Ghab Plain

Before its drainage, the Ghab was the center of the catfish (Silurus glanis) (sallōr or samak aswad) fisheries of the Orontes valley. ==Ghab project==

.The Ghab project began in 1953 and made the area suitable for agriculture, by deploying new irrigation systems. The system included barrages, canal networks for irrigation and canal networks for drainage. Large barrages were built in Mahardah, Zayzun, Qarqur and other villages. The dam at Mahardah, built in 1961, is high, and long and holds of water. The Zeyzoun Dam, built in 1996, was high and held a maximum of of water; it failed in June 2002, leading to the deaths of 22 people and the displacement of over 2,000 as a large hole opened in the embankment and flooded of the countryside downstream. Other advantages of the Ghab project were the improvements in the systems of communication through the building of road and rail networks, previously not possible due to the swamps. In addition, malaria decreased because there was no longer stagnant water. ==Al-Ruj Plain==

Northeast of the Ghab Plain is found another smaller plain, known as al-Ruj Plain (Rouj basin). It is located between the Ghab Plain, and Amouk Plain. This is an agriculturally prosperous enclave just west of the town of Idlib. Many ancient archaeological sites are located there. ==See also==