Syria - krótki przegląd

Syria is a country in the Middle East, the west part of Asia. It borders (from south to north) on Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey. Its western part faces the Mediterranean Sea. Its eastern and northern parts are mountainous.

The current president is Bashar al-Assad. He is also head of state. Syria's national capital is Damascus.

The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian, and 3% Druze.

Since 2011, the Syrian government has had large protests as part of the Arab Spring. They are out of the Arab League.

History

Syria has a very long history. It was a land of Phoenicians. Later it became a part of the Roman Empire and then the East Roman Empire. In those days people spoke the Syriac language. The city Antioche was great and one of the important cities in the world of Christianity.People began to speak the Arabic language. Today most Syrian people believe in Islam but there are Christians too.

Syria was part of the Arab League with Egypt once. Syria had some wars with Israel and some territories like the Golan Plateau were occupied by Israel.

Since 15 March, Syrian people are making new history by kicking out the president Bashar Al Assad (or formerly Bashar Al Jahesh).

Geography

Syria (...) is mostly arid (...). The area bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. The Euphrates, Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east.

The climate in Syria is dry and hot. Winters are mild.

Politics and government

Syria is a republic. The old Constitution of Syria was started on 13 March 1971. It made Syria as a secular socialist state. Islam was the majority religion. A new constitution has been in place since 2012.

Branches of government

The executive branch is the president, two vice presidents, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers. The constitution says the president must be a Muslim. It does not make Islam the state religion. According to the 2012 constitution, the president is elected by Syrian people in a direct election.

The People's Council is the legislative branch.

State control

Nearly all of Syria's radio and television outlets are state owned. The Ba'ath Party controls nearly all newspapers.

Human rights

Syria's human rights are among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. The authorities arrest democracy and human rights activists, censor websites, detain bloggers, and have travel bans.

Source: wikipedia.org