Top 10 facts about Syria

1. Syria was the location of one of the earliest civilisations and was a centre of Neolithic culture around 10,000BC.

2. Human remains found in Syria suggest that Neanderthals lived there as

early as 100,000BC.

3. The earliest account of a mermaid is the story of the Syrian goddess Atargatis who became half-fish after accidentally killing a shepherd she loved.

4. The Golden (or Syrian) hamster was discovered in Aleppo, Syria, in 1930.

5. All the hamsters kept as pets today are descendants of hamsters found in Syria.

6. Although Damascus (population 1.7 million) is the capital of Syria, the largest city is Aleppo (population 2.1 million).

7. In 1958, Syria merged with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic. The union lasted until 1961. 8. Syria has competed at the Olympics since 1948 winning one gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

9. The gold medal was for the women’s heptathlon in 1996.

10. According to the current Fifa rankings, Syria has the 147th strongest national football team, just behind Barbados and ahead of Liechtenstein.