syria

ISIS economy http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b2c6b5ca-9427-11e4-82c7-00144feabdc0.html

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21656692-turkey-and-jordan-are-considering-setting-up-buffer-zones-war-scorched Turkey and Jordan are considering setting up buffer zones in war-scorched Syria

Afrin (Arabic: عفرين‎, translit. ʿAfrīn or ʿIfrīn; Kurdish: Efrîn or Afrîn‎; Classical Syriac: ܥܦܪܝܢ‎) is a district as well as a city in northern Syria. As a district (mantiqah) of the Syrian Arab Republic, it is part of the Aleppo Governorate. About 8 km south of the town of Afrin, there are the remains of a Neo-Hittite (Iron Age) settlement known as Tell Ain Dara. In a field northwest of the city, a 9th or 8th century BC Luwian stele (named the Afrin stele) was discovered; it is a fragment of a full stele as only the middle section survives, which in turn is damaged with the right side totally destroyed taking with it parts of the right edge of the front and left edge of the back.^[4]The stele's front shows a part of a relief; a short fringed kilt usually worn by the Hittite storm god is shown indicating that the stele was a storm god one. Cyrrhus overlooking the Afrin River once served as a military base for the Romans conducting campaigns against the Armenian Empire to the north. By the 4th Century it had become an important centre for Christianity with its own bishop.  The Afrin valley was part of Roman Syria until the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 637.^[6] The Afrin river was known as Oinoparas in the Seleucid era, in the Roman era the name became Ufrenus, whence the Arab vernacular ʿAfrīn, ʿIfrīn, adopted as Kurdish Efrîn. The area was briefly conquered by the Principality of Antioch, but again came under Muslim rule in 1260 following the Mongol invasions. In the Ottoman period, the area was part of the Kilis Province. Although it is not contiguous with the main area of Kurdish settlement, the Afrin valley seems to have seen Kurdish settlement by at least the 18th century, as by that time it is referred to as the Sancak of the Kurds in Ottoman documents.

Anadan (Arabic: عندان‎) is a city in Syria, 12 kilometers north of Aleppo, located on the Aleppo–Gaziantep international road. It is in the Mount Simeon District of the Aleppo Governorate. The town is known for its agriculture produce, such as grain, legumes, olives and different types of fruit. The city of Anadan is built on a hill surrounded by a plain. Anadan currently has about thirteen mosques and several elementary schools, a junior high school and a high school for boys and girls.During the Ayyubid period, in the 1220s, Anadan was visited by Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi who noted it was "a village near Kinnasrin, in the Kurah district of Urtik, of the Awasim Province." The 13th-century Marasidlisted it as a village northeast of Aleppo.

al bab

- During the Roman Empire Al-bab was a civitas of the Roman Province of Syria, known as Batnai. the ruins of that settlement lie on the banks of the wadi a kilometer north of the modern town. Roman Batnai should not be confused with the Roman town Batnae about 70 km North east. Al-Bab was conquered by the Arab army of the Rashidun Caliphate under caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab in the 7th Century. It received its name, meaning "the Gate", during Islamic rule as it served as "the gate" between Aleppo and the adjacent town of Buza'ah. The tomb and shrine of Aqil ibn Abi Talib (the brother of Ali) was located in al-Bāb.  Until its rule by the Ayyubids in the 13th century, the town was populated mostly by Shias of the Ismaili sect. According to Yaqut al-Hamawi in 1226, it was a small town in the district of Aleppo. In the town were markets filled with cotton products called kirbas which were exported to Damascus and Egypt. The fourteenth-century historian Abu'l-Fida writes that al-Bab was a small town with a market, a bath, pleasant gardens, and a mosque (the Great Mosque of al-Bab).

Aleppo (/əˈlɛpoʊ/; Arabic: ﺣﻠﺐ‎‎ / ALA-LC: Ḥalab, IPA: [ˈħalab]) is a city in Syria, serving as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. For centuries, Aleppo was the Syrian region's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third-largest, after Constantinople and Cairo.^[5][6][7] With an official population of 2,132,100 (2004 census), it was Syria's largest city and also one of the largest cities in the Levant before the advent of the Syrian Civil War. Aleppo is an ancient metropolis, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; it has been inhabited since perhaps as early as the 6th millennium BC.^[11] Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied since at least the latter part of the 3rd millennium BC;^[12] and this is also when Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla and Mesopotamia, in which it is noted for its commercial and military proficiency. Such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia (i.e. modern Iraq). The city's significance in history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, which passed through central Asia and Mesopotamia. When the Suez Canal was inaugurated in 1869, trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Aleppo ceded its northern hinterland to modern Turkey, as well as the important railway connecting it to Mosul. In the 1940s it lost its main access to the sea, Antioch and Alexandretta, also to Turkey. Finally, the isolation of Syria in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation. This decline may have helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage. It won the title of the "Islamic Capital of Culture 2006", and has had a wave of successful restorations of its historic landmarks.

- http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21707945-historical-and-cultural-treasure-being-bombed-rubble-crushed-flowers

damascus

- The Arabic name is Dimashq. Both the Greek and the Arabic names are imported from the Syriac name “Darmusq” which means a “water-rich land” as the city is full of rivers.https://www.quora.com/Damascus-does-not-sound-Arabic-to-me-what-is-the-origin-of-this-capital-and-why-have-the-Syrians-maintained-its-name

Daraa (Arabic: درعا‎, Levantine Arabic: [ˈdarʕa]), also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿāand Edrei) (means "fortress", compare Dura-Europos), is a city in southwestern Syria, located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate, historically part of the ancient Hauran region. Daraa is an ancient city dating back to the Canaanites. It was mentioned in Egyptian hieroglyphic tablets at the time of the Pharaoh Thutmose III between 1490 and 1436 BC. It was known in those days as the city of Atharaa. It was later referred to in the Hebrew Bible as "Edrei" or "Edre'i" (אֶדְרֶעִי),^[8] the capital of Bashan, site of a battle where the Israelites defeated the city's king, Og.^[9] According to Jewish tradition, Eldad and Medad were buried in Edrei. 

Jabal al-Druze (Arabic: جبل الدروز‎, jabal ad-durūz, Mountain of the Druze), officially Jabal al-Arab(Arabic: جبل العرب‎, jabal al-ʿarab, Mountain of the Arabs), is an elevated volcanic region in the As-Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria. Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also small Muslim and Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in this area. The State of Jabal Druze was an autonomous area in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanonfrom 1921 to 1936. In the past, the name Jabal al-Druze was used for a different area, located in Mount Lebanon.
-德鲁兹派 The Druze (/druːz/;^[16] Arabic: درزي‎ darzī or durzī, plural دروز durūz; Hebrew: דרוזי‎ drūzīplural דרוזים, druzim) are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group^[17] originating in Western Asia who self-identify as Al-Muwaḥḥidūn (lit. "The People of Monotheism").^[18] Jethro of Midian is considered an ancestor of all people from the Mountain of Druze region, who revere him as their spiritual founder and chief prophet.^{[19][20][21][22][23]} It is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad and the sixth Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle.^[24][25]

The Epistles of Wisdom is the foundational text of the Druze faith.^[26] The Druze faith incorporates elements of Isma'ilism, a branch of Shia Islam,^[27] Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism^[28][29] and other philosophies and beliefs, creating a distinct and secretive theology known to interpret esoterically religious scriptures, and to highlight the role of the mind and truthfulness.^[18][29] The Druze follow theophany, and believe in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul.^[30] At the end of the cycle of rebirth, which is achieved through successive reincarnations, the soul is united with the Cosmic Mind (al-ʿAql al-kullī).

• example of druze people https://www.quora.com/Why-are-Arabs-so-pale-in-complexion

Ghouta (Arabic: غوطة دمشق‎ / ALA-LC: Ghūṭat Dimashq) originally described the oasis formed by the Barada river around the site where Damascus, Syria, was founded. Starting in ancient times, canals dug by the inhabitants of Damascus irrigated land on either side of the Barada, increasing the size of the Ghouta to the south and east of the city. Separating the city from the dry grasslands bordering the Syrian Desert, the Ghouta has historically provided its inhabitants with a variety of cereals, vegetables and fruits. La Ghûta — le mot arabe ghouta ou ghûta (الغوطة, al-ġūṭa) signifie oasis — désigne les terres cultivées qui entourent Damas (Syrie) et qui constituent une oasis dans le désert de Syrie. L'eau qui irrigue cette oasis vient principalement du Barada, une rivière qui descend de l'Anti-Liban dans une gorge étroite. Le Barada a été aménagé et son eau captée pour irriguer toute la plaine. Les eaux restantes s'évaporent et s'infiltrent dans le sol du lac marécageux en bordure du désert à l’est de Damas, le Bahîra `Atayba (بحيرة عتيبة). Ces travaux d'irrigation remontent à l'Antiquité. L’essentiel de l’eau du Barada ne suit pas son cours naturel car depuis l’antiquité, les Nabatéens, les Araméens et les Romains ont construit et entretenu un système de captages pour permettre l’irrigation de la plaine créant ainsi la Ghûta. 

霍姆斯（阿拉伯語：حمص‎ / Ḥimṣ [ħɪmsˤ]；黎凡特阿拉伯語：حمص‎ / Ḥumṣ [ħɔmsˤ]），古名為埃米薩Homs (UK: /hɒms/, US: /hɔːms, hɔːmz, hʊms/;^[4][5][6][7] Arabic: حمص‎ / ALA-LC: Ḥimṣ [ħɪmsˤ]; Levantine Arabic: حمص / Ḥumṣ [ħɔmsˤ]), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa The origin of the city's modern name is that it is an Arabic form of the city's Latinname Emesus, derived from the GreekÉmesa or Émesos,^[14] or Hémesa.The name Émesa or Hémesa was derived from that of the Aramean city of Hamath-zobah, a combination of Hamath (Hebrew: חֲמָת‎, romanized: Ḥamāth; Syriac: ܚܡܬ‎, romanized: Ḥmṭ; "fortress") and Sawbah(Hebrew: צובָא‎; Syriac: ܨܘܒܐ‎ Ṣwba; "nearness").^[16] Thus, the name collectively means "The fortress surrounding" which refers to the Citadel of Homs and the encircling plains. Other claim of the origin is that the name Émesa seems to be derived from the nomadic Arab tribe, called Emesenoi by the Greeks and the Romans, that inhabited the region prior to Roman influence in the area. Émesa was shortened to Homs or Hims by its Arab inhabitants, many of whom settled there prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria.^[19][20] This name has been preserved throughout the period of Islamic rule continuing to the present day. It was subsequently referred to as Χέμψ (Khémps) in Byzantine Greek, and as "la Chamelle" (literally meaning "the female camel" in French but likely a corruption of the Arabic name according to René Dussaud^[21]) by the Crusaders (e.g. William of Tyre, Historia, 7.12, 21.6), although they never ruled the city.

IDLIB

- A major agricultural center of Syria, the Idlib area is also historically significant, containing many "dead cities" and man-made tells. Idlib contains the ancient city of Ebla, once the capital of a powerful kingdom. The ancient kingdoms of Nuhašše and Luhuti flourished in the Governorate during the Bronze and Iron ages. The Ebla tablets (2350 BC) mention the city of "Duhulubuum" which is most probably located at Idlib as suggested by Michael Astour and Douglas Frayne; a similarity exist between the sounds of the ancient and modern name. In the tablets Duhulubuum is located 22 km south of "Unqi" which the modern village of Kaukanya; a village located 22 km northeast of Idlib. Thutmose III mentioned the city with the name "Ythb".During Ottoman rule in Syria, between the 16th and 19th centuries, Idlib served as the capital of a kada ("subdistrict capital") bearing its name, part of the larger Vilayet of Aleppo ("Province of Aleppo.") The city was a center of olive production, which in turn gave way to a prosperous olive-based soap industry. Although the major markets for Idlib's soap were at Aleppo, Antioch, and Hama, the product was exported as far as the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. Idlib was also a major producer of cotton fabrics. Western traveler Josias Leslie Porter noted that Idlib was "encompassed in olive groves, rare in this bleak region." He further remarked that its olives groves were larger than those of Damascus, Beirut, and Gaza. In the mid-19th-century, the town had an estimated population of 8,000, including 500 Christians. In the late 19th century, Idlib was "flourishing" and contained a number of Christian families, according to German orientalist Albert Socin.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51747592 Turkey and Russia have agreed a ceasefire from midnight local time in Syria's north-western Idlib province in a bid to avoid a major escalation. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan also agreed to establish a security corridor and joint patrols. Last month, 36 Turkish soldiers were killed in Idlib during a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive.Turkey, which backs opposition rebels, responded by attacking Syrian troops.

Manbij (Arabic: منبج‎; Kurdish: Minbic‎) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The residents of Manbij are ethnically diverse, including Arabs, Kurds, Circassians and Chechens, and many practice Naqshbandi Sufism.Coins struck at the city before Alexander's conquest record the Aramean name of the city as Mnbg (meaning spring site).^[3] For the Assyrians it was known as Nappigu (Nanpigi).^[4] The place appears in Greek as Bambyce and Pliny (v. 23) tells us its Syrian name was Mabog (also Mabbog, Mabbogh). As a center of the worship of the Syrian goddess Atargatis, it became known to the Greeks as the Ἱερόπολις (Hieropolis) 'city of the sanctuary', and finally as Ἱεράπολις (Hierapolis) 'holy city'. The Arameans called the city "Mnbg" (Manbug).^[5] Manbij was part of the kingdom of Bit Adini and was annexed by the Assyrians in 856 BC. The Assyrian king Shalmaneser III renamed it Lita-Ashur and built a royal palace. The city was reconquered by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III in 738 BC.^[6] The sanctuary of Atargatis predate the Macedonian conquest as it seems that the city was the center of a dynasty of Aramean priest-kings ruling at the very end of the Achaemenid Empire;^[7] two kings are known, 'Abyati and Abd-Hadad. The fate of Abd-Hadad is not known but the city came firmly under the Macedonian empire, and prospered under the rule of the Seleucids who made it the chief station on their main road between Antioch and Seleucia on the Tigris. The temple was sacked by Crassus on his way to meet the Parthians (53 BC). The coinage of the city begins in the 4th century BC with the coins of the priest-kings followed by the Aramaic series of the Macedonian and Seleucid monarchs. They show Atargatis either as a bust with mural crown or as riding on a lion. She continues to supply the chief type even during imperial Roman times, being generally shown seated with the tympanum in her hand. Other coins substitute the legend Θεᾶς Συρίας Ἱεροπολιτῶν Theas Syrias Ieropoliton within a wreath. In the 3rd century, the city was the capital of Euphratensis province and one of the great cities of Syria. Procopius called it the greatest in that part of the world. It was, however, in ruinous state when Julian gathered his troops there before marching to his defeat and death in Mesopotamia. Sassanid Emperor Khosrau I held it to ransom after Byzantine Emperor Justinian I had failed to defend it.^{[citation needed]} The town appears on the 4th century Roman Peutinger Map as a larger town.

- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2018-06/06/content_36334860.htm Turkey and the United States have endorsed a road map which envisages the withdrawal of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, from the Syrian town of Manbij, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after a long-awaited meeting with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo on Monday.

Palmyra (/ˌpælˈmaɪrə/; Aramaic: ܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ‎Tedmurtā; Arabic: تدمر‎ Tadmor) is an ancient Semitic city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period and the city was first documented in the early second millennium BC. Palmyra changed hands on a number of occasions between different empires, before becoming a subject of the Roman Empire in the first century AD. The city grew wealthy from trade caravans; the Palmyrenes, renowned merchants, established colonies along the Silk Roadand operated throughout the Roman Empire. Palmyra's wealth enabled the construction of monumental projects, such as the Great Colonnade, the Temple of Beland the distinctive tower tombs. The Palmyrenes were a mix of Amorites,Arameans and Arabs. The city's social structure was tribal, and its inhabitants spoke Palmyrene (a dialect of Aramaic);Greek was used for commercial and diplomatic purposes. The culture of Palmyra, influenced by Greco-Roman culture, produced distinctive art and architecture that combined eastern and western traditions. The city's inhabitants worshiped local deities and Mesopotamianand Arab gods. By the third century AD, Palmyra was a prosperous regional center reaching the apex of its power in the 260s, when the Palmyrene king Odaenathus defeated thePersian emperor Shapur I. The king was succeeded by the regent Queen Zenobia, who rebelled against Rome and established the Palmyrene Empire. In 273, the Roman emperor Aurelian destroyed the city, which was later restored by Diocletian, but at a reduced size. The Palmyrenes converted to Christianity during the fourth century and to Islam in the second half of the first millennium, after which the Palmyrene and Greek languages were replaced by Arabic. Before 273 AD, Palmyra enjoyed autonomy and was attached to the Roman province of Syria, having its political organization influenced by the Greek city-state model during the first two centuries AD. The city became a Roman colonia during the third century, leading to the incorporation of Roman governing institutions, before becoming a monarchy in 260. Following its destruction in 273, Palmyra became a minor center under the Byzantines and later empires. Its destruction by the Timurids in 1400 reduced it to a small village. Under French Mandatory rule, in 1932, the inhabitants were moved into the new village of Tadmur and the ancient site became available for excavations. In 2015, Palmyra came under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which later destroyed a number of the site's buildings. In March 2016, Syrian forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, pushed into the city and successfully retook the city from ISIL.
-  https://www.ft.com/content/91ab59cc-d932-11e9-9c26-419d783e10e8 In the spring of 1928 a Danish archaeologist unearthed a bust of a woman in the ruins of Palmyra in Syria. About 1,800 years old, she had a broken nose and a fearsome glare but was clearly a woman of substance, judging by a sketch drawn soon after she had been unearthed, which brought red to her cheeks and gold to her elaborate headdress and her extravagant bangles. She wasn’t the first to be discovered in that ancient Syrian city, nor even in the best condition, but a local newspaper published the painting and with an eye for a snappy headline dubbed her the “Beauty of Palmyra”. This week a digital recreation of the bust will be unveiled in The Road to Palmyra at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen (from September 20). What little colour that survived in 1928 has long faded with time but today her headdress has been transformed into a glory of gold and jewels, her rouged cheeks made a little redder and her figure swathed in a scarlet tunic. Her nose has been straightened. In all her radiant — some might say, gaudy — splendour, she will be the centrepiece of the exhibition in which more than 100 funerary portraits collected by Danish archaeologists since the 18th century will be on display alongside coins, sculptures, 19th-century photographs and paintings. It is tempting to interpret her “resurrection” as a kind of defiant gesture to Isis, which destroyed many of the city’s treasures in 2015, but curator Anne Marie Nielsen takes a cooler stance. “We have made a balance between how much to say and how much not to say. We do not want to politicise it. Isis has blown up a lot of buildings, but before that Assad’s soldiers and everybody else ruined things and stole things. We do say it is terrible but we are matter of fact about it.” Although she looks Indian, her hair curls fetchingly on to her cheeks in a Roman style popularised by the Empress Faustina the Elder (c.AD100-140). Her jewellery has been carved and her eyes inlaid with glass in a way that is typical of the art of Iran, which was part of Parthia to the east, but one strand of her necklace and the finger rings are believed to be inspired by the west. She may well typify the elite of society, but little is known of the life of the women in the city despite 30 per cent of the portraits being of females. It is assumed that some, at least, lived in luxury and maybe held important positions, but Palmyra was a patriarchal society and the daily life of women was tied to the home and family. 

"rojava"
- economist 25may19 "who will rule the north" the rise of rojava

Sirte (/ˈsɜːrt/; Arabic: سرت‎‎; from Ancient Greek: Σύρτις), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is on the south coast of the Gulf of Sidra (ancient Syrtis Major, from which Sirte's name is derived). Sirte lies halfway between Tripoli and Benghazi. The settlement was established in the early 20th century by the Italians, at the site of a 19th-century fortress built by the Ottomans. It grew into a city after World War II. As the birthplace of Muammar Gaddafi, Sirte was favoured by the Gaddafi government.^{[citation needed]} The city was the final major stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists in the Libyan Civil War and Gaddafi was killed there by rebel forces on 20 October 2011. Sirte is built near the site of the ancient Phoenician city of Macomedes-Euphranta, which was an important link on the road along the Mediterranean Sea littoral. It is the last confirmed place where the Punic language was spoken, in the 5th century CE. The region had no recognized administrative centre and was infested for centuries by bandits. In Classical times, the coast was "proverbially dangerous to shipping", called "inhospita Syrtis" in Virgil's Aeneid. John Milton's Paradise Lost Book 2 lines 939-940 speaks of "a boggy Syrtis, neither sea/Nor good dry land".In 1842 the Ottomans built a fortress at Marsat al Zaafran ("saffron harbour") which became known as Qasr al Zaafran ("saffron castle"), and later as Qasr Sert. The fortress was built under sultan Abdülmecid I as part of the restoration of Ottoman control over Tripolitania after the fall of the Karamanli dynasty. It was around this fortification, which was taken over and repaired by the Italians in 1912, that the settlement of Sirte grew up. Sirte served as an administrative centre under Italian rule.

Tartus (Arabic: طرطوس‎ / ALA-LC: Ṭarṭūs; also transliterated Tartous) is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (after Latakia), and the largest city in Tartus Governorate. 
- The History of Tartus goes back to the 2nd millennium BC when it was founded as a Phoenician colony of Aradus.^[5] The colony was known as Antaradus (from Greek "Anti-Arados → Antarados", Anti-Aradus, meaning "The town facing Arwad"). Not much remains of the Phoenician Antaradus, the mainland settlement that was linked to the more important and larger settlements of Aradus, off the shore of Tartus, and the nearby site of Amrit.
- russia

• https://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/10/middleeast/russia-navy-base-tartus-syria/index.html Russia plans to expand its supply base in the Syrian port city of Tartus into a permanent naval base, Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov said on Monday, according to state news agency TASS.

• 俄羅斯和敍利亞政府去年一月簽署協議，俄國將無償使用塔爾圖斯基地至少四十九年。俄羅斯得到了塔爾圖斯海軍基地，實際上是對美國和北約擠壓俄國的一個有力回應。俄國只要能繼續於塔爾圖斯基地保持軍事力量，無疑就是普京給俄國人民於敍利亞戰爭中的一個最好的交代，也是普京在今年大選勝出的一個加分項。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20180421/00184_006.html

company
- http://nazhaco.com/

Industry
- wheat

• http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-wheat-idUKKCN11P1HU Syria's wheat harvest nearly halved to 1.3 million tonnes this year, the lowest in 27 years, as fighting and poor rainfall further degraded the farming sector and the nation's ability to feed itself. The government of President Bashar al-Assad was forced to tender this summer for an unprecedented 1.35 million tonnes of imported wheat from political ally Russia to ensure supply of the flat loaves that are a staple for the Syrian people. Before the five-year-old civil war, Syria was a wheat exporter producing four million tonnes in a good year and able to export 1.5 million tonnes.

People
- bassam ghraoui

• https://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21741951-syrias-premier-chocolate-maker-was-63-bassam-ghraoui-died-may-1st Bassam Ghraoui’s workers made candied fruits so jewel-like that they were packed in silver boxes. Larger fruits were stuffed with Aleppian pistachios and dipped in dark chocolate. Almonds from Ghouta were ground and blended with chocolate for ganache, or flavoured with rose water to make marzipan roses. These sweets, especially the chocolate, were often rated the best in the world. Mr Ghraoui supplied the Queen of England and Jacques Chirac, when President of France. In his flagship shop in central Damascus (there were ten others), his prize certificates covered every wall. Smiling girls in uniforms picked out samples with silver tongs and wrapped everything in the orange paper that was the trademark of the house.
• berea holding involved in panama papers https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/10182950

- steve jobs
- Bashar Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: بشار حافظ الأسد‎‎ Baššār Ḥāfiẓ al-ʾAsad, Levantine pronunciation: [baʃˈʃaːr ˈħaːfezˤ elˈʔasad]; ; born 11 September 1965) is the current President of Syria, holding the office since 17 July 2000. He is also commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces, General Secretary of the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and Regional Secretary of the party's branch in Syria. He is a son of Hafez al-Assad, who was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000. Born in Damascus, Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988, and started to work as a doctor in the army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, specialising in ophthalmology. In 1994, after his elder brother Bassel died in a car crash, Bashar was recalled to Syria to take over Bassel's role as heir apparent. He entered the military academy, taking charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1998. On 10 July 2000, Assad was elected as President, succeeding his father, who died in office a month prior. In the 2000 and subsequent 2007 election, he received 99.7% and 97.6% support, respectively, in referendums on his leadership.

• Al-Assad in Arabic means "the Lion"; Assad's peasant paternal grandfather had changed the family name from Wahsh (meaning "Savage" or "Monster") upon acquiring minor noble status in 1927.Assad received his primary and secondary education in the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus.^[30] In 1982, he graduated from high school and went on to study medicine at Damascus University.In 1998, Bashar took charge of Syria's Lebanon file, which had since the 1970s been handled by Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, one of the few Sunni officials in the Assad regime, who had until then been a potential contender for president.^[44] By taking charge of Syrian affairs in Lebanon, Bashar was able to push Khaddam aside and establish his own power base in Lebanon.^[45] In the same year, after minor consultation with Lebanese politicians, Bashar installed Emile Lahoud, a loyal ally of his, as the President of Lebanon and pushed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri aside, by not placing his political weight behind his nomination as prime minister.^[46] To further weaken the old Syrian order in Lebanon, Bashar replaced the long serving de facto Syrian High Commissioner of Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, with Rustum Ghazaleh.  In 2005, the former prime minister of Lebanon was assassinated. The Christian Science Monitor reported that "Syria was widely blamed for Hariri's murder. In the months leading to the assassination, relations between Hariri and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad plummeted amid an atmosphere of threats and intimidation."^[52] The BBC reported in December 2005: "New Hariri report 'blames Syria'." In his foreign policy, Assad is an outspoken critic of the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
• russia

• https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/11/syrian-leaders-family-owns-19m-in-moscow-luxury-apartments-global-witness-a68115 Assad’s cousins, the Makhloufs, and their relatives bought at least 19 apartments in two Moscow skyscrapers between December 2013 and June 2019, Global Witness said in its investigation published Monday.  Four local real estate agents placed the current value of the 19 properties in the twin City of Capitals skyscrapers at $40 million, The Financial Times reported. “Our exposé of the Makhloufs’ properties is rare supporting evidence that lends substance to rumors of regime money being funneled out of Syria throughout the war,” Global Witness said.The watchdog said the apartment purchases “could be for the purposes of laundering money from Syria into Moscow,” citing the complex web of companies and Lebanese loans that were involved.The Makhloufs — members of the same Alawite sect of Islam who are historically more prestigious than the Assads — “are all fund managers for the Assads,” an unnamed Syrian analyst in Europe told FT. Another analyst suggested that the Makhloufs could be storing their wealth in Russia to keep it out of Assad’s hands because “nobody feels safe in Damascus, except the president.”

• hkej 17apr18 shum article

syria dialogue
- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2017-01/24/content_28040516.htm Syrian peace talks brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran and seeking to bolster a shakycease-fire in place since last month opened on Monday in Kazakhstan, marking the first face-to-face meeting between the Damascus government and rebel factions fighting to overthrowit. The gathering in Astana, the Kazakh capital, is also the start of a new effort to end six yearsof carnage that has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced half of Syria's population andsent millions of refugees to neighboring countries and Europe. The UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is participating in the talks, which if successful, are expected to be followed by more political talks in February in Geneva. The new US administration is not directly involved.
-  Western envoys stranded in the pub as Russians call time on old Syria order ft 26jan17
- china daily 18sep19 leaders say syrian charter panel ready  
- scmp 22oct19 turkey and china fail to agree on syria
- https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/23/turkey-russia-northern-syria-erdogan-putin/ During a six-hour meeting at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively carved up northeastern Syria between themselves, after the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops paved the way for a bloody Turkish incursion across the border. The United States was not present at the meeting. Just hours later, U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a White House address that Erdogan had agreed to halt his offensive and make the tentative cease-fire agreement that Vice President Mike Pence brokered last week permanent. But in terms of impact on the ground in northern Syria, Trump’s statement was merely a footnote to the Turkey-Russia pact.



sacred places
- The Ain Dara temple, located near the village of Ain Dara, northwest of Aleppo, Syria, is an Iron Age Syro-Hittite temple noted for its similarities to Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, as described in the Hebrew Bible. According to the excavator Ali Abu Assaf, it was in existence from 1300 BC until 740 BC and remained "basically the same" during the period of the Solomonic Temple's construction (1000 - 900 BC) as it had been before, so that it predates the Solomonic Temple. The temples of Emar, Munbaqa, and Ebla are also comparable. The surviving sculptures depict lions and sphinxes (comparable to the cherubim of the First Temple).It was built on a terrace known as the "acropolis of the tell". The tell itself is precipitous-faced and overlooks the Afrin Valley. The area is divided in two parts, the main tell that is 25 m (82 ft) above the surrounding plain, and the lower acropolis which covers an area of 25 ha (60 acres).There are many features in common with Solomon's Temple as described in the Book of Kings. The layout of Dara is similar to that of the Biblical temple, which was also of a long room plan with the three room configuration of a portico at the entrance followed by the main chamber with the shrine. The difference is in the antechamber, which is an add-on in the Ain Dara temple. The size of the Solomon temple was 35 m (115 ft) by 9 m (30 ft) while that of the Ain Dara is 30 m (98 ft) long by 20 m (66 ft) wide without side chambers. Other similarities include: location on a high raised site overlooking a city; erected on a raised platform, with a narrow portico and a roof supported on pillars flanked by reliefs on the walls, and carvings of similar motifs; and the raised podium. In brief, 33 of the architectural elements found in Ain Dara are tallied with 65 of the features mentioned in the Biblical description of Solomon's Temple.

football
- national team

• hkej 12apr18 shum article

- famous players

• Firas Mohamad Al Khatib (Arabic: فراس محمد الخطيب‎; born 9 June 1983 in Homs, Syria) is a Syrian footballer who predominantly plays as a striker. He currently plays for Al-Salmiya, which competes in the Kuwaiti Premier League.

• hkej 12apr18 shum article

syrians
- Syrians have highly mixed genes ethnically. Since Syria’s entire west side is on the Mediterranean sea, which has been a travel and trade route between Europe, Asia and Africa throughout history, it had groups of people from different ethnicities cross through it, some of them mixed with the population, or even settled there.https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Syrians-not-look-like-other-Arabs

language
- https://www.quora.com/When-did-Arabic-replace-Aramaic-languages-in-Syria-and-did-the-central-government-in-Damascus-play-a-role-in-this
- https://www.quora.com/Is-it-only-Arabic-that-is-spoken-in-Syria

History
- etymology

• Syria is considered an Arab country because of the language and the culture that is present there which is Arabic, and due to the fact that politically Syria is a part of the Arab league. But Geographically Syria is a levant, “meaning east of the Mediterranean”, west Asian country. https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Syrians-not-look-like-other-Arabs

- Before 1516, Syria was part of the Mamluk Empire centered in Egypt. The Ottoman SultanSelim I conquered Syria in 1516 after defeating the Mamlukes at the Battle of Marj Dabiqnear Aleppo in northern Syria. Selim carried on his victorious campaign against the Mamlukes and conquered Egypt in 1517 following the Battle of Ridanieh, bringing an end to the Mamluk Sultanate.
- Ottoman Syria refers to divisions of theOttoman Empire within the Levant, usually defined as the region east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of theArabian Desert and south of the Taurus Mountains. Ottoman Syria became organized by the Ottomans upon conquest from the Mamluks in the early 16th century into eyalets (provinces) of Damascus and Aleppo. Eyalet of Tripoli was formed in 1579 and later Eyalet of Adana was split from Aleppo. In 1660, Eyalet of Safed was established and shortly afterwards renamed Eyalet of Sidon. The eyalets were later transformed into the Vilayet of Syria, the Vilayet of Aleppo and the Vilayet of Beirut, following the 1864 Tanzimat reforms.



islam

- shia 

• Shia fighters pour into Syria to defend Assad ft 26nov16

- mosque

• The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus (Arabic: جامع بني أمية الكبير‎, Romanization: Ğāmi' Banī 'Umayya al-Kabīr), located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. After the Muslim conquest of Damascus in 634, the mosque was built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist (Yahya), honored as a prophet by Christians and Muslims. A legend dating to the 6th century holds that the building contains the head of John the Baptist.[citation needed] The mosque is also believed by Muslims to be the place where Jesus (Isa) will return at the End of Days. The mausoleum containing the tomb of Saladin stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.

• is al amawi (阿马威) mosque its other name?

Jews
- The Takana (edict) had its roots in a ruling by Rabbi Shaul David Setton of Aleppo,(F31) who had accepted a position as rabbi and head of the rabbinic court in Argentina in 1912. Rabbi Setton, saw a community "bereft of Torah and he set about remedying this situation by establishing a kosher slaughterhouse, synagogue and other institutions." Rabbi Setton also started the rabbinic ban on conversions and marriage with converts in Argentina in 1927, the same ban that was later adopted in New York.(F32) Jews of Syrian descent and who follow the laws and traditions of Aram Soba in Argentina continue to observe this ban. In New York, the Takana was signed to specifically address those who converted to Judaism for the purpose of marriage, not someone who was a righteous convert.(F33) The 1935 edict, which was reissued in 1946, 1972 and 1984, was signed by leaders of every Syrian Jewish institution and became a cornerstone of Brooklyn’s Sephardic community.

During the 62 years that Rabbi Jacob led Brooklyn’s Syrian community, he revived Sephardic heritage, culture, tradition and customs, as well as an awareness of Sephardic identity,(F34) which remains unique and authentic. He attended every bris, wedding, bar mitzvah and funeral with the same sincerity and attention, no matter if the family was rich or poor. http://www.jewishgen.org/Rabbinic/journal/kassin2.htm

United nations
- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44279149 Members of the UN have expressed dismay over Syria becoming president of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva. The move comes just weeks after the latest reported chemical weapons attack, in which the Syrian authorities are widely believed to have used chemical agents against civilians. "The UK deplores the fact that Syria will assume the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, given the regime's consistent and flagrant disregard of international non-proliferation and disarmament norms and agreements," said a statement by British diplomats.
- 聯合國安理會上周五表決一項決議，以對四百萬名敍利亞人延長一年的跨境人道救援，惟決議遭到中國和俄羅斯否決。聯合國人道事務協調辦公室（OCHA）指，有數以萬計的人民為逃避空襲轟炸，上周起由伊德利卜省南部逃到北部。俄羅斯駐聯合國代表納班濟亞形容決議「過時」，指大馬士革政府已重奪大部分領土。俄羅斯曾提交決議，希望延長救援期限至半年，但要減少聯合國的邊境檢查站，最後遭否決。中國外交部發言人耿爽指，跨境人道救援機制應尊重敍利亞主權、獨立、統一和領土完整。由於最終案文不符合上述精神，且提案國在分歧下推動表決，因此中方根據事情本身的是非曲直，投下反對票。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20191222/00180_015.html

NATO

- economist 7mar2020 "an ally in need" why nato should grit its teeth and help turkey in idlib

USA
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-georgia-syria-usa/us-condemns-syrias-ties-with-georgian-breakaway-regions-idUSKCN1IV1GS The United States on Wednesday condemned Syria’s decision to recognize two breakaway regions in Georgia and create diplomatic ties, saying it fully backed Georgia’s independence and reiterating its call for Russia to withdraw from the area.“The United States strongly condemns the Syrian regime’s intention to establish diplomatic relations with the Russian-occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. 
- 美國總統特朗普宣布從敍利亞撤軍後，再有華府高官因此而請辭。負責協調打擊回教極端組織「伊斯蘭國」聯合行動的美國特使麥格克（Brett McGurk），於上周五遞信辭職，抗議特朗普的決定。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181224/00180_015.html

• 英媒引述美國官員消息指，美國軍方司令打算讓對抗回教極端組織「伊斯蘭國」（IS）的庫爾德武裝分子，繼續保存美軍提供的武器，惟此舉恐惹怒希望掃蕩庫爾德族的土耳其。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181230/00180_003.html
• https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2179957/us-withdrawal-syria-leaves-chinas-plans-investment-air-analysts-say US President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to withdraw US forces from Syria will leave China’s intended investment into the country’s reconstruction in uncertainty, analysts said, adding that the move might also suggest a stronger strategic focus by Washington on the Indo-Pacific region to put pressure on Beijing.

Russia
-The organized supply of Syrian fruit and vegetables to Russia has begun; they are supposed to partially compensate for the Turkish foods banned in January, the newspaper Kommersant wrote on March 22. Aslan Panesh, General Director of Adyg-Yurak, a company registered in Maikop, told the newspaper they were importing Syrian fruit and vegetables. The second shipment, about 3,000 tonnes of oranges, lemons, grapefruits, tomatoes and cabbage, arrived at the Novorossiysk seaport last week, he said. Up till now, the deliveries from Syria had been conducted on a trial basis and in small batches, the newspaper wrote. Syrian fruit and vegetables are being sold via the Food City Moscow wholesale and retail food center and a number of wholesale suppliers based in southern Russia.
- 敘利亞議會當地時間 12 日通過一 項法案，批准向一家俄羅斯企業出租境內最大港口塔 爾圖斯港，租期49年。據阿拉伯敘利亞通訊社報道，這項法案有待敘總統 阿薩德批准，將設立由6名成員組成的董事會，監督 塔爾圖斯港的管理和運營事務。董事會席位敘利亞和 俄方企業各佔3席，但領導權歸後者。 敘利亞政府今年4月底和俄天然氣工程建設與運輸 公司簽署協議，由後者管理、擴建並運營塔爾圖斯 港。敘交通部長哈穆德說，協議向這家俄企轉讓的是 港口管理權，不是所有權。http://hk.hkcd.com/pdf/201906/0614/HA09614CGCA_HKCD.pdf

france
- https://www.ft.com/content/7ef75794-1283-11e8-940e-08320fc2a277 LafargeHolcim is caught in a public storm in France over accusations it might have financed terrorism while sacrificing the safety of its workers. Late last year, French prosecutors began formal investigations into six former Lafarge employees over allegations of financing terrorism and endangering the lives of others. The individuals include Eric Olsen, who was chief executive of LafargeHolcim until he resigned last April, and Bruno Lafont, chief executive of Lafarge before the merger.
- loan words from french

• https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-French-word-in-your-language

germany
- 美國總統特朗普揚言從敍利亞撤軍，輿論擔心會造成權力真空，令極端組織乘勢回歸。美國官員周日呼籲德國，派地面部隊到敍利亞接替美軍。有關要求在德國政壇引起正反兩派爭論，惟德國政府翌日已斷然拒絕華府要求。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190709/00180_003.html

Turkey
- 土耳其周三連續第五日向敍利亞地區的庫爾德民兵發動攻擊之際，土耳其南部先後遭受兩枚來自敍利亞的火箭射擊，造成兩死十一傷。有俄羅斯傳媒報道指，土耳其軍已在敍利亞擊斃了三百名恐怖分子。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180126/00180_006.html
-  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-12/erdogan-says-turkey-will-start-operation-in-syria-within-days President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put Turkey on course for another clash with the U.S. by threatening to start a military operation within a few days targeting America’s Kurdish allies in northeastern Syria.
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-usa/erdogan-turkey-is-ready-to-take-over-syrias-manbij-idUSKCN1PE0UY Turkey is ready to take over security in Syria’s Manbij, where four U.S. citizens died in an Islamic State-claimed bombing last week, President Tayyip Erdogan told U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call on Sunday, the Turkish presidency said.


israel
- Israel for the first time admitted that it bombed a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007 and said on Wednesday the strike should be a warning to Iran that it would not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-syria-nuclear/israel-admits-bombing-suspected-syrian-nuclear-reactor-in-2007-warns-iran-idUSKBN1GX09K
- https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/21/middleeast/israel-strikes-iran-targets-syria-intl/index.html
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes early Monday against Iranian targets in Syria, the Israeli military said, in response to an Iranian missile fired at the Golan Heights, capping off a volatile 24 hours between the two regional enemies with the possibility of more fighting ahead. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck Iranian targets in and around Damascus, including the city's international airport, IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said. The overnight strikes targeted munitions depots, intelligence sites, a training camp and more, Conricus said. The IDF also struck Iranian warehouses at the Damascus International Airport, Conricus said, noting that Israel observed secondary explosions, indicating that weapons had been hit.

arab countries
- http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201812/29/WS5c26cd92a310d912140519bc.html UAE, Bahrain reestablish diplomatic presence in Damascus after seven years

saudi arabia
- https://www.ft.com/content/47589da4-26b8-11e8-b27e-cc62a39d57a0 Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the leading Saudi Arabian investor, has sold his stake in the Four Seasons hotel in the Syrian capital Damascus to a businessman linked to President Bashar al-Assad, according to people familiar with the matter. The sale was completed while Prince Alwaleed was detained during an anti-corruption campaign led by Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, which began in November and wound down last month. The buyer, people briefed on the transaction say, is Samer Foz, a relatively unknown businessman before Syria’s seven-year conflict whose profile has risen during the war. Multiple Syrian and Dubai-based businessmen interviewed by the Financial Times said Mr Foz had close ties to the Assad regime. “Foz has direct ties to the inner circle,” said one.

iran
- Syria and Iran signed 11 agreements and memorandums of understanding on Monday, including a "long-term strategic economic cooperation" deal aimed at strengthening cooperation between Damascus and Teheran amid the civil war that has torn the country apart. The agreements covered a range of fields including economy, culture, education, infrastructure, investment and housing, the official Sana news agency reported. They were signed during a visit to Damascus by Iran's First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2019-01/30/content_37433402.htm

Japan
- https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20170216_10/ syrian refugees taking exams to study in japan

malaysia
- https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3001734/malaysian-mother-who-went-syria-join-islamic-state-now-wants-come In total, 102 Malaysians are understood to have travelled to Syria  to join IS, 11 of whom have since returned. Eight of these, all men, were convicted and jailed, while the remaining three – a woman and two children – are free. The government is currently attempting to repatriate 13 of the 51 Malaysians – including Lidia – who are still believed to be in Syria, according to Ayob. He said these 13 had reached out to family members in their home country, who then contacted the police.


China
- 俄羅斯控制的塔爾圖斯港日前來了一批新客人——中國解放軍特種部隊，他們將與俄羅斯海軍陸戰隊一起，參與敍利亞的剿匪行動。如果報道屬實，這將是解放軍在中越邊界反擊戰之後，又一次極為重要的海外行動，具有深遠的意義。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20171224/00182_001.html- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20160427/00184_001.html 中國剛委任敍利亞特派員，主要是參與敍利亞和談，一如伊朗、阿富汗的先例。不過，還可更進一步，以「一帶一路」戰略領頭重建。阿勒頗及另一名城巴爾米拉屬絲綢之路城市，中國大有理由參與重建。
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20160826/00184_001.html敍利亞曾經是中國絲綢之路的要道，城市如阿勒頗 （Aleppo）、巴爾米拉 （Palmyra）都曾經是遠道而來的駱駝商隊中轉站，由此可北上西經陸路、海路到歐洲和地中海沿岸各個城邦。即使至廿一世紀，在美國策動內戰之前，敍利亞最大貿易夥伴是中國。中國也大規模投資當地的石油產業。現時，敍利亞的內戰已近尾聲，如果美國不支持庫爾德族的武裝，內戰會轉入各國斡旋的和平談判。而即使美國還要堅持鬥爭，俄羅斯、伊 朗與敍利亞政府三方合作，加上土耳其的圍剿，庫爾德族有可能兵敗潰散，美國便全然失敗。或許正是這樣的形勢，美國的極右派與軍方開始呼籲不要消滅伊斯蘭 國，要讓它在中東牽制伊朗與俄羅斯。中國也似乎開始在幕後走上台前，表明要參與敍利亞的重建。剛剛中國軍方代表團訪敍，增強中國在後勤、物資、武器以至軍 隊訓練方面援助敍政府。俄國媒體因此提出新問題：中國會否出兵敍利亞？中國已通過法例可派兵海外打擊恐怖主義，中國也是聯合國和平部隊的最大參加國。中國出兵敍利亞，一是風險低，形勢已變；二是中國可使將兵獲實戰經驗，試驗新武器，也可以此擴大中國軍隊海外活動的範圍。或許現時時機未成熟，中國的外交仍是畏首畏尾，不像普京那樣精明果斷，但在重建敍利亞之時，中國實在可派特種兵訓練敍利亞軍警，保護中國軍援項目。在敍的企業項目也可派出以退休軍人組成的民間安保部隊。
- http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2089808/inside-shadowy-world-chinese-militants-fighting-syria The rise of Chinese jihadis in Syria poses an increasing security threat to China and is forcing ­Beijing to rethink its Middle East strategy, analysts say. Unlike other major powers such as the United States or Russia, China has long limited its participation in the region’s affairs. But Beijing has been concern­ed with the national security threat posed by Islamist fighters in Syria who hailed from Xinjiang and returned to China, said Li Wei, a counter-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – which monitors casualties on all sides in the conflict – estimated there were about 5,000 Chinese fighters in Syria, most of whom were fighting with the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) in northern Syria.
- Chinese envoy urges twin approach over Syrian crisis http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2018-04/27/content_36100641.htm
- business missions

• 內地官媒指出，自今年四月以來，已有三批次近三十名中國企業家赴敍利亞考察，「從斷壁殘垣中看到投資機遇」。曾帶隊訪敍的中國阿拉伯交流協會副會長秦勇指，俄羅斯和伊朗的企業已參與重建，中國企業大多數則還在觀望，而在中敍兩國政府正式啟動重建合作前，中國企業會有大約兩年的戰略機遇期。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170926/00180_008.html
• http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2125175/china-seeks-take-its-business-syria-post-war-rebuilding China-Arab Exchange Association vice-president Qin Yong, who is about to make his fourth trip to Syria this year, sees growing interest among Chinese companies.

- hotel

• Louvre Hotels Group, owned by China’s Jin Jiang, has signed an agreement to open two hotels under its own name in Damascus, it said on Saturday, a day after the UN announced an internal investigation into the bombing of hospitals in Syria. The hotels “will open soon under the brand name of Louvre Hotels Group,” the French company said in a statement. Louvre Hotels Group said the deal was signed between Syria’s Nazha Investment Group and “a partner with whom Louvre Hotels cooperates in the Middle East”.https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3027291/louvre-hotels-group-owned-chinas-jin-jiang-open-two-hotels-war-torn

hk
- scmp 12aug19 syria's devastating war seen through the eyes of a hk nurse

event
- The Damascus International Fair is an annual commercial exhibition event, taking place in Damascus, Syria. Described as "The Syrian economy's window to the world,^[4] the fair was first held in 1954 and is the oldest such fair in the middle east.^[2] It was annually held in the Umayyad Square, but was cancelled in 2012 due to the Syrian Civil War before resuming again in 2017 and this time in a newly established state-of-the-arts fairground.