Al-Riqama

Al-Riqama (, also spelled ar-Raqamah) is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located 34 kilometers southeast of Homs. Nearby localities include Dardaghan to the southwest, Shayrat to the southeast and Tell Annaqa further to the north. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Riqama had a population of 3,900 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.
Many of al-Riqama's inhabitants work in agriculture, cultivating dry cereals, grapes and almonds in irrigated fields, and raise sheep. The town's traditional houses are built from stone and have wood roofing. Al-Riqama had been classified as an abandoned village or "khirba" by English scholar Eli Smith in 1838. The town contains ruined historic structures noted for the dominant cone-shaped dome roofs. The structures have square bases with two-meter-high walls and are built from red mud brick.