Syria
By: Trevor Schwedler
Country Basics
- The name of my country is Syria
- The capital is Damascus
- The Syria flag of independence has a red strip on the top, a white strip in the middle and a black strip on the bottom with two green stars in the middle. The red symbolizes the blood sacrificed on wars for freedom, the white represents a bright future, the green stars represent Syria and Egypt, the two constituents of United Arab Republic, and the black represents oppression.
Geography
- Syria is located in Southwestern Asia, and the countries that surround it are Iraq, Israel, and Jordan.
- The major land forms are the Syrian Desert, AlJazirah, Bishri Mountains, Lake Assad, Lake Sabkhat al-Jabbul, and the Euphrates River.
- Some major landmarks are Umayyad Mosque, National Museum of Damascus, Azm Palace, and the House of Saint Ananias.
- The major body of water is Lake al-Assad.
- Syria's Environment affects how they live because they only have one major body of water, so they could be short on water. Because of this they may have to conserve water, like taking short showed, baths, etc.
Government
- Syria has a Presidential Republic.
- The leaders are Bashar al-Assad(President), and Farouk al-Sharaa(Vice President).
- Syria votes at presidential elections for their leaders.
- The rights roles and responsibilities of a Syrian citizen are Voting for president, being a citizen, serving in wars, and serving in jury.
Economy
- Syria became a poor country since war broke out and destroyed the economy.
- Syria uses Syrian pounds for currency.
- Syria's main imports and exports are crude oil, and petroleum for exports and metal and livestock for imports.
- Syria's birth rate is 22.17/1000 population, their life expectancy is 74.69 years, it's death rate is 4 deaths/1000 population. 95.7% of the population has access to drinking water but 4.3% does not.
Culture
- Arabs wear black clothing that covers all of their body besides their eyes. Qur'an(their god) says that they should wear modest clothing- not silk or gold.
- Arabic is mostly spoken in Syria, along with Kurdish(but only is the Kurdish regions).
- 87% of Syria are muslims and was started by Muhammad. They follow the Qur'an to keep the five pillars.
- One dish is called Red Burglur Pilaf that combines Burglur, tomatoes, and peppers.
Climate
- it is mostly hot and dry like a desert from June to August but snowy and rainy from December to February.
- The average yearly rainfall is 350mm.
- The average yearly temperature is between 30 celsius to -3 celsius
- The effect the climate has on the country is that in the cold months it can get snowy and hard to work in the snow and in the hot months it can be very tough for working because it's so hot.
History
- In March of 2011 teenagers were arrested and tortured due to the fact that they put revolutionary slogans on their school wall. Security forces open fired on demonstrators, their world turned upside down. People protested for the president to resign. This led to outbreaks all over. Some people could defend themselves but more people took the streets and killed people. This affected Syria because many innocents died not only from some teenagers but also from the governments actions. Also security forces couldn't handle the wraith leading to their downfall.
- During WWI, the British encouraged Syrian nationalists to fight back against the Ottoman Empire. But what actually happened Syrian nationalists made a peace treaty in 1920. Without this Syria could be a very different country(if it survived). They could have lost many lives and their government would have been brought down. So basically the peace treaty saved their lives.
Compare & Contrast
Similarities:
- The United States and Syria both wear modest clothing, meaning not too fancy(although some people in the U.S. wear fancy clothing).
- The U.S. and Syria wear less thick clothing in the summer while more thick clothing in the winter.
- Arabs are only allowed to wear modest clothing- so no silk or gold or anything.
- They have to wear long robes that only reveal their eyes/face.
Secondly I will be comparing our religion to their religion:
Similarities:
- The U.S. and Syria believe in some kind of god, and worship them regularly.
- The U.S. and Syria both believed that Jesus Christ walked the earth at one point in time.
- Most of the U.S. believes god as one god: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit while most of Syria believes that there is only one god; the true creator.
- Most of the U.S. believes that Jesus Christ was the founder of their religion. while most of Syria believes that the prophet Abraham was the founder of their religion.
Sources
http://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2014/04/16/19/pg-32-syria-1-getty.jpg
http://syriaflag.facts.co/syriaflagof/syriaflag.php
http://www.mapsofworld.com/syria/syria-location-map.html
https://sites.google.com/site/syriaproject123/physical-features
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/syria/syland.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sy.html
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/war-has-turned-syria-into-country-of-poor-people-report-564577
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/1000_SYP_obverse.jpg
http://aplummerz.tripod.com/id20.html
http://www.cometosyria.com/en/pages/Language+syria/4/1
http://www.gotquestions.org/Islam.html
http://syriancooking.com/main-dishes/blog
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/03/02/263FC28000000578-2976063-image-m-35_1425320641620.jpg
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/syria-history.html
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Sunni-Islam
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Christianity_vs_Islam
http://religion.imgix.net/295/147592.jpg?fit=max&w=400&s=e319733f5ab50396bb8da0dd6e7bddbb