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Syria - GENERAL INFORMATION
 
Population - Local time - Languages - Religion - Political system - Climate - Tourism - Food



Population



Main Cities Population
Damascus   1,600,000  
Alep   3,035,000  
Homs   1,247,000  
Hama   1,120,000  
Hassak?   1,050,000  
Idlib   922,000  



Total population (millions): 17.8
Source: World Bank 2004

Urban population: 50%
Source: World Bank 2004

Average annual population growth: 2.3%
Source: World Bank 2004

Surface area (km²) : 185,180


Population origin

Origin of the population% Of the population
Arabic90 %
Kurdish 6.5 %
Other 3.5 %




Local time


It is %T:%M %A in Damascus


GMT+2 in winter, GMT+3 in summer


Languages


Official language: Arabic
Spoken languages: Kurdish (spoken in the North and Northeast), Armenian (mainly in Haleb), Turkish (east of the Euphrates) and Aramean (biblical language spoken in the North of Damascus). French is little spoken, English prevails in huge cities.
Business language: Arab, French and English.

Free translation tools in Syria :
Arjeeb
Free English-Arabic-English translation of texts and web pages

Ectaco
Free Arabic-English-Arabic dictionary



Religion


Religious practises : Sunni Muslims 74%
Christians 10%
Others 16% (especially alawites, druzes and jews).


Political system


This country is a socialist and military people's democracy. The Constitution dates from 1973. The Executive power is entrusted to the President of the Republic (elected by universal suffrage for 7 years) and to the President of the Council of Ministers (the Head of State forms the government on proposition of the Prime Minister). As regards to the legislative power, it is held by the Council of the People which is composed of 250 representatives, elected for five years.
Capital: damas.
Head of State: President Bachar-elAssad, since July, 18th of 2000.
Prime Minister: Mohamed Moustafa Mero, since May 2000.


Climate

 


Tourism

Number of visitors in Syria 2002 2003 2004 World rank
Number of visitors (1000) 2870   2788   3032   n.a.
Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005

 

Tourist sites


-In Damascus: old fortified city with the Bab-as-Salama door and the Touma door. There is also the Qala' At fortress of Damascus and the Ommayad Mosque.
- Lattakia is the main port of Syria. The tourist sector shows a sharp dynamism. Beaches must be seen.
At 16 kilometres from Lattakia, there is a famous historic site: Ras-Shamra (headquarters of the monarchy of Ugarit).
-In Aleppo: it is the second biggest city of the country. It is mainly an industrial and commercial area. Do not forget to visit the Aleppo's old citadel, the big Jami'a Zakariyyeh mosque as well as Meolin?
-Crac of the Knights: a 13 towers fortress.
-Palmyre: Ruins of temples. Very tourist site located right in the desert.

For more information about tourism in Syria , check out the following web site(s) :
Ministry of Tourism in Syria


Food


Traditional dishes


The Syrian specialties are very close to the Lebanese, Greek and Turkish ones.
Kubbehs: beef balls stuffed with onions and nuts.
Yabrak: vine leaves stuffed with rice and beef crumbs.
The food is usually rather spicy and very varied.

Food-related taboos


Alcohol is not subject to any limitation except during the period of the Ramadan when it is forbidden to drink alcohol drinks in public places even for non-muslims.

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Last modified in October 2005
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