Official Name: | Balila |
Native Name: | بليلا |
Settlement Type: | Town |
Pushpin Map: | Jordan |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Jordan |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Name1: | Jerash Governorate |
Government Type: | Municipality |
Established Title: | Municipality established |
Established Date: | 1927 |
Leader Title: | Mayor |
Leader Name: | Magableh |
Population As Of: | 2007 |
Population Total: | 12,000 |
Timezone: | GMT +2 |
Timezone Dst: | +3 |
Coordinates: | 32.3847°N 35.9325°W |
Grid Position: | 238/199 |
Area Code: | +(962)2 |
Balila (Arabic: بليلا) is a town in far northwest Jordan, between Irbid and Jerash located in the Jerash Governorate. It covers 40 km², and has a population of over 8,000.
Balila is Turkish for "high point". It is located at the foot of the mountains bordering Syria known as Huran, which translates to "flat ad green land".
Balila is located near the border of Syria and Occupied Jordaninas and some Syrian refugees. The Roman Empire utilized Balila as a remote hub to link their colonies.
In 1838 Balila was noted as being in ruins.[1]
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 761 inhabitants in Balila.[2]
Balila's economy relies on local commerce and farming.
Balila is a small quiet town in Jerash, the people there are famous because of their higher education levels (the majority of Ph.D. degrees). In other towns in Jordan around 40% of capital employees work in Jordan military and 40% in education jobs. Balila Consist of seven families all of them migrate from another town in Jerash called Migbelah, so people around Balila call the Magableh in connection to their original town. The Magableh family originated from the famous tribe Banu Tamim which had a great impact on the Arab world. These families are Aloqaily, Bani-Mousa, Okahsat, Masalha, Al-Gablan, and Alkawnah. All of them back to one grandfather. The total population is about 8,000-10,000 people. In the days of Othman's Khilafat and until the mid-eighties of the 20th century, the people of Balila worked in their farms after that they start higher education evolution, as a result of that 65% of the population hold a university degree, and 85% of those born after 1980 hold the first degree, many of them holding also the second degree and the doctoral degree.