Talbiseh

Talbiseh تلبيسة
Town
Talbiseh (background) and sheep grazing (foreground), 1930s
Talbiseh Location in Syria
Coordinates: 34°50′0″N 36°44′0″E
Country	Syria
Governorate	Homs
District	Al-Rastan
Subdistrict	Talbiseh
Elevation	455 m (1,493 ft)
Population  (2004)
• Total	30,796
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	+3

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Talbiseh (Arabic: تلبيسة, also spelled Talbisa, Tell Bisa, Talbeesa) is a large town in northwestern Syria administratively part of the Homs Governorate, about 10 kilometers north of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Rastan to the north, al-Ghantoo to the southwest and al-Mashrafah to the east. The old town of Talbiseh is situated on an isolated hill. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Talbiseh had a population of 30,796 in 2004. Its inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslims.

Talbiseh is located to the north of Homs in Syria on the international road that crosses Syria from north to south. It is the ancient caravan route. Talbiseh is about 10 km from Rastan. The swamps surrounded it on three sides: south, west and north. The caravan route moved away from it to the west by about 200 meters, avoiding the wide swamps. In some rainy years, pools of water formed west of the road in the form of a shallow lake. This meant that the caravans were crossing a narrow road similar to a strait, which tempted thieves and bandits to raid the caravans, rob and plunder them, and flee.This is what prompted some of them to call the hill “Thief Hill” which was completely empty of people.