Category: Syria

Syria is located in the Middle-East and officially known as Syrian Arab Republic. The country is bordered by Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Turkey. Damascus is the capital of Syria and other major cities of Syria are Aleppo, Metropolitan Damascus, Hama, Homs, Idleb, Dayr al-Zur, al-Hasakeh, Dara, al-Raqqa, Tartus, Aleppo and Latakia. The largest city in Syria is Damascus. Geography of Syria consists of coastal mountains, plains and inland steppe area. Syrian Desert is situated in east and Jebel Druze Range is in South. Mount Hermon is the tallest point of Syria situated on the border of Lebanon.

During ancient days, Syria was under the rule of Egypt and after Egypt it was the turn of Assyrians, Persians, Alexander the Great, Chaldeans and Hebrews. Syria was under the rule of Roman Empire from 64 BC till the conquest of Arabs in AD 636. The country was invaded by Mongols in 1260 and then under Ottoman Empire till First World War. Syria is now a republic with President, Vice Presidents, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Syria consists of fourteen governorates which are divided into sixty districts and these districts are divided again into sub-districts. The economy of Syria depends up on oil, industry, agriculture and tourism.

Total population of Syria is about 21 million with a growth rate of 2.37%. The main ethnic groups in Syria are Kurds, Circassians, Armenians, Turkomans and Arabs. Of these groups, 90% of the population is Arabs and the remaining consists of other groups. Major religion of Turkey is Islam consist of 87% of the population and among the Muslims, 74% are Sunnis and remaining 13% are Shia Muslims. Other religions are Christians and Druze. The official language of Syria is Arabic and most spoken language is Syrian Arabic. In Kurdish regions, Kurdish is the language spoken.

There are several places of interest in Syria for the tourists. South Damascus, the capital of Syria is the oldest city in the world and some of the popular attractions of the city are Ummayyad Mosque, Al-Hamidiyah Bazaar, Al Azem Palace of 18th century, Tomb of Saladin, Sayyida Zainab Shrine and Tikiyeh mosque. Bosra is the Roman city of South Syria with famous tourist destinations such as Roman amphitheater, Mosque of Omar and ruins of Umm Al Qotein. Crac des Chevaliers is a Crusader castle which is preserved beautifully. Dead cities are a range of towns which were the part of Antioch. Serjilla is a popular dead city and Al Bara is another dead city with pyramidal tombs.

Palmyra is a tourist destination where you find the ruins of Roman city situated in a desert oasis and it is listed as the World Heritage site by UNESCO. The Great Temple of Bel, Monumental Arch, Hypogeum of Three Brothers and Valley of Tombs are remains found in this city. Aleppo has a massive Citadel situated on a site in Hittite acropolis which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Latakia is the principal port and holiday resort of the country.