| AREA: 185,180 sq km (71,498 sq
miles).
POPULATION: 14,619,000 (official estimate 1996).
POPULATION DENSITY: 78.9 per sq km (1996).
CAPITAL: Damascus. Population: 1,394,000
(1994).
GEOGRAPHY: The country can be divided
geographically into four main areas: the fertile plain in
the northeast, the plateau, coastal and mountain areas in
the west, the central plains, and the desert and steppe
region in the central and southeastern areas. The
Euphrates flows from Turkey in the north, through Syria,
down to Iraq in the southeast. It is the longest river in
Syria, the total length being 2330km (1450 miles), of
which 600km (370 miles) pass through Syria. The Khabur
River supports the al-Khabur Basin in the northeast.
LANGUAGE: Arabic, French and English.
RELIGION: Mainly Muslim and Christian (mostly
Orthodox and Greek Catholic) with Jewish minorities.
TIME: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from March 30 to
September 30).
ELECTRICITY: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style
2-pin plugs.
COMMUNICATIONS: Telephone: IDD is
available. Country code: 963. Outgoing international code
is 00. Fax: Available at post offices and major
hotels. Telegram: Service available from the main
telegraph office in Damascus. Post: Airmail to
Western Europe takes up to one week. Parcels sent from
Syria should be packed at the post office. There are post
offices in virtually all towns. Post office hours:
0800-1400; larger branches will be open all day. Press:
The Syria Times is published daily in English. All
other newspapers are in Arabic (the most important ones
being al-Baath, Tishrin and al-Thawra |
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