Acadians, the Amorites, Aramaeans, the Nabataeans, Elsafa?aan and Ghassanids came and settled in Gharia and other areas. In Gharia village, there is a significant cultural diversity starting from the stone ages to the Arab Islamic ages wherein temples have been built and dedicated to some Arab gods as the Lord of Fertility and Wine and Baal Shamin Lord of the Heavens.