Al-A'la plateau

'the High [land]')[1] is a plateau in central Syria, which rises east of the city of Hama, on the western fringes of the Syrian steppe.

The al-A'la is a plateau which rises close to the city of Hama's eastern outskirts,[2] and west of Salamiyah,[1] and on the western margin of the Syrian steppe.

It is the southernmost (and geographically detached) area of the basaltic rolling hill country which continues northward around 70 kilometers (43 mi) to Jabal al-Hass.

[3] Most of the villages contained a defensive tower, probably to keep watch due to the plateau's high vulnerability to Bedouin raids from the desert.

[4] Other villages with Byzantine-era inscriptions include Danin, Qasr al-Mukharram, Msheirfeh, Tell Dahab, Ali Kasun, Zabada, Taybat al-Turki, Halban, al-Anz, Umm Tuweineh, Ruheibeh, Temek, Kunbus, Sabba and Abu al-Qudur.

[6] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mawali and Bani Khalid tribes had owned many of the A'la's villages and sold them to the urban notable families of Hama, particularly the Kaylani, Barazi and al-Azm.