Welcome to Syria

Welcome to Syria
National Anthem

	Flag Description three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; two small, green, five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); identical to the former flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1961) where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; the current design dates to 1980 note: similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band
	Bashar al-Assad - President of Syria since 17 July 2000 Bashar Hafez al-Assad (born 11 September 1965) is the current President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000 and 2007, unopposed each time. During the Syrian uprising, demonstrators have called for President al-Assad's resignation. Read More

Syria
Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area as Syria until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawi sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. In May 2007 Bashar al-ASAD was elected to his second term as president. Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region, antigovernment protests broke out in the southern province of Da'ra in March 2011 with protesters calling for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge, the legalization of political parties, and the removal of corrupt local officials. Since then demonstrations and unrest have spread to nearly every city in Syria, but the size and intensity of protests have fluctuated over time, and Aleppo and Damascus have remained relatively calm. The government has responded to unrest with a mix of concessions - including the repeal of the Emergency Law and approving new laws permitting new political parties and liberalizing local and national elections - and force. However, the government's response has failed to meet opposition demands for ASAD to step down, and the government's ongoing security operations to quell unrest and a rise in armed opposition activity have led to violent clashes between government forces and oppositionists. In November 2011, international pressure on the ASAD regime intensified as the 22-nation Arab League and Turkey voted to impose economic sanctions. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi ANNAN, appointed as the joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, met with President ASAD in March 2012 to propose a cease-fire which included the withdrawal of government troops from Syrian towns and villages. The same month the UN Human Rights Council estimated the death toll had topped 9,000 people killed since the one-year anniversary of the uprising.
Source

Independence / Republic Days
Independence from France 17 April 1946
- from the United Arab Republic 28 September 1961

Capital
Damascus

Current Time in Damascus (Syria)

Calling code
963

Currency
Syrian pound (SYP)

Geographic Coordinates
33°30'N 36°18'E

Official languages
Arabic

Syrian Arab Republic : National Anthem

Guardians of the Homeland

Guardians of the Homeland,
Peace on you;
Our proud spirits will
Not be subdued.
The abode of Arabism,
A hallowed sanctuary;
The seat of the stars,
An inviolable preserve.

Syria's plains are
Towers in the heights,
Resembling the sky
Above the clouds.
A land resplendant
With brilliant suns,
Becoming another sky,
Or almost a sky.

English translation
Protectors of the homeland, peace be upon you
[Our] proud people will not be subjugated
[Our] den of arabism is a sacred sanctuary
[Our] throne of the suns is a preserve that will not be violated
The fields of Syria and the towers of height
Are in dialogue with the zenith of the skies
A land that rivaled the bright suns, and a sky for you if not the real sky.

The flutter of the dreams and the beat of the heart
Are on a flag that united the country
Its black is from the black of every eye
And the ink is from every martyr's blood
Our spirits are proud and past is great
Where the martyr's spirits are formidable guardians
The ‘’Waleed’’ is from amongst us and so is the ‘’Resheed’’, hence no reason why we will not prevail and prosper.
Source

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