Country Information on Syria 

Terrain

The Syrian coast is a fertile, narrow plain that is about 190 km long. Parallel to it is a range of coastal mountains, the Jabal an Nusayriyah. The Anti-Lebanon Mountains, which include Mount Hermon (2,814 m), the highest elevation in Syria, are situated in the south, forming the border with Lebanon. The mountain range tapers off towards the south west to become the Golan Heights. The rest of the country is composed of a broad plateau and a large desert.

Climate

Syria has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The climate inland is drier and inhospitable. On the coast, average daily temperatures range from 29°C in summer (July) to 10°C in winter (January). On the plateau, temperatures may rise to 35°C in summer and 12°C in winter, while in the desert temperatures of up to 46°C are not uncommon.

Fauna/Flora

Very little remains of the mountain vegetation that used to exist in the region. Yew, lime and fir trees are still found. Elsewhere, crops are grown. Wolves, hyenas, foxes, badgers, wild boar, jackals, deer, bears, squirrels and polecats are all found Syria.

History/Politics

Ancient Syria was inhabited by the Phoenicians. Over the centuries, Phoenicia was conquered by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Seleucids, until 64 BC when it fell to Rome. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Phoenicia became part of the eastern Christian Empire and in the 7th century AD it was conquered by the Arabs. In the 10th century, the Crusaders incorporated it into the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Saladin, the Egyptian sultan, gained control in the 12th century and at the beginning of the 16th century, it became part of the Ottoman Empire.

It remained under the Ottomans for four centuries. In 1840, social conflicts occurred, which the European powers turned religious, in order to justify their intervention and divide the country into two autonomous countries, Syria and Lebanon.

In the early years of the 20th century, there were nationalist movements against the Ottomans, which led to the Arabs supporting the Allies during the First World War, in exchange for the promise of independence. In 1920, the Allies gave France a mandate over Greater Syria which then included Lebanon. Soon afterwards, there were armed uprisings. Despite great hostility, Syria declared its loyalty to France during the Second World War.

Despite the promise of independence, France retained their protectorate over Syria at the end of the war, leading to uprisings, which only ended when the British army intervened. A year later, French troops pulled out of the country and in 1947 the United Nations declared the mandate to have ended. Political independence was followed, a few years later, by a series of social and political conflicts on a national and regional scale, in particular with the Jewish State of Israel.

In 1958, a plebiscite led Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic (UAR). However, Egyptian dominance led to strong opposition to the UAR and in September 1961, Syria proclaimed its independence.

The country remained politically unstable and incidents with Israel continued over the years that followed. This resulted in the Six Day War, during which parts of Syrian territory were occupied by Israeli troops. There was renewed armed conflict with Israel in 1973, the Yom Kippur War, and another in 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon.

Throughout the 1980s, internal politics were scarred by conflicts between the government and an Islamic fundamentalist group which had already tried to unite Syria and Iraq to form a single state. Various groups of Sunnis had united to show their support of a democratic and pluralistic state. In 1986, the United States accused Syria of promoting international terrorism, although relations improved in 1990 when Syria joined the international coalition which took part in the Gulf War.

Over the years that followed, the Syrian government strove to normalise relations with Israel, Turkey and Jordan and recognised Lebanon as an independent country. President Hafez al-Assad died on 10 June 2000 and was succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad, who faced a series of international conflicts. One of the most significant was the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon, which were finally withdrawn in April 2005 after serious protests from the Lebanese people.

Economy

Syria is mainly an agrarian country. Most of its population work in agriculture and rear animals for subsistence. The main sectors of the economy (heavy industry, the insurance and services sector) are still state-controlled, whilst others (such as banking, food processing, the production of textiles and pharmaceuticals) have gradually opened to the private economy. Despite the fact that the Syrian economy is increasingly dynamic, it still depends on income from petroleum and external aid. In 2003, the unemployment rate was 20% and inflation was 1.5%.

Culture

Ancient and classical settlements are found throughout Syria, which bear witness to the times of the Muslim caliphs, the Romans and the Byzantines. There are also religious works left behind by the Crusaders. Towards the end of the 10th century, Syria was at the centre of one of the greatest periods in the history of Arab poetry. The most notable writers of that time were Al-Mutanabbi and Abu Firas al-Hamdani.