Oldest woman in the Middle East? Syrian woman shows ID from 1901 – in pictures
Centenarian Noura Heimish, centre, poses for a family picture at her home. She has spent her life in Umm el-Ris, a rural village in Idlib, north-western Syria. Idlib is one of the last remaining rebel-held parts of the country.
Heimish holds up her ID card. Her year of birth is stated as 1901, indicating she is about 120 years old. She says that, like many people at the time, she received a formal identity document only when she turned 18. A neighbour whose own official record of birth confirms he is a centenarian can recall Heimish as a young woman and that she held him when he was a baby.
Here, Heimish listens to her daughter Khadijeh Shoueib as her grandson Abdo Nahar clips her nails.
Heimish lost her parents early and was raised by an uncle. To make ends meet, she worked as a shepherdess, then became a midwife.
She has about 300 descendants with her husband, who died 60 years ago.
She was an active member of her community when younger and helped her fellow villagers, even having the local mosque built.
