Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0360/03605.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 16KB | 356 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03605}
$Pretitle{247}
$Title{Syria
Syria}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of Syria, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Syria, Washington DC}
$Subject{syria
mountains
syria's
damascus
river
desert
city
syrian
east
euphrates}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     Syria
Book:        Facts about Syria
Author:      Embassy of Syria, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of Syria, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Syria

OFFICIAL NAME:
Syrian Arab Republic.

GOVERNMENT
Republic.

HEAD OF STATE:
President Hafez Al Assad

CAPITAL:
Damascus.

AREA:
71.500 Sq. Mi.

POPULATION / DENSITY:
12 million: 140/Sq. Mi.

profile:

OTHER URBAN CENTERS
Aleppo. Latakia. Homs. Ha
Turtouis. Banias.

OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS:
January 1. New Year:
March 8. Revolution Day:
March 30. Easter:
April 17. National Day:
July 23. Egyptian National Day:
September 1. Libyan National Day:
November 16. Correction Movement Day.

INTERNATIONAL CODES
Tel: 963: Telex: 942.

MAIN AIRPORTS:
Damascus. Aleppo

MAIN SEAPORTS
Latakia Tartous.

CURRENCY:
Syrian pound (1 SP = $0.11 U.S.).

LANGUAGE:
Arabic. English and French are widely spoken.

GOVERNMENT:
Republic

JOINED ARAB LEAGUE
March 22. 1945.

JOINED U.N.:
October 24, 1955

TIME:
EST +7: GMT -2

RELIGION:
Islam and Christianity

BUSINESS PROCEDURE
Most imports are made through the public sector where state trading
organizations deal with foreign suppliers. However, the private sectors
share has been increasing Agents for the companies must be Syrian firms

commerce and trade:

GNP:
$15.2 billion (1982).

GNP PER CAPITA:
$1.760 (1983)

Overview

     Syria is one of the oldest inhabited lands in the world and a country of
a long and rich history. Its history and geography are intertwined with those
of Lebanon. Jordan and Palestine. These modern states, which were created as a
result of the defeat of the Turkish Empire in World War 1 and the designs of
the then Western Imperialists, were part of "Greater Syria." The present
boundaries were determined primarily by the French and British mandates in the
early 1920s: and in 1946. Syria gained its full independence.

1) The Land

     Syria covers an area of more than 71,000 square miles, making it slightly
larger than the state of Oklahoma. Turkey lies to the north, and Iraq is
situated to the east. Jordan shares Syria's southern frontier, and the
Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon, and Israel border Syria to the west.

     The boundary with Israel has been in dispute since 1967. In that year,
Israeli forces captured strategic hills in south-western Syria called the
Golan Heights. The Israeli government made them part of Israel in 1981. Syria
still claims the Golan Heights as part of its national territory.

Topography

     Syria has four natural land features. A north-south group of mountains
separates a coastal plain from the interior. East of the mountains lie a
fertile plateau and the Syrian Desert.

     The country's narrow coastal plain extends for over 70 miles along the
Mediterranean Sea between Turkey and Lebanon. North of the Syrian port of
Latakia, the shoreline tends to be rugged, with rocky cliffs, while south of
the city, the landscape is more level. Because the coastal plain receives
adequate rainfall, the land is intensely farmed and densely populated.

     Syria's mountains are concentrated in the west and south. Parallel to the
coastal strip is the Jabal al-Nusayriya-a limestone range that reaches its
highest point, about 5,000 feet, at the northern end of the mountain chain.
East of this range lies the Great Rift Valley (also called the Al-Ghab
Depression), through which the Orontes River flows. A giant crack in the
earth's crust created this trenchlike valley, which extends southward far
into the African continent. South of the Jabal al-Nusayriya is a narrow
corridor-the Homs Gap-which has long been a pathway for traders and invaders.

     On the other side of the gap are the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, which mark
the boundary between Lebanon and Syria. The highest peak cin this chain-and in
Syria-is Mount Hermon (9,232 feet), which lies on the border between the two
countries. The Anti-Lebanon Mountains gradually decrease in elevation until
they reach the Golan Heights. In the southwest are the volcanic peaks of the
Jabal al-Arab (formerly the Jabal Druze). The western slopes of these
mountains receive enough rainfall to support cultivated plots. Many Syrians
who belong to the Druze religious sect live in this rocky area.

     Eastern Syria consists chiefly of a grassy plateau and the Syrian Desert.
Irrigation allows farmers to raise much of Syria's food and livestock on the
plateau, which has an average elevation of 2,000 feet. Most of the nation's
farmers work in this region. The Euphrates River (called Al-Furat in Syria)
flows through the northeastern section of the plateau. The waterway helps
to create Al-Jazira-the upper part of the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley,
which stretches into Iraq.

     The Euphrates also forms the northeastern boundary of the Syrian Desert,
which extends into Iraq and Jordan. A roughly triangular land feature, the
desert reaches an average elevation of 2,000 feet above sea level. Syria's
section-which covers most of the nation's southeastern territory-is largely
flat and gently slopes toward the Euphrates. Deep wadis (riverbeds that
carry water only during the rainy season) cut through the desert and also
lead to the Euphrates.

Rivers

     The Euphrates and the Orontes rivers are Syria's most important
waterways. The 2,235-mile-long Euphrates flows from its source in Turkey
through a broad stretch of Syria. Eventually the waterway travels through
Iraq to the Persian Gulf. As it winds through Syria, the river irrigates
farmland and receives the volume of two branch rivers-the Balikh and the
Khabur. Plans are in progress to harness these waterways for hydropower. The
huge Euphrates Dam at Tabaqa redirects water to thousands of acres of once-
uncultivated land. This engineering feat also created Lake Al-Assad-a
30-mile-long reservoir.

     The 335-mile-long Orontes River begins near Baalbek, Lebanon, and enters
Syria south of the city of Homs. Dams at Homs and Hama have rechanneled the
Orontes to irrigate the surrounding countryside. As a result of the Orontes
River, harvests in western Syria are abundant, and local industries have
hydropower to run their operations. After passing through north-western
Syria, the river enters Turkey and then empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

     One other river-the Barada-is of importance to Syria. Beginning in the
Anti-Lebanon Mountains, the Barada flows through the capital city of Damascus
to the desert. The river provides water to the Al-Ghuta Oasis, a fertile area
where the capital stands. Although it becomes a mere trickling stream in the
dry season, the Barada has allowed Damascus to be inhabited for thousands of
years.

Climate

     The climate of Syria varies greatly from west to east. Population centers
and crop farming occur in places where rainfall is plentiful or where
irrigation projects exist. In dry zones, nomads commonly raise livestock.

     Although Mediterranean breezes cool the coastal plain, summers (May
through August) in this region are generally hot and humid, with temperatures
in the eighties and nineties. In winter (November through February),
temperatures along the coast range between 48 degrees and 68 F.

     Jabal al-Nusayriya and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains act as a wall to
moisture-carrying winds that blow in from the Mediterranean. As a result, the
western slopes of these ranges are wetter and cooler than the eastern
elevations. Readings in the western mountains average about 72F in summer and
40F in winter. At the highest altitudes, temperatures frequently drop below
freezing in the winter.

     East of the mountains, the plateau is semi-arid, with hot summers and
cool winters. Temperatures can climb to 104F in the summer, and winter levels
fall to the l