Asia

Syria

The Syrian Arab Republic or Syria is a country in the Levant region of the Middle East. It borders Lebanon to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. Israel occupies the Golan Heights in the southwest of the country, and the dispute with Turkey over the Hatay Province now seems to have subsided. The ancient region of Syria, also known as Greater Syria, has often been taken to include the territories of Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and parts of Jordan, but excluding the Jazira region in the north-east of modern Syria.

Despite hopes for independence, a French mandate over Syria was declared by the League of Nations in 1922. A long struggle ensued and, when the French left Syria in 1946, the country became both a republic and a charter member of the United Nations. Political instability followed the birth of the republic, with one military coup succeeding another. In March 1963 the Ba'ath party came to power and the country began to stabilize. Another coup in 1970 brought to power the then Defence Minister, Hafez El-Asad, who has remained as President to the present day....Syria General Introduction.

Full country name: Syrian Arab Republic
National name: Al-Jumhuriyah al-'Arabiyah as-Suriyah
Area: 71,498 sq mi (185,180 sq km)
Population: 18,448,752 (growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 28.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 29.5/1000; life expectancy: 70.0; density per sq mi: 258
Capital City: Damascus, 2,381,800 (metro. area), 1,861,900
Language: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Ethnicity/race: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Literacy rate: 77% (2003 est.)
Religion: Islam (Sunni) 74%; Alawite, Druze, and other Islamic sects 16%; Christian (various sects) 10%; Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Government: Republic under a military regime since March 1963.
Head of State: Bashar al-Assad (2000)
Head of Government: Muhammad Naji al-Otari (2003)

History of Syria

Archaeologists have demonstrated that Syria was the center of one of the most ancient civilizations on earth. Around the excavated city of Ebla in northern Syria, discovered in 1975, a great Semitic empire spread from the Red Sea north to Turkey and east to Mesopotamia from 2500 to 2400 B.C. The city of Ebla alone during that time had a population estimated at 260,000. Scholars believe the language of Ebla to be the oldest Semitic language. Syria was occupied successively by Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Nabataeans, Byzantines, and, in part, Crusaders before finally coming under the control of the Ottoman Turks. Syria is significant in the history of Christianity; Paul was converted on the road to Damascus and established the first organized Christian Church at Antioch in ancient Syria, from which he left on many of his missionary journeys....More on Syria's History.

Overview of Syria's Economy

GDP: $60.44 billion
GDP per capita: $3,400
Annual Growth: 2.3%
Inflation: 2.1%
Unemployment: 20% (2002 est.).
Major Industries: petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining.
Major Trading Partners: Germany, Italy, UAE, Lebanon, France, Croatia, U.S., China, Turkey (2003).
Exports: $6.086 billion (f.o.b., 2004 est.): crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat.
Imports: $5.042 billion (f.o.b., 2004 est.): machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper.
Natural resources:petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower.

Also Read: Economy of Syria

Political System of Syria

- Government of Syria
- Foreign Relations of Syria
- Political System of Syria


Climate, Vegetation and Fauna

- Language : A spoken language is a human language in which the words are uttered through the mouth.more...
- Culture : Ancient Syria's cultural and artistic achievements and contributions are many. Archaeologists have discovered...more
- People: Ethnic Syrians are of Semitic stock. Syria's population is 90% Muslim--74% Sunni, and 16% other...more
- Religion: Muslims represent an estimated 85% of the Syrian population...more


Facts for the Traveler

Visas and Helath :A valid passport and visa are required to enter Syria. Americans arriving without valid passports and the appropriate visa may not be permitted to enter and will be subject to a fine and immediate deportation at the traveler's expense.more...
Time:.GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from 30 March to 30 September).
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style two-pin plugs.
Country dialing code: 963.
Mobile telephone: GSM 900/1800 network. Network operators include Mobile Syria

Geography

Syria is a country in Southwest Asia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey. Considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity." Throughout its history, Syria's political and economic importance has been largely attributable to its position at the crossroads of three continents and several cultures. Because of its strategic geographic location, Syria continues to be a focus of transit trade among many countries of the Middle East and to be a vital factor in Arab politics and in Arab-Israeli hostilities. more...


What to See in Syria

Major Tourist Attractions in Syria

The South
- Damascus
: The capital of the Syrian Arab Republic is the world's oldest inhabited city. A central feature of this cluttered and clamorous city is the Ummayyad Mosque, entered by passing through the Al-Hamidiyah Bazaar. The history of the mosque in many ways traces the history of Damascus; built on the site of a temple to the ancient Aramean god Haddad, the original temple was adapted and enlarged by the Romans and used as a temple to Jupiter. It was later knocked down by the Byzantines, who replaced the pagan temple with the Cathedral of John the Baptist, which was subsequently converted into a mosque to accommodate the Islamic teachings brought by the Arabs in AD 636. The mosque houses the Tomb of St John the Baptist. The Tikiyeh mosque, built in the mid-16th century, stands out by its two elegant minarets and great dome. The 18th-century Al Azem Palace is now a national museum, where there are, amongst other examples of Islamic art, beautifully illuminated copies of the Koran. Situated in old Damascus, a little way off the famous Via Recta, or the 'Street called Straight', is the House of Hanania, where St Paul hid, using the underground chapel for worship. The church in the Damascus Wall from where St Paul escaped in a basket is also still preserved. Also worth seeing is the Long Souk (market). Other attractions include the Sayyida Zainab Shrine (the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammad), the Tomb of Saladin at the back of the Ummayyad Mosque, and the outskirts of Damascus, especially Dummar, with seasonal entertainment and restaurants. Ghota, the fruit orchards surrounding Damascus, is at its best during the blooming of apricot, plums, cherries and other trees in early spring.

-Bosra: Bosra was the first city in the Syrian Arab Republic to become Muslim and has some of the oldest minarets in the whole of Islam. As a stopover on the pilgrimage route to Mecca, Bosra was a prosperous city until the 17th century. By then the region was becoming unsafe and the pilgrims began to take a less dangerous route further west. Bosra's main attraction is a well-preserved Roman amphitheater (with room for 15,000 spectators) in which a musical festival is held every two years. The eastern exit to the town is one of its last surviving vestiges of a pre-Roman civilization. The remains of an archway dating from the first century - the Nabatean period, of which nearly all traces are now lost - are unique in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Mosque of Omar in the center of the town (called Jami-al Arouss, 'the bridal mosque', by the Bosriots), used to be a pagan temple and now stands as the only mosque surviving from the early-Islamic period that has preserved its original facades.

-Excursions: Further interesting sites include Salkhad, 23km (14 miles) east of Bosra, which has a citadel dating from the time of the Crusades; Al Inat, 26km (15miles) southeast of Salkhad, with its a great reservoir dug out of the rock; and the ruins at Umm Al Qotein, near the Jordanian border.

Central Region
-Palmyra
: This town is set in a desert oasis. The city was ruled by the legendary Queen Zenobia, who stood against the two great empires of the Romans and the Persians. Zenobia was taken captive to Rome when the Emperor Aurelian conquered and destroyed the city in AD 272. The ruins of the Valley of Tombs, the Hypogeum of the Three Brothers, the Temple of Baal and the Monumental Arch, now a world UNESCO Heritage Site, are some of the fine remains found over a wide area of the city, prized as containing some of the most famous monuments to the Classical period in the Middle East.

Other Tourist Attractions in Syria More...

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