Deir Ali
Deir Ali is a small town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Deir Ali had a population of 4,368 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the Druze community.
The Arab Gas Pipeline passes through the area and supplies gas to a modern power station in the town; the pipeline junction at the power station links the power grids of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.
The town was historically a village known as Lebaba, and contains the archaeological remains of a Marcionite church. These include an inscription dated to 318 CE, which is the oldest known surviving inscribed reference, anywhere, to Jesus:
