Bordering Turkey, Iraq, the Lebanon and Jordan, Syria is one of the Middle East's most interesting and historically rich countries. It boasts the oldest inhabited city, the best preserved Roman amphitheatre and the fabulous crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers, described by Lawrence of Arabia as 'the finest castle in the entire world'.
To give you a little history, the modern state of Syria was formerly a French mandate and attained independence 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.
Syria has a population of 19.3 million. The majority are Arabic-speaking Muslims but there are also various Christian sects constituting 10% of the total population. 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.
Group Adventure Tours and Tailor-Made Holidays in Syria.
In the past, Syria has often included the territories of Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip 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. The Syrian Government has relinquished its claim over the region of ?skenderun, now part of the Turkish province of Hatay. The area used to be part of Syria, but Damascus agreed to recognise Turkish sovereignty as part of a peace deal within the last decade. Since the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel has controlled the disputed area of the Golan Heights.
A visit to Syria will transport you back to a time of ancient civilisations and will show you a diverse range of history, cultures and politics.
