Ruwaished
Encyclopedia
Ruwaished is a town in the far east of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

. Administratively it belongs to Mafraq Governorate
Mafraq Governorate
Mafraq is one of the governorates of Jordan, located to the north-east of Amman, capital of Jordan. It has a population of 254,219 with a percentage of 4.5% of Jordan's population...

. It has a population of 14,400 (2010 estimate). Ruwaished is the farthest Jordanian settlement to the east. The Karameh Border Crossing
Karameh Border Crossing
Karameh Border Crossing is the only border crossing between Jordan and Iraq.On the Iraqi side it is called the Turaibil Border Compound ....

 between Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 administratively belongs to the Ruwaished Department.

After the war on Iraq in 2003, about 800 refugees fled from Iraq to the Jordanian border, moslty Palestinians and Somalis, where they were allocated in the Ruwaished Refugee Camp in the No man's land between Jordan and Iraq.

Geography

The town is located in Mafraq Governorate
Mafraq Governorate
Mafraq is one of the governorates of Jordan, located to the north-east of Amman, capital of Jordan. It has a population of 254,219 with a percentage of 4.5% of Jordan's population...

 about 240 Km to the east of Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

. Ruwaished has a desert climate with an average annual precipitation of 82.9 mm. About eight wadis converge in the plains of Ruwaished, making it the second largest water basin in the northern desert region after Azraq. the water floods from these wadis in the winter compensate for the low annual precipitation rate of Ruwaished. The town is at an elevation of 683 meters above sea level.
It is also located on the desert highway connecting Jordan to Iraq. The town has a strategic importance from its location as a rest area for travelers to and from Iraq. There is also a military airport in Ruwaished.

History

It is not known exactly when was the Ruwaished basin first inhibited, however existing Roman water dams, such as the Burqu Dam, indicate that the basin has been used as a traffic stop by the Roman
Roman
Roman or Romans may refer to:* A thing or person of or from the city of Rome-History:* Ancient Rome ** Roman Kingdom ** Roman Republic ** Roman Empire...

 and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 imperial armies, and marked the eastern borders of the Byzantine empire, or was part of the Roman vassal states.

During the War on Iraq in 2003, Ruwaished came to world attention, as tens of media correspondents used it as a base for their coverage of the war.

Demographics

The Jordan National Census of 2004 showed that the town of Ruwaished had a population of 12,098, of whom 55.5% were males and 44.5% females. Only 67.5% of the population were Jordanian citizens. Among the Jordanian citizens, 53.4% were males, while males made up 58% of the foreign nationals .

Economy

Agriculture constitutes the backbone of the town's economy.
Due to its location in plains where eight wadis converge, there are several dams built in the Ruwaished basin, to efficiently utilize the winter floods in the wadis:
  • North Ruwaished (Abu Alsafa) Dam: has a capacity of 10.3 million m3.
  • Burqu Dam: Originally a Roman built dam and still in use, has a capacity of about 4 million m3.
  • Shaalan Dam: has a capacity of 1 million m3.
  • Alrisha Alsharqiyya Dam: has a capacity of 2 million m3.
  • Hadlat Dam: The largest dam with a capacity of 20 million m3.
  • Raqban Dam
  • Buwaidha Dam
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