Turmus Ayya

Infobox Palestinian Authority muni
name=Turmus 'Ayyā


imgsize=250
caption=A mosque and house in town
arname=ترمسعيّا
meaning="Land of the Messiah"
founded=
type=mund
typefrom=
altOffSp=Turmus'ayyeh
altUnoSp=Tourmous Ayyeh
governorate=rb
population=4,600
popyear=2007
area=17,606
areakm=17.6
latd=32|latm=02|lats=09.30|latNS=N
longd=35|longm=17|longs=09.69|longEW=E
mayor=Mohammed Ibrahim
map_type=Israel/Palestinian territories
latitude=32.03
longitude=35.28
mapcaption=Shown within the West Bank

Turmus Ayya ( _ar. ترمسعيّا, _he. תורמוס עיא) is a Palestinian town located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the West Bank. Its surrounding villages are Sinjil (سنجل), Khirbet Abu Falah (خربة ابو فلاح) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of approximately 4,448 inhabitants in mid-year 2006. [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop07.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Ramallah & Al Bireh Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)]

Geography

Turmus Ayya is located approximately 22km northeast of the city of Ramallah. Its jurisdiction is about 18,000 acres (73 km²). Turmus Ayya is 720m above sea level. It is also the northernmost town in the Ramallah District. Turmus Ayya's climate is similar to that of the central West Bank, which is rainy in the winter and hot and humid in the summer.

Education

There are currently three schools in Turmus Ayya. An all-girls school grades first to twelfth, an all boys school grades first to twelfth and a co-ed school for young students in grades first to sixth. There is also a community center which is also a pre-school and kindergarten. While there are many students who attend different universities throughout Palestine, about 50 attend Bir Zeit University and Al-Quds Open University.

Name origin

The name Turmus Ayya was written in the older maps and reference books such as in Mustafa Murad al-Dabbagh's eleven volume encyclopedia entitled “Palestine, Our Land” (1972-1986) as Thorinasia. In al-Dabbagh's encyclopedia series, the name Turmus Ayya is broken into three parts - Tur-Massh-Ayya. "Tur" means mountain, "Massh" indicates the pulp left after compressing the juice from the grapes, and "Ayya" means humid. Others say the name Turmus Ayya consists of two parts, "Terra" which means land in Latin, and "Mesia" which means Messiah, hence Turmus Ayya possibly means "Land of the Messiah" in Latin.

Demographics

The population is predominantly Muslim. In 1596 the population of Turmus Ayya was 216 under the Ottoman Empire. In 1933, the population rose to almost 717 people, in 1942 it rose to 960 people, and in the Jordanian census of 1961, the population was 1,620, of whom seven were Christians. According to the Israeli census of 1967, there were 1,562 people. In 1989 the population grew to 5,140. About 2,500 Turmus Ayya residents currently live there, while 66% of the total registered residents are living in the United States.Fact|date=July 2007 Turmus Ayya residents, like other Arabs, consist or belong to distinguished clans. The original residents of Turmus Ayya usually belong to either of the following clans: "Abu-Awad (أبوعواد), Ijbara (اجبرا), Kük(كوك), Hazama(حزمة) or Shalabi (شلبي)."

Economy

Turmus Ayya's residents mostly rely on agriculture to make a living, farmers depend on olive trees and fruit orchards as a source of income. The main income flowing into Turmus Ayya comes from immigrants supporting and sustaining their town from abroad. Most of those immigrants live in the following non-Arab countries:
USA,
Panama,
Brazil and
Spain.And some others live in Arab countries such as:
Jordan and
United Arab Emirates.

Local services

The town has its own local government, similar to the Board of Supervisors in any city in the United States. This local government oversees the administration of the city and its residents' demands. Water services are provided by the Ramallah Water Systems; electricity is provided by Jerusalem Energy; and phone service is provided by the Palestinian Communications Company. Turmus Ayya has a new hospital on the northern side (al-Muntazah) which is now open 24 hours. There are two mosques in the town. Masjid Abu Bakir Asadeek and the newer mosque Masjid al Farook. However, there is an older mosque that is not used these days which is called Al-Masjid Alqadeem or "the old mosque."