.

OFFICIAL NAME: Syrian Arab Republic

CAPITAL: Damascus

(AREA: 185.180 km2 (71.500sq. miles

( POPULATION: 20 million ( 2009 census

.CLIMATE: A Mediterranean climate with four distinct seasons

:TRAVEL INFORMATION ENTRY FORMALITIES
A valid passport with entry visa. Any amount of foreign currency could be
brought into Syria. However, the sum of foreign currency allowed out should
.not exceed the amount brought in
Tourist groups coming through their local travel agency can obtain their free of
.charge visas from the airport or any other border

:HOW TO GET THERE

By land: Syria is connected by highways with Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and
.Turkey
By Sea: Through the two seaports of Latakia and Tartus on the
.Mediterranean
By Air: Damascus, the main gateway to Syria, Aleppo and Latakia are
connected with all continents by the national carrier (Syrianair) and major
.international airlines
Currency Unit: Syrian Pound = 100 piasters
.U.S. Dollar = 51 S.P 1

You are where history's voice can be heard, where the soil holds the imprints of
the world's oldest civilizations, some dating back to the fourth millenium BC. The
names of sites evoke the story of mankind at its beginnings: Mari, Ebla, Ugarit,
Amrit, Apamea, Doura-Europos, Palmyra, Bosra, Damascus, Aleppo, Hama,
…Latakia

Agriculture first appeared in Syria thousands of years ago, when man discovered
the possibility of growing hundreds of new plants from seed. This discovery made
it possible for civilization, as we know it, to begin. Men abandoned their caves
and began building houses, and establishing settled communities. They
embarked on journeys of self-discovery, observing the heavens and singing the
.earliest-known hymns. They tried their hand at painting and sculpture
In ancient Syria, the secrets of metallurgy were also discovered, the possibility of
hammering bronze and copper into shapes that would serve domestic, military
 and aesthetic uses. At Mari (Tel Hariri) were found numerous palaces, temples
and murals reflecting advanced cultural and commercial activity. The kingdom of
Ugarit (Ras Shamra) offered mankind its first alphabet. At Ebla (Tel Merdikh), a
royal palace was discovered containing one of the largest and most
comprehensive archives of the ancient world, dealing with matters of industry,
.diplomacy, trade, art and agriculture
Ebla's power spread from the Anatolian mountains in the north to Sinai in the
south. It became world-famous for two industries- the manufacture of silk cloth of
gold, and that of finely-carved wood, inlaid with ivory and mother of pearls. Today
these industries still prosper, with Syrian brocade and mosaics fashioned
according to the artisanal tradition of ancient Ebla. Syria was the theatre for many
conquests, that descended from the Anatolian mountains or arrived t its shores
from the sea. Its original inhabitants, migrants from the Arabian Peninsula, settled
throughout the country, in the Fertile Crescent, and on the Palestinian coastline
and the Sinai desert. They were known as the Akkadians, the Amorites, the
Canaanite, the Phoenicians, the Arameans or the Ghassanids, depending on the
.time of their migration and the place of their settlement
These settlers preserved their original characteristics despite the numerous
conquests (Greek, Roman, Persian among others) which they were to
experience. In 636 AD, when Muslim Arab tribes entered Syria from that same
Arabian Peninsula that had given it its original inhabitants, they brought with them
their language, Arabic, and their religion, Islam, both of which endure in modern
.Syria today