Syrian language

The national language of Syria is Arabic, with English and French commonly spoken. A small number of Syrians still use the ancient Aramaic. Other languages ??include Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic and Gilkes.

Syria, the full name of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic:; English: The?Syrian?Arab?Republic; French: La?République?arabe?syrienne), is located in western Asia, on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea , the total land area (including the Golan Heights) is 185,180 square kilometers.

Some people think that the origin of the word "Syria" is related to the word "Assyria". A more generally agreed view is that this word first appeared in Ugaritic literature in the form of "Shryn". Later Hebrew documents recorded it as "Siryon", which mainly refers to the outer Lebanese area.

The Babylonians called it "Su-Ri", mainly referring to the area north of the Euphrates River. The Greeks called it "Syria", which mainly refers to the area from the Taurus Mountains in the north, the Sinai Peninsula in the south, the Mediterranean coast in the west, and the Iraqi desert in the east.

During the Arab rule, Syria was renamed "Shem", mainly referring to the area north of Yemen. It was only after the First World War that the Greek term Syria became the name of the region again.

Etiquette and Customs

When visiting Syrian people's homes or visiting government agencies or enterprises, the host usually serves the guests with bitter coffee first. The coffee is served in a special pot and small cups, and the person pouring the coffee only holds four to five cups. If there are many guests, the person in front will use it and the person behind will continue to use it, without scrubbing. The amount of coffee poured each time is not much, only about one third of the cup.

It is a custom among Syrians to shake hands, hug and kiss each other when meeting. Colleagues and friends generally greet each other with a handshake. When relatives and friends meet again after a long absence or go away from home, they will hug each other warmly and kiss their cheeks three times (only between people of the same gender, left, right, left for men; right, left, right for women. If they are closely related, Will kiss the cheek and make a smacking sound in the mouth).

When foreign guests meet for the first time, they usually shake hands to welcome them. If it is the second time to meet, then hug and kiss the face warmly, usually twice, first left and then right. If the friendship between the two is very deep, it will be three times (left, right, left). Men and women shake hands to express welcome.

Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Syria