worldwidewandering - a travel atlas / Discuss

worldwidewandering    says:

-- from jonwild - (?)

Capital: Damascus
Languages: Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian
Ethnic Groups: Arab 90%, Kurdish, Armenian, and other 10%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim 16%, Christian 10%
Monetary Unit: Pound (SYP 760)


from derAmialtebloede

Large Map

Syria (Arabic: سوريا ‎or سورية ), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية ), is a country in the Middle East, bordering Lebanon to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. The modern state of Syria attained independence from the French mandate of Syria in 1936, but can trace its historical roots to the fourth millenium BC; its capital city, Damascus, was the seat of the Umayyad Empire and a provincial capital of the Mameluke Empire.

Syria has a population of 19 million, of whom the majority are Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims, as well as 16% other Muslim groups, including the Alawi, Shi'a, and Druze, and 10% Christian. Since 1963 the country has been governed by the Ba'ath Party; the head of state since 1970 has been a member of the Assad family. Syria's current President is Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled from 1970 until his death in 2000.

Historically, Syria has often been taken to include the territories of Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and parts of Jordan, but excluding the Jazira region in the north-east of the modern Syrian state. In this historic sense, the region is also known as Greater Syria or by the Arabic name Bilad al-Sham (بلاد الشام ). Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has occupied the Golan Heights to the southwest of the country; a dispute with Turkey over the Hatay Province has subsided...more
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On flickr:
• Syria
• Syria Republic
• Syria, historical sites.
• Natural Syria
• Middle East
• Arabia
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Other Forums:
• Lonely Planet Thorntree: Syria

Originally posted at 10:30PM, 5 October 2006 PDT (permalink)
worldwidewandering edited this topic 49 months ago.