Facts about Syria
The U.S.S.R. supported Syria, and the matter was brought before the United Nations General Assembly in October.
British and free French forces invaded Syria in 1941, and the Free French government recognized Syria’s independence, but the occupation continued.
Some Syrian dishes also evolved from Turkish and French cooking.
Syria consists mostly of an arid plateau, divided into a coastal zone—with a narrow, double mountain belt enclosing a depression in the west—and a much larger eastern plateau.
In 1944, a “Greater Syria” movement began to push for a Syrian Arab state that would include Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel.
The most important river is the Euphrates, which represents more than 80 percent of Syria's water resources, and which rises in Turkey.
Many members of the Lebanese opposition and international observers alleged that Hariri was assassinated by Syria.
Mostly desert, Syria has hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August), and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along the coast, and cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus.
Pompey was a rival of Marcus Licinius Crassus, and at first an ally to Gaius Julius Caesar.
Archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth.
Syria opposed the Iraq War in March 2003, and bilateral relations with the U.S. swiftly deteriorated.
Syria is a middle-income, developing nation with a diversified economy based on agriculture, industry, and energy.
The Government of Syria cut lending interest rates, opened private banks, consolidated some of the multiple exchange rates, and raised prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement.
Syria remained a peaceful and important province, and absorbed the Nabataean kingdom in 106 C.E.
During 1966 and early 1967, Syrian-based guerrilla attacks and Israeli reprisals catalyzed a chain of events leading to the outbreak of the Six-Day War between Israel and the Arab nations in 1967.
On June 16, 2006, the defense ministers of Iran and Syria signed an agreement for military cooperation against what they called the "common threats" presented by Israel and the United States.
In 1939, France ceded to Turkey the former Turkish district of Alexandretta, in which the ancient Syrian capital of Antioch is located.
Syria was occupied successively by Canaanites, Hebrews, Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians.
An estimated 300,000 Syria born Kurds are still denied citizenship.
During the Iran-Iraq War (1980 to 1988) Syria sided with Iran and was thus isolated by the other Arab countries, with the exception of Libya.
About 21,000 Syrian ground forces served with the anti-Iraq coalition in the Gulf War.
Syria operates as a republic under an authoritarian military-dominated regime.
The focal point of Syrian cities, as elsewhere in the Middle East, is the “souk” (marketplace), a labyrinth of alleys, stalls, tiny shops, ancient mosques and shrines.
Syria was one of the earliest centers of Christian hymnody, in a repertory known as Syrian chant, which continues to be the liturgical music of some of the various Syrian Christians.
After the Roman Empire was divided in 395 C.E., Syria remained a Byzantine province for 240 years.
After the surrender of France to Germany in 1940, Syria came under the control of the Vichy government.
At ten percent of the population, they form the largest ethnic minority group in Syria.
The name "Syria" comes from the ancient Greek name for the Syrians “Syrioi,” a shortened form of “Assyria,” which ultimately came from the Akkadian "Assur."
By the end of the fifteenth century, the discovery of a sea route from Europe to the Far East ended the need for an overland trade route through Syria.
There have been accusations, mainly by the U.S. and Israel, that Syria served as a conduit for Iranian arms destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Beginning in 1095, Syria was a target of the Crusades, and sections of the coastline of Syria were briefly held by Frankish overlords in the twelfth century.
Syria participated in the multilateral Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid in October 1991, and during the 1990s engaged in direct, face-to-face negotiations with Israel.
Dishes like shish kebab, stuffed zucchini, yabra' (stuffed grape leaves), shawarma, and falafel are popular in Syria as the food there is diverse in taste and type.
Attacks on Egypt in 1956 by Israel, Britain, and France intensified the growing Syrian resentment towards the West.
Today these industries still prosper, with Syrian brocade and mosaics fashioned according to the artisan tradition of ancient Ebla.
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.E.
Syrian scholars and artists contributed to Hellenistic and Roman thought and culture.
Syria has a small cinema industry, with production entirely in the hands of the state National Cinema Organization, which employs filmmakers as civil servants.
The literacy rate of Syrians aged 15 and older was 76.9 percent for the whole population in 2003.
On June 10, the U.N. ceasefire proposal was accepted and observers were placed between Israeli and Syrian forces.
Most Kurds reside in the northeast corner of Syria and many still speak the Kurdish language.
The Soviet Union agreed to provide construction project aid to Syria over a period of 12 years.
Syria received significant financial aid from Persian Gulf Arab states as a result of its participation in the Persian Gulf War, with a sizable portion of these funds earmarked for military spending.
The territory, which consists of deserts, plains, and mountains, does not coincide with ancient Syria, which was the strip of fertile land between the eastern Mediterranean coast and northern Arabia.
The Syrian armed forces consist of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, the police and the security force.
Syria has 15 governoratess, each of which are divided into 60 districts, which are further divided into subdistricts.
Syria's population is approximately 90 percent Muslim and 10 percent Christian.
Syrian forces fought in the 1948 war between Arab forces and the new state of Israel.
Residential construction of rough concrete and blockwork is usually unpainted, and the palette of a Syrian village is therefore simple tones of greys and browns.
Prominent contemporary Syrian writers include, among others, Adonis, Muhammad Maghout, Haidar Haidar, Ghada al-Samman, Nizar Qabbani and Zakariyya Tamer.
Sizable Kurdish communities live in most major Syrian cities as well.
When the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003, Syria avoided direct involvement, but tried to prevent an exodus of refugees into the country from neighboring Iraq.
The area, and much of western Asia, passed to the Seleucids under Antiochus III and Antiochus IV, and became known as the kingdom of Syria.
Syria joined the Arab League, which was formed to prevent the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.
Syria denounced the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, designed to combat potential communist aggression in the Middle East.
Syrian music, like other Arabic music, is tied to the storytelling tradition and often recounts tales of love, honor, and family.
About one-third of Syria’s land is arable, with 80 percent of cultivated areas dependent on rainfall for water.
In 1946, the independence treaty of 1944 was recognized and French and British troops left Syria, the last leaving April 15, 1946.
More Syrian women are playing sports and taking part in competitions.
Traditional Syrian male attire is the long gown called a “kaftan.” Women wear long robes that cover everything except hands and feet.
Alexander the Great added Syria to his empire in 333 B.C.E., and one of his generals, Seleucus I, who founded Antioch in Ancient Syria (located in Turkey in 2007), continued Greek rule.
In 1975, at the request of the Lebanese government, Syria intervened and became bogged down in the Lebanese Civil War, which continued until October 1990.
Syrian and Israeli frontier forces clashed in 1951 over an Israeli drainage project in the demilitarized zone between the two countries.
Britain broke diplomatic relations with Syria in 1986 and the U.S. imposed sanctions, both accusing Syria of sponsoring terrorism.
Syria has vocational and teacher-training education as well as universities in Damascus, Aleppo, and Latakia.
The Syrian armed forces, comprising some 320,000 troops upon mobilization, is a conscripted force.
French and Syrian leaders had reached agreement on substantial Syrian independence by 1938, but the French government refused to ratify the treaty.
Movies have been made in Syria since the 1920s, and musicals and light comedies were popular until the late 1940s.
Israel drove the Syrians from the Golan Heights and advanced to within 20 miles of Damascus.
The Syrian constitution vests the Arab Baath Socialist Party with leadership and provides broad powers to the president.
Syria offered the world the Ugarit cuneiform, the root for the Phoenician alphabet, which dates back to the fourteenth century B.C.E.
Syrian food mostly consists of Southern Mediterranean, Greek, and Middle Eastern dishes.
The Assyrian Christians are also a notable minority (about three percent) that live in north and northeast Syria.
In 1980 Syria signed a 20-year cooperation treaty with the U.S.S.R. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981.
Syrian writers, many of whom emigrated to Egypt, played a crucial role in the nahda or Arab literary and cultural revival of the nineteenth century.
Their representation in the academic and economic life of Syria far exceeds their percentage of their population.
Israeli forces overran the Syrian positions on the Golan Heights, advanced rapidly, and occupied al-Qunaytirah, only 40 miles (65km) from Damascus.
Modern Aramaic (particularly, Turoyo language and Assyrian Neo-Aramaic) is spoken in the Al-Jazira region.
Syrians have contributed to Arabic literature and music and have a proud tradition of oral and written poetry.
In 1517, Syria fell under the Ottoman Empire, which remained from the sixteenth through twentieth centuries, except for a brief occupation by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt from 1832 to 1840.
In 1973, Syria completed construction of the Tabaqah Dam on the Euphrates River, creating a reservoir named Lake Assad, a body of water about 50 miles (80km) long and averaging eight kilometers in width.
Elections in 1943 brought a new Syrian government under the presidency of the Syrian nationalist Shukri al-Kuwatli.
The bulk of Syrian imports have been raw materials essential for industry, agriculture, equipment, and machinery.
Many educated Syrians also speak English or French, but English is more widely understood.
Arabs conquered Syria in 636, and it was quickly absorbed into the expanding Islamic caliphate.
Despite the recovery of energy export revenues, Syria's economy faces serious challenges.
Considered part of Africa geographically, Mauritius has friendly relations with other African states in the region.
Football (Soccer) is the most popular sport in Syria and is often played by children in the streets.
Syria borders the Mediterranean Sea and Lebanon to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north.
Regarding polygamy, in 1953 Syria passed the Law of Personal Status, which required a man to demonstrate that he could support two wives before marrying the second one.
Christians, a sizable number of which are also found among Syrian Palestinians, are divided into several groups.
The Syrian armed forces, comprising some 320,000 troops upon mobilization, is a conscripted force.
Christian Syrians are highly educated and mostly belong to a high socio-economic class.
The Syrian government objected in 1955 to the creation of the Baghdad Pact, a defensive alliance between Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and Britain.
Syria has produced several pan-Arab stars, often in exile, including George Wasoof and Nur Mahana.
The Syrian Civil War (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية السورية, Al-ḥarb al-ʼahliyyah as-sūriyyah) is an ongoing multi-sided armed conflict in Syria fought primarily between the government of President Bashar al-Assad, along with its allies, and various forces opposing the government.
Ottoman Syria was turned into the short-lived Arab Kingdom of Syria in 1920, which was however soon committed under French Mandate. From 1938 known as a Republic, Syria gained independence in 1946, entering the Arab-Israeli War in 1948, and remaining in a state of political instability during the 1950s and 1960s.
Syria is a traditional society with a long cultural history. Importance is placed on family, religion, education and self-discipline and respect. The Syrian's taste for the traditional arts is expressed in dances such as the al-Samah, the Dabkeh in all their variations and the sword dance.
Syrian cuisine mainly uses eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic, meat (mostly from lamb, mutton and poultry), dairy products, bulghur, sesame seeds, rice, chickpeas, wheat flour, pine nuts, fava beans, lentils, cabbage, cauliflower, vine leaves, pickled turnips or cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, olive oil, lemon juice, ...
Arak is distilled from aniseed, resembles ouzo and is identical to Turkish raki. It is often diluted with water. If you do not drink alcohol, you can find fresh fruit juice made from fruits such as banana, orange, lemon etc. They are particularly widespread in Syria.
Arabic is the official language of Syria. ... Syrian Sign Language is the principal language of the deaf community. Many educated Syrians also speak English and French (especially in Damascus and Aleppo and in the schools Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle and l'École Française) but English is more widely spoken.
Arabic is the official, and most widely spoken, language. Arabic speakers make up 85% of the population (this includes some 500,000 Palestinians). Many educated Syrians also speak English and French.
Syria. West of the Jabal an Nusayreyah, Syria has a Mediterranean influenced climate, characterized by long, hot and mostly dry summers and mild, wet winters.
The Syrian civil war, also known as the Syrian uprising or Syrian crisis (Arabic: الأزمة السورية), is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria. It is a conflict between forces of the Ba'ath government and forces who want to remove this government. ... Protesters in Syria demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad.
In the early 1920s, British and French control of these territories became formalized by the League of Nations' mandate system, and on 29 September 1923 France was assigned the League of Nations mandate of Syria, which included the territory of present-day Lebanon and Alexandretta in addition to Syria proper.