What are some facts about Syria?

Answer 1

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• The official name of Syria is 'Syrian Arab Republic'.
• The official language of SyriaisArabic. Apart from that, Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian and French are also spoken there.
• Majority of the people in Syriaare Sunni Muslims, followed by Ismailis, Shiites, Alawite and other Muslim factions, Christians and Druze.
• The main ethnic groups in Syriainclude Arab, Kurd, Armenian, Turkmen, Circassian, Assyrian and Palestinian.
• The currency of Syriais Syrian Pound.
• The capital of Syriais Damascus.
• Syriafollows the system of 'Presidential Republic' (single-party state).
• Syria gained independence from French control, on 17th April 1946.
• In the past, Damascus served as the seat of the Umayyad Empire and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Empire.
• Since 1963, Syria has been governed by the Baath Party and since 1970; a member of the Assad family has served as the head of the state.
• The ancient city of Ebla was the venue of the excavation in which Clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform script, an early form of writing, were found.
• The ancient city of Ugarit (Ras Shamra) was discovered in 1929, while that of Mari was excavated in 1932.
• Ugarit is the place where the oldest alphabet of the world is believed to have originated.
• The citadel of the city of Aleppo is said to be as much as five thousand years old.
• Syria still has remnants of the major roads that were used over four thousand years ago, for connecting Aleppo (Syria) and Ninevah (Iraq).
• Palmyra, known as the 'City of Palm Trees, has its inhabitation dating back to the Neolithic times.
• Damascus has been inhabited for over four thousand years, making it the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world.
• Lattakia, a port in Syria, is believed to be in existence since 400 BC.
• In ancient times Syria used to be a part of the area that is known as the Fertile Crescent.
• It was on the road to Damascus that St. Paul is said to have received a vision, after which he converted from Judaism to Christianity.
• The Roman amphitheatre in Bosra plays host to the Bosra Festival, which is organized every year, in September.
• Bosra was the first city in Syria to convert to Islam.
• Syria remained under Ottoman rule, right from 1516 to the First World War (1914-1918).
• After the end of First World War, Syria came under a League of Nations and became a French Mandate.

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