Location and Geography
The terrain in Syria is mostly desert and home to drought resistant plants such as myrtle, boxwood, and wild olive.
There is also very little wildlife in Syria. Remote areas have wolves, hyenas, and foxes
The desert has lizards, eagles, and buzzards.
The Euphrates River passes through Syria supplying more than 80 percent of the country's water.
Demography
The Population as of 8:45 Sunday October 30th 2016 is
18,563,595
Linguistic Affiliation
Arabic is the official language and over 90% of the population speaks it.
Kurdish, Armenian, and Circassian also are spoken.
History and Ethnic Relations
Emergence of the Nation.
This modern day nation emerged from Sham, and area that historically included Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. Between 2700 and 2200 B.C.E this area was the Ebla Kingdom. This area was then conquered by the Persians around 500 B. C. E.
The Greeks also took it over in 333 B.C.E. The Romans took over in 64 B.C.E. , and established a fortress at Palmyra whose remains still stand in the desert.
Muslim Arabs conquered Damascus in 635 C.E.
Around the start of 1095 Syria was a target of the Crusades, but the Arabs ultimately defeated the Christian invaders. The Turkish Ottoman Empire took control in 1516 and ruled the area for four hundred years. That era ended in 1920 after World War I.
The French took over Syria and Lebanon.
The French drew a straight-line border to separate this territory from British-ruled Transjordan. There was a brief insurrection in 1925 and 1926, which the French put down by bombing Damascus. Syria had its first parliamentary elections in 1932. The person who was elected was Muhammad. Then in 1941 Khalid al-Azm took office.
Then in 1951 Adib Shishakli became president.
In 1958 Gamal Abdel Nasser became president.
Hafez al-Assad, the leader of a radical wing of the Arab Socialist party, the Baath, seized control in 1971.
He cracked down hard on dissent and in 1982 killed thousands of members of the the Muslim Brotherhood opposition organization. In 1992, he won his fourth consecutive bid for election with 99.9 percent of the vote. During the Gulf War in the early 1990s, the country aligned itself with the anti-Iraq coalition, thus winning the approval of the United States and removing itself from the United States' government's list of nations supporting international terrorism. Hafez al-Assad died in June 2000.
Hafez's youngest son took his place. Bashar al-Assad
Ethnic Relations
Most of the people in Syria are Sunni Muslim.
Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space
The focus point with every Middle Eastern country is the marketplace, a labyrinthine space of alleys, stalls, and tiny shops that also include ancient mosques and shrines. Traditionally, the residential quarters of a city were divided along ethnic and religious lines. Today, this system has been largely replaced by divisions along class lines, with some good neighborhoods and some bad ones. Damascus is an ancient city, and along with Aleppo one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world.
The Great Omayyad Mosque, which dates back to the early days of Islam, is one of its oldest and most famous buildings.
It served as a Byzantine church honoring St. John the Baptist and was constructed on the site of an old temple to pre-Islamic gods. The walls are lined with marble and overlaid with golden vines. Six hundred gold lamps hang from the ceiling. The city is home to ruins as well as intact buildings that date back thousands of years. These structures are located in the area called the Old City. Damascus is also a city of cars, highways, and tall modern buildings made of reinforced concrete. Aleppo, although smaller, is equally ancient. It is geographically protected by its elevation and rocky terrain, and traces its history back to its days as a fort.
Today Aleppo is the nation's second largest urban center and most industrialized city. It engages in silk weaving and cotton printing as well as the tanning of animal hides and the processing of produce.
Other cities include Latakia, the country's main port, and Homs and Tartus, both of which have oil refineries.
In villages, houses present a closed front to the outside world, symbolizing the self-contained family unit. They are small, usually with one to three rooms, and are built around an enclosed central courtyard. Traditional rural houses in the northwest are mud structures that are shaped like beehives. In the south and east, most houses are made of stone. The nomadic Bedouin, who live mainly in the south and east, sleep in tents that are easily transportable.
In 1960, 30 percent of the population lived in cities; in 1970, that proportion was 46 percent.
Food and Economy
Food in Daily Life.
Wheat is a main crop and one of the staple foods.
Vegetables, fruits, and dairy products also are eaten.
Lamb is popular, but most people cannot afford to eat meat on a regular basis.
Islam proscribes the consumption of pork, and other meats must be specially prepared in a method called halal cooking.
Olives, lemon, parsley, onion, and garlic are used for flavoring.
Tea is very popular in Syria and is consumed at social gatherings.
Soda is very popular in Syria,
Milk is very popular too.
Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions.
Food is an very important part of many celebrations
Basic Economy.
The country almost all of it's food needs.
Land Tenure and Property.
Before freedom, urban landlords controlled in the countryside often mistreating peasants and denying them any rights.
Trade.
Syria's primary trading partners are Germany, Italy, and France.
Although Syria is not as rich in oil as other Middle Eastern nations, oil is the main export, and the exploration for deposits continues.
Other exports are cotton, fruits and vegetables, and textiles.
Division of Labor.
People can choose there own career but they might be limited by their Gender, family, social pressure or economic hardship.
Social Stratification
Symbols of Social Stratification.
Televisions and Radios are very common in Syria except the extremely poor
Appliances such as air conditioners, dishwashers, and microwaves are only for the wealthy.
Political Life
Military Action
Syria has armed forces with 408,000 members. This includes an army and an air force but no navy.
Medicine and Health Care
The Healthcare system in Syria is very poor but is improving.
Secular Celebrations
The major secular holidays are New Year's Day on 1 January, Revolution Day on 8 March, and the anniversary of the formation of the Arab League, 22 March. Syrians celebrate Martyrs Day in memory of the nation's heroes on 6 April; National Day (also known as Evacuation Day, celebrating independence), on 17 April; and the Day of Mourning on 29 November.
The Arts and Humanities
Literature
There is a long literary tradition that dates back to poets such as al-Mutanabbi in the 900s and al-Maarri in the 1000s.
Perhaps for this reason, poetry and the short story are widely read and appreciated, represented by writers such as Nizar Qabbani, Shawqi Baghdadi, and 'Ali Ahmad Sa'id.
There are few women in the ranks of well-known Arab writers, but one of them is Ghada al-Samman, who was born in 1942.
Graphic Arts.
Jewelry, brass, copper, plates, and bowls are some of the popular metalwork that is made in Syria.
Mosaic woodworking is also practiced and is used in the construction of boxes, trays, tables, desks, and game boards.
Damascus is a center of glassblowing and fabric production, including the silk brocade called damask, which was named for the city.