al-Riqama

{{Short description|Town in central Syria}}

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = Al-Riqama

|other_name =

|native_name = الرقاما

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|settlement_type = Town

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|pushpin_map = Syria

|pushpin_label_position =bottom

|pushpin_mapsize =250

|pushpin_map_caption =Location in Syria

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Syria

|subdivision_type1 = Governorate

|subdivision_name1 = Homs

|subdivision_type2 = District

|subdivision_name2 = Homs

|subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict

|subdivision_name3 = Al-Riqama

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|population_as_of = 2004

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|population_total = 3,900

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|coordinates = {{coord|34|31|17|N|36|54|49|E|region:SY|display=inline}}

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}}

Al-Riqama ({{langx|ar|الرقاما}}, 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 al-Naqa further to the north. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Riqama had a population of 3,900 in the 2004 census.[http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB04-6-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130112123920/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB04-6-2004.htm |date=2013-01-12 }}. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. {{in lang|ar}} Its inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.{{cite web|last1=Khalifa |first1=Mustafa |title=The Impossible Partition of Syria |url=http://www.arab-reform.net/sites/default/files/ThematicStudies_Syria_M.Khalifa_October13_Final_Layout_En_0.pdf |publisher=Arab Reform Initiative |date=October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116212653/http://www.arab-reform.net/sites/default/files/ThematicStudies_Syria_M.Khalifa_October13_Final_Layout_En_0.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-16 }}

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.{{cite web|last1=Lotti|first1=Giuseppe|last2=Mecca|first2=Saverio|title=Earthen Domes et Habitats: Villages of Northern Syria, An Architectural Heritage Shared by East and West|url=http://issuu.com/dida-unifi/docs/earthen_domes_and_habitat|publisher=Edizioni ETS}} Al-Riqama had been classified as an abandoned village or khirba by English scholar Eli Smith in 1838.Smith, 1841, p. 175. 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.