Syria: Information and History
Syria is in southwest Asia in the heart of the Middle East. The Mediterranean coastal plain is backed by a low range of hills, followed by a vast interior desert plateau. Most people live near the coast or near the Euphrates River—which brings life to the desert plateau. Damascus, capital of this desert country, was built on an oasis and is said to be the world's oldest continuously inhabited settlement.Syrians are mostly Arab, although about 9 percent are Kurds—living mostly in the northeast corner of Syria. Syria's population is about 90 percent Muslim, mostly Sunni—but the Alawite minority (12 percent of Syrians) is politically dominant. The Alawite-controlled Baath (Renaissance) Party has ruled Syria since 1963.
Population: 18,389,000
Capital: Damascus (2,228,000)
Area: 185,180 square kilometers (71,498 square miles)
Language: Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English
Religion: Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) Currency: Syrian pound
Life Expectancy: 70
GDP per CapitaU.S: $3,700
Literacy Percent: 77
DAMASCUS - Minor City Information
(DAMASCUS IS THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY INHABITED CITY IN THE WORLD DATING BACK TO 8000 to 10,000 BC.)
Damascus is a crowded metropolis of 4 million people and is the chief manufacturing and trading center of Syria. Most of the main sites of interest are found in or near the Old City including the workshops that still make Damask silk brocade, carpets, gold and silver filigree jewelry and beautiful inlaid woodwork.Despite rapid urbanization, Damascus still retains some of the many orchards and private gardens that made the city famous. It is a delight encountering groves of apricot, almond and quince growing so close to the noisy heart of a modern city. A specialty of Damascus and a treat not to be missed are crystallized apricots and apricot delights sold in abundance in the city's souqs.In Damascus, past and present mingle at every turn. In a region where a number of cities claim the title of "the world's oldest", Damascus credentials are very impressive. Josephus attributes the building of Damascus to Uz, the grandson of Noah, from whose father, Aram, the Arameans are descended. A settlement of the fourth millennium has been excavated in Tell al-Salihiye and pottery from the third millennium was unearthed in the Old City. In the Ghouta a system of irrigation canals was dug prior to the second millennium BC and were expanded by successive rulers.In the tablets discovered at Tell al-Amarna, in Egypt, Dimashqa is mentioned as being amongst the cities conquered in the 15th Century BC by Tuthmosis III. The Arameans, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Macedonians under Alexander, the Nabateans, Rome and Byzantium all stamped their influence on this great city. Christianity was established in Damascus from the beginning of the religion -- Saul of Tarsus converted to the new faith on "the road to Damascus" -- and flourished under Byzantium. On August 20th, 636 AD the Arabs routed the Byzantine army in the battle of the Yarmouk and entered Damascus a few days after. Apart from the short period of the French Mandate, Damascus has been under Muslim rule ever since. For nearly 100 years Damascus was the political and cultural center of the Islamic world under the Omayyad Caliphate.It was under the Caliph Walid, in 705 that the Great Omayyad Mosque was built, the 4th most important in Islam, and the most splendid and opulent building ever constructed in the Middle East.Other conquerors followed. The Abbasids were replaced by the Seljuk Turks. Nure al-Din captured the city from its Turkoman rulers and under him and his successor Salah al-Din (Saladin of the Crusades fame) the city entered its most illustrious era. The Mongols came and went, followed by the Mameluke Sultans of Egypt, followed by Tamerlane -- who burned down half of the city after looting it and taking the best of its craftsmen captives to Samarkand. In 1516 the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, captured Damascus and for the next 400 years the city was a part of the Ottoman Empire. On October 1st, 1918 troops under General Allenby entered the city and Turkish domination came to an end. The French, who were given the UN Mandate over Syria finally left in the spring of 1946, and Damascus became the capital of the Syrian Republic.The minimum time required to see Damascus is two days but five would be best. The sites that are a must are Souq Hamidiye, the Citadel, Nur al-Din Hospital and Museum, Madrasas Zahiriye and Adiliye, the Tomb of Salah al-Din, and the Omayyad Mosque -- a feature interesting to Christians is the South-East minaret, named Mazanet Souk, the Tower of Jesus. According to Muslim tradition Jesus will descent to earth via this tower to fight the Antichrist before the Day of Judgment. Also the Azem Palace museum and Souq Assagha (the gold market). Do not miss a visit to the Hammam al-Malik al-Zaher (Turkish style steam room, massage room, and bath). Dating from the 11th or 12th century the baths have been completely restored and modernized. They cater only to men. It is one of the few places left in the world where men can still enjoy Arabic coffee and a narghile (water-pipe).
