Syria

Syria is a country in the Middle East, formerly part of the Ottoman Empire and the French Mandate.

It lies to the southeast of Turkey and east of Lebanon and Israel. It is north of Jordan and northwest of Iraq. The capital is Damascus. It was the first country in the region to let women vote.

It is currently undergoing a civil war in which forces loyal to dictator Bashar Assad have kept control of the capital but lost control of large parts of the countryside and some major cities.