BARADA

Greek Chrysorrhoas, river of western Syria. It rises in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and flows southward for 52 miles (84 km) through Damascus to intermittent Lake Al-'Utaybah and its marshes. The Barada sets out peacefully on its course only to become within 20 miles a raging torrent, its volume almost doubled by the Fijah Spring (this spring has been tapped to bring drinking water to Damascus). Without human intervention, the Barada would have cut a deep bed through the Damascus Depression, wasting most of its water. Throughout history humans have cut channels at different levels parallel to the main branch of the river to divert its flow. The channels, of Nabataean, Aramaean, and especially Roman origin, fan out as they reach the edge of Damascus, irrigating an area of about 145 square miles (375 square km). This system, kept in repair over time, has created the Ghutah Oasis (the site of Damascus), an artificial oasis of extreme fertility in what would otherwise have been an arid place.