SYRIA: FACTS AND FIGURES
Official name: Syrian Arab Republic. The Capital is Damascus. The population of Syria is about 18,000,000 .
Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth. Its mysteries are buried under (8 feet) of earth and debris, to which each ruler, each civilization has contributed a layer. The population of Damascus is about 6,000,000 . Aleppo is an equally old city has about 2,500,000 inhabitants.
Arabic is the native language. However, English and French are widely spoken.

CLIMATE:
The weather in May is sunny and dry.

OFFICIAL CURRENCY
The currency in Syria is the Syrian Pound . Each 1U.S.dollar equals approximately 52 Syrian Pounds. International currency can be changed in all banks.

ELECTRICITY
The electricity supply is 220 Volts.

SHOPPING
A variety of art crafts characterized mainly by originality of design, elegant decoration and fine workmanship and craft which offer thousands of temptations to visitors such as: brocades which is made of natural silk, gold and silver jewelry, mosaics inlaid with mother-of-pearl, beautiful typical textiles, blown glassware, and beautiful hand made carpets.
Shop opening hours: 10:00 am –10 pm

Business Hours:
Government offices are closed on Fridays and Saturdays . Whereas most shops close on Friday .
Museums are closed on Tuesday. Opening hours: from 09:00 am until 03:00 pm.

Local time:
Syria is 3 hours ahead of Greenwich mean time (GMT) in spring and summer .