Qastun and Tell Qastun

Qastun is a town in the north-east of the Ghab Plain, on the east bank of the Orontes and at the western foot of Jabal al-Zawiya. What draws attention is the mound that carries its name, one of the largest and oldest in the Ghab. The ancient settlement is identified with the Aramaean Iron Age town of Qattun, or Qatan. There is no record of a standing building on the mound; what you see is the hill itself and its surroundings.

Where it is and how to get there

Qastun lies 4 kilometres east of al-Ziyarah, about 80 kilometres from Hama and 35 from Idlib. A short paved side road links it to the eastern Ghab road. Tell Qarqur is 7 kilometres to the north-west. The town was on the front line until December 2024, and no recent source on access could be found. Ask in Hama before setting out.

What is on the mound

The ancient site covers about 16 hectares and is split between two parts, Qastun al-Gharbi and Qastun al-Sharqi. The eastern mound rises 25 metres above the surrounding land along the Qastun stream, one of the tributaries of the Orontes. Coins from different periods and plain and painted pottery have been found on the surface.

Qastun in history

In the Roman period the place was called Qastiyun. The geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi passed through in 1225 and described it as “a fortress in the district of al-Ruj, in the province of Aleppo”. In 1271, during the war between the Mamluks and a Mongol-Armenian alliance, a Mongol force of some 1500 men raided the village, killing and plundering its Turkoman inhabitants. In spring 1298 al-Muzaffar III Mahmud, the Ayyubid ruler of Hama, set out to conquer Cilicia. His army got as far as Qastun before it was recalled to Aleppo.

What the town has today

A tall dovecote rises among the olive groves. The Qastun dam east of the town holds 27 million cubic metres of water and drew day-trippers before the war. In June 2002 the nearby Zeyzoun dam collapsed, and the flood destroyed or damaged hundreds of houses in Qastun and the neighbouring villages. The 2004 census counted 6187 people.