Location:
Turmusaya is located 22
kilometers at the northeast of the city of Ramallah in
the occupied Palestine. It is about 18,000 acres in size.
Turmusaya is 720M above the sea level. It is also the last
village in Ramallah County from the northern side of the
region. The closest house from the Jerusalem-Nablus highway
is less than 100 meters away. Turmusaya is surrounded by the
village of SINGIL from the west, ABU FALAH from the east,
AL-MAZRA'A AL-SHARKEEAH from the south, and to the north is
KARIUT which is located in Nablus county.
Climate:
Turmusaya's
climate is similar to that of central Palestine, which is
rainy in the winter and hot and dry in the summer.
Origins of the
Name:
The name
Turmusaya was written in the older maps and books such as
the DABAGH series as THORINASIA. In DABAGH's book,
"Palestine is our Land" the name Turmusaya is broken into
three parts TOR-MASHh-AYYA. TOR means mountain, MASHh
indicates the grape pulp left after squeezing the juice from
them, and AYYA means humid. Others say the Name Turmusaya
consists of two parts, TERRA which means land in Latin, and
MESIA which means THE CHRISTIAN, or the LAND OF THE
CHRISTIAN.
Population:
Turmusaya is entirely
Muslim. In 1596 the population of Turmusaya was 216 under
the OTTMAN empire. In 1933, the population rose to almost
717 people, in 1942 it rose to 960 people, and in the
Jordanian census of 1961the population was 1620 people,
seven were Christians. The Israeli Occupation government
took their own census in 1967 and found there was 1562
people. In 1989 the population grew to 5140 people. 2500
Turmusaya residents currently live there while 66% of the
total population are living in the U.S.
Economy:
Turmusaya'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 Turmusaya comes from
immigrants supporting and sustaining their village from
abroad.
Local Service
Provided:
The village has it's own local government, similar to the
board of supervisors in any city in the US. This local
government oversee the administration of the city and it's
residents demands. Turmusaya has 2 schools for boys and one
girl's school. 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. Turmusaya has a new hospital on the
northern side (Al-Muntazah). |
