Turmus Ayya is a Palestinian

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...

 town located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate

Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate

The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of al-Bireh.According to the Palestinian Central...

 in the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

. Its surrounding villages are Sinjil

Sinjil

Sinjil is a Palestinian town located northeast of Ramallah in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank. The village is surrounded by the village of Turmus Ayya and the Israeli settlement of Shilo....

 (سنجل), Khirbet Abu Falah

Khirbet Abu Falah

Khirbet Abu Falah is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located north of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had a population of approximately 4,237 inhabitants in 2007....

 (خربة ابو فلاح) and the Israeli settlement

Israeli settlement

An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...

 of Shilo

Shilo (town)

Shilo is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank, located 28 miles north of Jerusalem on Route 60, next to the Palestinian town Turmus Ayya...

. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....

 (PCBS), it had a population of 3,736 in 2007.

Geography

Turmus Ayya is located 22km (14 miles) northeast of the city of Ramallah

Ramallah

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

. Its jurisdiction is about 18000 acres (72.8 km²). Turmus Ayya is 720m above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. It is also the northernmost town in the Ramallah District. Turmus Ayya's climate is similar to that of the central West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, which is rainy in the winter, and hot and humid in the summer.

Etymology

Turmus Ayya appears in older maps and reference books, such as Mustafa Murad al-Dabbagh's encyclopedia "Palestine, Our Land,” as Thorinasia. The name is broken down into three parts - Tur-Massh-Ayya: Tur means mountain, Massh is the pulp left after squeezing grapes, and Ayya means humid. Alternately, the name might come from the Latin: Terra (land) and Mesia (Messiah), hence "Land of the Messiah."

Education

There are three schools in Turmus Ayya: a girls school (grades 1-12), a boys school (grades 1-12) and a co-ed school (grades 1-6). There is also a community center housing a pre-school and kindergarten.

Demographics

Turmus Ayya is predominantly Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

. In 1596, under the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, the population of Turmus Ayya was 216. In 1933, the population rose to 717 and in 1942 to 960. The 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...

ian census of 1961 found 1,620 inhabitants, including seven Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s. According to an Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i census in 1967, there were 1,562 people. By 1989, the population rose to 5,140. The original residents of Turmus Ayya come from the following clans: Abu-Awad (أبوعواد), Ijbara (اجبرا), Kük(كوك), Hazama/araj(حزمة) or Shalabi (شلبي).

Economy

The economy is based primarily on olive orchards and fruit trees. It is also the home of the Turmus Aya Equestrian Club

Turmus Aya Equestrian Club

The Turmus Ayya Equestrian Club is an equestrian club in the town of Turmus Ayya, between Ramallah and Nablus in the Palestinian territories.The club was founded by Ashraf Rabi in 2007...

.

Local services

Turmus Ayya is governed by a local council. Water is supplied by Ramallah Water Systems; electricity by Jerusalem Energy; and phone service by the Palestinian Communications Company. Turmus Ayya has a new hospital on the northern side of town (al-Muntazah). There are two mosques in the town: Masjid Abu Bakir Asadeek and the newer Masjid al Farook. An older, non-functioning mosque is Al-Masjid Alqadeem ("the old mosque)."