Syria is situated on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of 185,000 sq km. Check out Syria photos to view the beautiful landscape including beaches, mountains, meadows and river valleys.

The official name of Syria is the "Syrian Arab Republic" (or the "Syrian Republic"). The name is spelled in Arabic as Souria, Souriya or Souriyya. The name formerly referred to the "Levant region" that now comprises Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.

Damascus is the capital of Syria and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Other main cities in Syria include: Aleppo (Halab), Homs, Hama, Latakia, Deir az-Zur, Tartous and Idlib. It has several World Heritage sites, including ruins of the ancient cities of Damascus, Palmyra, Bosra, Aleppo.

Syria attracts millions of tourists each year, who come to enjoy history, religious sites (both christian and muslim), nature and other activities. Syria hotels, tourism destinations and travel services are known to be the finest in the world.

Syrian economy is based on tourism, agriculture, oil and industry. The population of Syria is around 22.5 millions. The main spoken languages are Arabic, French, English, Syriac and Armenian.

Syrian food is one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide. Some of the Syrian national dishes include tabouleh, hummus, fattoush, labneh, shanklish, shawarma and kibbe.