Portal:Syria
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Syria (Arabic: سوريا or سورية ), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية ), is a country in the Middle East, bordering Lebanon to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. The modern state of Syria attained independence from the French mandate of Syria in 1946, but can trace its roots to the fourth millennium BC; its capital city, Damascus, was the seat of the Umayyad Empire and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Empire. Historically, Syria has often included the territories of Lebanon, Historical Palestine, and parts of Jordan, but excluded the Jazira region in the north-east of the modern Syrian state. In this historic sense, the region is also known as Greater Syria or by the Arabic name Bilad al-Sham (بلاد الشام). Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel administers Golan Heights to the southwest of the country; a dispute with Turkey over the Hatay Province has subsided. The name Syria comes from the ancient Greek name for the former colonial territories of Assyria such as Canaan and Aram. At the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Arabia to the south and Cilicia to the north, stretching inland to include Mesopotamia, and having an uncertain border to the northeast that Pliny the Elder describes as including from west to east Commagene, Sophene, and Adiabene, "formerly known as Assyria" (N.H. 5.66). By Pliny's time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into a number of provinces under the Roman Empire (but politically independent from each other): Judaea (or "Judea" and later renamed Palestina in AD 135—the region corresponding to the modern states of Israel and Jordan and the Palestinian territories) in the extreme southwest, Phoenicia corresponding to Lebanon, with Damascena to the inland side of Phoenicia, Coele-Syria (or "Hollow Syria") south of the Eleutheris river, and Mesopotamia. Syria has a population of 19 million. The majority are Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims, as well as 16% other Muslim groups, including the Alawi, Shi'a, and Druze, and 10% Christian. Since 1963 the country has been governed by the Baath Party; the head of state since 1970 has been a member of the Assad family. Syria's current President is Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad, who held office from 1970 until his death in 2000. 
 Azem Palace (Arabic: قصر العظم) is a palace in Damascus, Syria which was originally built in 1750 as a residence for the Ottoman governor of Damascus As'ad Pasha al-Azem. The palace now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions. The architecture is an excellent example of Damascene traditional houses. The structure itself consists of several buildings and two wings: the haramlik and the salamlik. The haramlik is the family wing, which is a private space for the residents (the Azem family originally). This wing includes the kitchen, servant quarters, and the baths, which are a replica of the public baths in the city but on a smaller scale. The salamlik is the guest wing, and it is comprised of the formal halls, reception areas and large courtyards with traditional cascading fountains.  Crac des Chevaliers is a famous castle in Syria, which was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. The name is a mixture of Arabic and French, meaning "Fortress of the Knights". In Arabic, it is Ḥiṣn al-Akrād (Fortress of the Kurds) or Qal'at El Ḥiṣn (قلعة الحصن) (Fortress of the Knights). The castle has outer walls which are 100' thick, with seven guard towers 30' in diameter.[1] King Edward I of England, while on the Ninth Crusade in 1272, saw the fortress and used it as an example for his own castles in England and Wales. T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) believed Krak des Chevaliers was the greatest of the Crusader castles and "the most wholly admirable castle in the world." Today, the fortress is owned by the Syrian government, and it is designated as a World Heritage Site along with Qal’at Salah El-Din (Fortress of Saladin).[2] The fortress is one of the few sites where Crusader art (in the form of frescoes) has been preserved.   Nizar Tawfiq Kabbani (21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) (Arabic:نزار قباني) was a Syrian diplomat, poet and publisher. His poetic style combines simplicity and elegance in exploring themes of love, eroticism, feminism, religion, and Arab nationalism. He is one of the most revered contemporary poets in the Arab world. Portal:Syria/Did you know Portal:Syria/Related portals  Damascus (دمشق transliteration: Dimashq, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the largest city of Syria and is also the capital. It is thought to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world (see: ancient history), before Al Fayyum, and Gaziantep. Its current population is estimated at about 4.5 million. The city is a governorate by itself, and the capital of the governorate of Rif Dimashq (Rural Damascus). In Arabic, the city is called دمشق الشام Dimashq ash-Shām. Although this is often shortened to either Dimashq or ash-Shām by many, the citizens of Damascus, and of Syria and some other Arab neighbors, colloquially call the city ash-Shām. Ash-Shām is an Arabic term for north and for Syria. (Syria — particularly historical Greater Syria — is called Bilād ash-Shām — بلاد الشام, 'country of the north' — in Arabic.) [+] Syrian law
[+] Syria stubs
Portal:Syria/Things you can do  Philip Hitti claimed, "the scholars consider Syria as the teacher for the human characteristics," and Andrea Parrout writes, "each civilized person in the world should admit that he has two home countries: the one he was born in, and Syria."
Before Independence
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Geography , Culture , and People
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