Syrian flag
Basic facts of Syria
Official name: Syrian Arab Republic
Capital: Damascus
Area: 185,180 sq km, 71,498 sq mi
Population: 19,747,586 (2008 estimate)
Population growth rate: 2.19 percent (2008 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution:
Share urban 50 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 50 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities: Damascus, Ḩalab, Ḩimş, Al Lādhiqīyah, Ḩamāh
Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian; French widely understood.
Religious affiliations:
Muslim 86 percent
Christian 10 percent
Druze 3 percent
Other 1 percent
Life expectancy:
Total 70.9 years (2008 estimate)
Female 72.3 years (2008 estimate)
Male 69.5 years (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate:
Total 78.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 66.1 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 90.6 percent (2005 estimate)
Form of government:Republic
Total number of military personnel: 307,600 (2004)
Introduction:
Syria, officially Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah (Syrian Arab Republic), republic in southwestern Asia, bounded on the north by Turkey, on the east by Iraq, on the south by Jordan and Israel, and on the west by Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. Syria has an area of 185,180 sq km (71,498 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Damascus, also spelled Dimashq.
Damascus, Syria
Damascus is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. The city is believed to have been the capital of an ancient Egyptian city-state and has long been an important trading center. Today, modern buildings such as the State Bank of Syria, shown on the right, stand beside historic squares.
Trade and Culture in Damascus
The Syrian capital of Damascus (Dimashq) is one of the world's oldest cities. Built on an oasis along the Nahr Baradá, the city skirts the Syrian Desert in the country's southwest. For centuries, Damascus has served as a crossroads for Arab traders and is still the last stop for travelers heading east across the desert and the first for those returning. Syria's largest city, Damascus is also the nation's cultural, political, and economic center.
Damascus's Great Mosque
The cupolas of the Umayyad Mosque, or Great Mosque, stand as reminders of the former glory of old Damascus (Dimashq). Built on the ruins of the Christian Church of Saint John the Baptist between 705 and 715, the mosque was restored in the 15th century and again in the 19th century. The mixture of Byzantine and Muslim architectural styles is a reminder that both Christians and Muslims once worshiped under its roof.