Yabroud يبرود Jabrud
City
Streetview
Yabroud Location in Syria
Coordinates: 33°58′N 36°40′E / 33.967°N 36.667°E / 33.967; 36.667
Country	Syria
Governorate	Rif Dimashq
District	Yabroud
Subdistrict	Yabroud
Control	Syrian opposition
Elevation	1,550 m (5,090 ft)
Population  (2004 census)[1]
• City	25,891
• Metro	~50,000
Area code	12

Yabroud or Yabrud (Arabic: يَبْرُود, romanized: Yabrūd) is a city in Syria, located in the Rif Dimashq (i.e. Damascus' countryside) governorate about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of the capital Damascus. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Yabroud had a population of 25,891 in the 2004 census.^[1]

Jabroudian caves were discovered in the area in 1930. During the Syria Civil War the area was controlled by rebels from 2011 to 2014, before being retaken by government forces.

The city is known for its ancient caves, most notably the Iskafta cave (where, in 1930, a thirty-year-old German traveller and self-taught archeologist Alfred Rust made many important pre-historical findings),^[2] which dates back to a period known as Jabroudian culture, named after Yabroud;^[3] and the Yabroud temple, which was once Jupiter Yabroudis's temple but later became "Konstantin and Helena Cathedral". Yabroud is home of the oldest church in Syria.^[4]

Yabroud was mentioned in the pottery tablets of Mesopotamia in the 1st century B.C., and Ptolemy's writings in the 2nd century A.D.^[5]

In 1838, its inhabitants were Sunni Muslim, Melkite Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christians.^[6]

During the Syrian Civil War the city was the center of the Battle of Yabroud in March 2014.^[7] The city was held by rebels from 2011 to 2014, before being retaken by Ba'athist Syria and was one of the last places the rebels controlled in the Qalamoun Mountains along the Lebanese border.^[8][9]

• The parents of former President of Argentina Carlos Menem were both born in Yabroud; they emigrated to Argentina before the end of World War I.
• Antun Maqdisi (1914–2005), a Syrian philosopher, politician and human rights activist, died in Yabroud.
• Gregory Atta lived for a time in Yabroud
• Youssef Halaq (1939–2007), a Syrian writer and literary translator.
• George Haswani, Syrian-Russian businessman.
• Saeed Alnahhal, Syrian-Swedish journalist.^[10]

• 
  Iskafta cave
• 
  Overview of Yabroud

33°58′N 36°40′E / 33.967°N 36.667°E / 33.967; 36.667