SYRIA The coastal strip, which is narrow in the north, but broadens out in the south into the plains of Sharon and Philistia, is bordered by a series of highlands which include the Giaour Dagh, Lebanon, and the hill districts of Samaria and Judaea. Beyond these lies the rift valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, the eastern walls of which form the escarpment of a plateau that falls away gradually towards the Euphrates. The climate is of an extreme Mediterranean type and the summers are hot, especially in the rift valley and on the eastern plateau, while the winters are warm (except in the north, where there is often heavy snow). Precipitation is heaviest on the slopes of the Lebanon, which have an average rainfall of over 40 inches ; but this amount decreases slightly towards the north, and rapidly towards the south and east.
Agriculture is the main industry of the inhabitants, but, though much of the soil is fertile, a great part of it is uncultivated ; and there is little doubt but that improved methods of husbandry, and more especially the development of irrigation, would increase to a considerable extent the productive powers of the land. The chief agricultural areas lie either upon the slopes of the hills facing the sea, or on the plateau beyond the rift valley. In the first of these regions, the olive is extensively grown, and the manu facture of oil, and soap therefrom, are two of the most important industries in the country. Round Alexandretta in the north, and Jaffa in the south, there are now many orange plantations, though in the latter district irrigation is necessary. Lemons also are of increasing importance. The rearing of the silkworm has long been practised in the Lebanon province ; but the industry is beginning to spread along the coast, both to the north and south, as well as inland to the Anti-Lebanon. The silk is spun in the district and
the product is exported, the bulk of it going to Lyons. Tobacco is cultivated in different parts of the country, but the export con sists mainly of that which is grown in the mountains behind Latakia. Between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon there are numerous vineyards, and within recent years the cultivation of the vine has extended to the coastal regions round Haifa and Jaffa, where sesame is also an important crop. On the plateau region, to the east of the rift valley, the products are of a somewhat different character, and cereals are grown in sufficient quantities round Damascus, Hama, and Aleppo to permit of a considerable export, especially of barley; while cotton is an important crop round Idlib in the north, where there is said to be much fertile land, at present lying fallow, suitable for the cultivation of that plant. To the east of the regions mentioned, the want of rainfall condemns the country to pastoral pursuits alone, and even these disappear towards the Syrian desert. Among the more important industries of Northern Syria are weaving and dyeing at Aleppo, and the tanning of leather at Aintab.
Minerals are known to exist in different parts of Syria, but, so- far, little has been done for their development. The principal exports of the country include oranges and lemons, sesame, silk, soap, barley, and liquorice.