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Queiq

The 883rd longest river in the world

km

The Queiq (Modern Standard, Quwayq, [quˈwajq], northern Syrian ʾWēʾ, [ʔwɛːʔ]), is an endorheic river and wadi of the Aleppo Governorate, Syria and Turkey. It is a 129 kilometres (80 mi)-long river that rises from the Taurus Mountains, flowing parallel to the Euphrates through the Aintab Plateau, along the western rim of the Matah Depression, and running through the northern Syrian city of Aleppo before pouring into the plains and swamps south of the city. The evidence from Ford, Pratt, and McGowwan’s 19th-century investigations shows that its waters come from copious springs near Aintab which would naturally flow into a branch (the Sağun) of the Euphrates basin. Instead, the Romans diverted these waters artificially, channeling them southwards through aqueducts to supply the Silk Road city of Aleppo. The aqueducts then flow into a natural wadi that, after merging with the Akpınar stream near Kilis, carries them towards Aleppo and the ancient city of Qinnasrin. This Queiq valley has been occupied for thousands of years and in ancient times was noted for its flint industries and pottery. The etymology of the term refers to the croaking sounds of frogs, a common animal on the banks of the stream and a medieval European luxury food item. In antiquity, it was known to the Greeks as the Belus in (Ancient, Bēlos), often translated as the Chalos an

Flows through: Syria.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.

Other major rivers

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  2. Nile6,650 km
  3. Yangtze River6,300 km
  4. Bian River5,806 km
  5. Yellow River5,464 km
  6. Paraná River4,880 km
  7. River Congo4,700 km
  8. Mekong River4,350 km