What is "jayrud"

Jayrud (; also spelled Jerud or Jayroud; ancient Geroda) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located northeast of Damascus in the Qalamoun Mountains. Nearby localities include ar-Ruhaybah, al-Qutayfah and Muadamiyat al-Qalamoun to the southwest, Yabroud, an-Nabek and Deir Atiyah to the north and al-Qaryatayn to the northeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Jayrud had a population of 24,219 in the 2004 census. The city is also the administrative center of the Jayrud nahiyah which consists of four towns and villages with a combined population of 31,821. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.