GeoPointe - Syria

Official Name: Syrian Arab Republic
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey.
Capital: Damascus

Area:	total: 185,180 sq km
	land: 184,050 sq km
	water: 1,130 sq km

Lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m.
Highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m.

Sunset Over Ruins Of Ancient City Of 17Th Century Arab Castle, Qala'At Ibn Maan, Syria

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Population: 19,314,747 (July 2007 est.)
Nationality: Syrian(s)
Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%.
Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo).
Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood.

Mostly desert. Hot dry sunny summers from June to August and mild rainy winters from December to February along the coast. Cold weather with snow or sleet periodically hitting Damascus.

Government type: Republic under military regime since March 1963.
Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration).
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 April (1946).