THE JAZIRA PROJECT Report of the Oriental Institute's geomorphological projects within the Jazira of syria, Turkey and Iraq. http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/JAZ/Jazira.html
Extractions: comments ... UPPER MESOPOTAMIA LANDSCAPE PROJECT During the past twenty years both The Oriental Institute and Tony Wilkinson, the Institute's geomorphologist, have undertaken a number of projects within the Jazira of Syria, Turkey and Iraq. In order to provide a broader framework for future work, three major regional study areas are being proposed based on this previous work, geographical representativeness and suitable, and available area coverage (preferably aerial photographs, secondarily good maps). An overall geographical framework can be provided by either LANDSAT or SPOT images used in conjunction with GIS reference systems. Three Main Study Areas: Western Jazira, Syria (1:25,000 maps, 1:10,000 aerial photographs, ground control (see below part 2)). Turkish Hilly Flanks (1:25,000 maps (part of area), extensive ground control). The above three areas have all received a considerable amount of archaeological attention in recent years and all contain a large number of important archaeological sites. Although each area belongs to the Jazira, each represents a different geographical sub-zone as follows (from most arid to sub-humid): Straddling the southern margins of dry-land farming (mean annual rainfall of 200-300 mm pa), this region includes to the north and west, areas where dry-land cultivation is feasible so that settlements can spread away from obvious sources of irrigation water (eg Sweyhat and the upper Balikh). To the south and east where dryland farming becomes impracticable, settlement distributions, being more tied to water supply, become more linear. The latter area shows more evidence of canal and qanat water supply (dates to be determined, but predominantly post classical) and the presence within such an area of key early sites like Mureybit and Abu Hureyra requires some environmental or technological explanation.
Extractions: Web posted at: 4:23 p.m. EST (2123 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) Israel and Syria will resume face-to-face peace talks next week in Washington, President Clinton announced Wednesday. The breakthrough came after Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met with Syrian President Hafez Assad Tuesday in the Syrian capital of Damascus and then with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Israel and Syria broke off peace talks in 1996. "We are at a pivotal moment in the Middle East peace process," Clinton said at a news conference. "One that can shape the face of the region for generations to come."
Extractions: PLAY VIDEO RELATED Rumsfeld warns Syria about Iraq Syria: Saddam not our problem SPECIAL REPORT War Tracker On the Scene Map U.S. Iraq ... Special Report DAMASCUS, Syria (CNN) Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa on Saturday denied U.S. allegations that Syria is hiding deposed Iraqi leader Saddam's Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and sheltering leaders of Saddam's fallen regime. At a news briefing with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, Sharaa said U.S. complaints against Syria came "from fanatic circles" in the Bush administration who want to "degrade Syria's role in the region." De Villepin arrived in Syria for meetings with Syrian President Basher al-Assad the day after Syria, responding to U.S. pressure, closed its border with Iraq. At the news briefing, Sharaa faced more questions about U.S. claims.
BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Country Profiles | Timeline: Syria Timeline syria. A chronology of key events 635 AD Conquered by MuslimArabs. 1516 Becomes Ottoman outpost. 1919 Becomes capital of syria. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/827580.stm
Extractions: A chronology of key events: 1 October - Arab troops led by Emir Faysal, and supported by British forces, capture Damascus, ending 400 years of Ottoman rule. DAMASCUS Capital is said to be world's oldest continuously-inhabited city 64 BC: Conquered by Romans 635 AD: Conquered by Muslim Arabs 1516: Becomes Ottoman outpost 1919: Becomes capital of Syria - Emir Faysal argues for Arab self-rule at the Versailles peace conference, following the defeat of Germany and the Ottoman Empire in World War I. June - Elections for a Syrian National Congress are held across the former Ottoman province. The new assembly includes delegates from Palestine. 8 March - The National Congress proclaims Emir Faysal king of Syria "in its natural boundaries" from the Taurus mountains in Turkey to the Sinai desert in Egypt. French control June - San Remo international conference splits up Faysal's newly-created Arab kingdom by placing Syria-Lebanon under a French mandate, and Palestine under British control.
BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Syria's Christian Legacy Saturday, 5 May, 2001, 0631 GMT 0731 UK syria s Christian legacy. syriahas a vibrant, minority Christian community. By Barbara Plett in Damascus http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1313724.stm
Extractions: Father Tawfiq Eid, a Syrian priest She is reciting the Lord's prayer in the same words that Jesus used. Aramaic used to be the common language of the Middle East, but it almost died out as Arabic swept the region after the Arab invasions of the 7th Century. It survives in Maalula, a small Christian village in the craggy hills north of Damascus. Holy tongue The ancient tongue is part of Syria's Christian heritage, something the faithful here are eager to show off during the visit of Pope John Paul II, the first ever by a head of the Catholic Church. "The mountains may have helped to conserve this language because these villages have been isolated geographically," says a local priest, Father Tawfiq Eid.
