Kafr Takharim

Kafar Takharim
كفر تخاريم
Town
Kafar Takharim
Coordinates: 36°6′59″N 36°30′53″E / 36.11639°N 36.51472°E / 36.11639; 36.51472
Country Syria
GovernorateIdlib
DistrictHarem
SubdistrictKafar Takharim
Control Syrian transitional government
Population
 (2004)
  Total
10,084
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Kafr Takharim (Arabic: كَفْر تَخَارِيم, romanized: Kafr Takhārīm, also spelled Kafar Takhareem or Kfar Takharam) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located in the north of Idlib. Nearby localities include Harem to the north, Salqin to the northwest, Abu Talha to the west and Armanaz to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Kafr Takharim had a population of 10,084 in the 2004 census. The town is also the administrative center of the Kafr Takharim nahiyah which consists of nine villages with a combined population of 14,772. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.

There are several opinions about its name. The first: Father Shalhat believes that its name is from Aramaic and its origin is (Kafr Harma) meaning: the village of Harem. Harem is from Aramaic and means: sanctuary, prohibition and vow. As for the meaning of (Dahrma), the letter dal is an addition tool, and (Harma) means to deviate from the path taken. As for the second opinion: as some of its people claim: that its name came from (Kaf al-Khairin). As for the third opinion: that its name is from Kafr Takharim, and this word is composed of two parts: (Kafr) which means farm, and (Takharim) which is the plural of Takhrim, which is the cleft or cut, and its plural is Takharim. Thus, its name becomes: (the farm of the valleys). This applies to the reality of its topography completely.