Syria - officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in the Middle East. It borders Lebanon to the West, Israel to the South-West, Jordan to the South, Iraq to the East, and Turkey to the North. Israel occupies the Golan Heights in the South-West of the country; a dispute with Turkey over the Hatay Province now seems to have subsided. Historically, Syria has often been taken to include the territories of Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and parts of Jordan, but excluding the Jazira region in the north-east of the modern Syrian state. Capital - Damascus. Population - 19,043,000.
