Syria – education
The public education system, which is largely free, has a strong position in Syria, although illiteracy is still widespread among adults (20%, 1995). approximately 5% go to private schools, including schools run by UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The public education system consists around 2000 of a six-year compulsory primary school for 6-12-year-olds, which has the affiliation of almost everyone. This is followed by a voluntary three-year middle school with a three-year superstructure, which is applied for by approximately 40%.
Higher education, which is free if the student passes the final exams, takes place at the country’s four universities; the oldest is the University of Damascus, from 1903.
OFFICIAL NAME: al-Jumhuriyya al-Arabiyya al-Suriyya
CAPITAL CITY: Damascus
POPULATION: 17,900,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 185,200 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian, others
RELIGION: Sunni Muslims 74%, Alawites 12%, Christians 6%, Druze 3%, others 5%
COIN: Syrian pound
CURRENCY CODE: SYP
ENGLISH NAME: Syrian Arab Republic
INDEPENDENCE: 1941
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Arabs 90%, Kurds 9%, others 1%
GDP PER residents: 5100 $ (2011)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 61 years, women 76 years (2014)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.473
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 166
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .sew
Syria is a republic in the Middle East. Until the end of World War I, the country was subject to the Ottomans; it became independent in 1946 and is now an authoritarian and conservatively ruled republic with a powerful president; popular protests and unrest, which from 2011 have developed into a bloody civil war, have, however, cast doubt on the viability of the regime. The country’s oil reserves are quite small, but oil production still plays a major role. The population is concentrated in a narrow belt to the west, while the rest of the country is desert and steppe, intersected by the Euphrates. More than half of the population has either completely fled the country (approximately 4 million) or also internally displaced persons (2015).
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as SY which stands for Syria.
Syria – military
The armed forces are (2006) at 307,600. The service period is 30 months. The army is at 200,000, the navy 7600 and the air force 100,000. The reserve is 354,000, the army part 280,000, the navy 4000 and the air force 70,000. The forces have a mix of older and newer Soviet-produced equipment. The army has 7 armored and 3 armored infantry divisions and 1 Republican Guard Division. The fleet has 2 larger and 20 smaller combat vessels, 5 demining vessels, 3 landing craft and a naval air force with 25 armed helicopters. The Air Force and the Air Force have, among other things. 632 fighter jets, 22 transport aircraft, 120 transport helicopters and 71 armed helicopters. The total security forces are 108,000. Check youremailverifier for Syria social condition facts.
Syria – mass media
In Syria the distribution of the print press is small; Radio and television are the most important sources of information for the population, and the media are under strict state control. Syria has only four dailies (2005): in addition to the Ba’ath party Al-Baath (The Renaissance) the three pro-government Tishrin (October), Al-Thawra (The Revolution), published in electronic form in Arabic, French and English, as well as the Syria Times. The Syrian media has a mobilizing role in the country, and criticism of the president and his family is banned. Radio and television as well as the news agency SANA are state-owned. Since 2002, private radio stations are allowed, but they are only allowed to broadcast entertainment. Satellite TV is popular; especially pan-Arab TV channels have a large audience. Internet access in the early 21st century is relatively modest but growing.
Syria – architecture and visual arts
Syria’s location on the caravan route between east and west is clearly reflected in the country’s art through the ages. After the conquest of Alexander the Great in 331 BC. the Dura Europos military colony was established on the Euphrates with Greek-style temples; the city was later engulfed in the Parthian Empire, and Hellenistic style features were mixed with Oriental.
Palmyra is the main site of this art, preserved in numerous tomb monuments; Jewish art is preserved in an extensive synagogue wall decoration in Dura Europos.
approximately 400-700 the Byzantine art ruled, and from this period originates the shrines of Simon the Pillar Saint in Qalat Siman. The art of painting manifested itself especially in illuminated manuscripts.
One of the main monuments of Islamic art is the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (709-15), originally a Roman temple, today the oldest preserved mosque; an extensive mosaic decoration covers the facade facing the arcade-framed courtyard.
Two imposing palace structures have been preserved from this early Islamic period, when the Roman reminiscences slowly disappeared in favor of the new Islamic idiom, where especially the facade decoration in carved stucco is richly varied.
The fortress Krak des Chevaliers dates from the time of the Crusades. Within handicrafts, especially the ceramics from Raqqa, enamelled glass and inlaid metal art as well as damascene steel and damask can be highlighted.
Syria – literature
Modern Syrian literature can be traced back to Fransis Marràsh (1836-73), who in a poetic prose portrayed his vision of a new Arab society. But the ensuing era of cultural awakening (al-Nahda) in Syria met strong opposition from the Ottoman state, and many intellectuals had to emigrate.
In the period between World War I and World War II, a search for national identity intensified, which was expressed in Maruf Arnaut’s (1892-1948) historical novels.
After independence in 1946, a new generation of patriotic writers emerged. Said Huraniya (1929-94) was a pioneer of realistic short story art and co-founder of the Syrian Writers’ Union.
The short story became from the middle of the century the preferred genre, cultivated by Abd al-Salam Udjayli (approximately 1918-2006), known for his exquisite style and psychological insight, and the self-taught Zakariya Tâmir (b. 1931), who renewed the short story with inspiration in folk tale, added symbolist and absurd features. The loneliness of modern man and the search for freedom are basic motifs in his short stories.
Among the novelists are the well-known names Hanna Mina (b. 1924), who fights against social injustice, and Halîm Barakât (b. 1936), who in his novels emphasizes the need for radical changes in Arab society.
The Syrian drama brought with Said Allah Wannûs (1941-97) an original writer and critic who has dared to address sensitive issues as the deeper causes of the defeat in the Six Day War with Israel 1967.
Syrian poetry has gained international recognition with Adonis. Among his successors, Muhammad Maghüt (b. 1934) is the most independent; his prose poetry is characterized by wild imagination and strong sense of life. In television and film scripts, he has performed political and social satire.
Syria – music
Syria’s music belongs to the eastern area of Arabic music. Art music is to some extent common to the rest of the Mashriq area, i.e. The Arabian Peninsula and Egypt.
Folk music is locally oriented with Kurdish music in the north and the Bedouin’s predominantly vocal tradition in the south and east. In both art and folk music there is often an influence from Turkish music.
The Islamic mystics the Sufis play a certain role in Syria’s musical life; singer Sabah al-Fakri is known far beyond the country’s borders. The liturgical music of the Syrian Christian Church includes eight basic scales, influenced by Byzantine and Georgian traditions and akin to classical Persian and Arabic modal systems.
