Khirbat al-'Umur

The village stood on a small plateau on the southern slope of a mountain, facing south. Wadi al-Ghadir ran in an east-west direction at the foot of the mountain. A mountain range to the south separated the village land from that of Dayr 'Amr. Dirt paths linked the village to the Jerusalem−Jaffa highway, which passed a short distance to the north, and other dirt paths linked it to neighboring villages. As its name suggested, the village was built next to a khirba; remains in this khirba probably dated to the Byzantine period. During the late nineteenth century Khirbat al-'Umur was described as a small hamlet. The village plan was rectangular and its houses were built of stone. Two main streets intersected at the center of the village, dividing it into four sections. The residents were Muslim. Their drinking water was supplied by several nearby springs, one of which had the same name as the village. The villagers cultivated fruit, olives, and grain, and irrigated some of these crops, especially those in Wadi al-Ghadir, a strip of land stretching along the southern side of the village. In 1944/45 a total of 1,279 dunums was allotted to cereals; 497 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, of which 98 dunums were for olive cultivation.