Basuta
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الباسوطة / al-Bāsūṭa Basuta |
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| Coordinates | 36 ° 26 ' N , 36 ° 53' E | ||
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| Country | Syria | ||
| Aleppo | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | SY-HL | ||
| height | 240 m | ||
| Residents | 3000 | ||
 Pomegranate harvest in October at the northern end of the village
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Basuta , Arabic الباسوطة, DMG al-Bāsūṭa , Kurdish Basûtê, is a village south of Afrin in the Aleppo Governorate in northwest Syria .
Basuta is 45 kilometers northwest of Aleppo on the road that leads via Dar Taizzah and the Simeon Monastery to Afrin. It is 12 kilometers to Afrin. The approach to Tell Ain Dara branches off 4 kilometers to the north. A side road leads east into the mountains to the village of Kimar. The place with about 3000 inhabitants is located on the edge of the northern Syrian limestone massif , at the transition from the fertile Afrin valley to the Lelun range of hills (Jebel Siman) on the east side with barren soils interspersed with limestone.
The river valley is more densely populated and the villages in the plain are more prosperous here than in the hilly areas due to agriculture with field irrigation. Grain, cotton , melons and other vegetables are planted along the Afrin, while olives thrive in higher elevations . Basuta is surrounded by pomegranate plantations. The place has its own karst spring in the eastern hills, from which water is drawn to the main road to a fountain. The restaurants there are popular with holiday trippers.
The majority of the region's population is Kurds . According to written sources, the history of Basuta goes back to the Ayyubid period in the 12th century, when a citadel was first mentioned on a small rocky hill. During the Ottoman Empire , Kurdish local princes controlled the region from the castle. In the 19th century the local families lost their influence at the expense of the central government. At that time the castle was already in ruins. At the beginning of the 20th century, most of the remains were removed and used to build houses. Only a few foundation stones of the castle remained.
Basuta is not to be confused with Batuta, a place a few kilometers northeast of Dar Taizzah in the mountains.