ARMENIA OPENS HONORARY CONSULATE IN SYRIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.02.2010 18:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia will open an
honorary consulate in Deir ez Zor, Syria Thursday, February 11.

During his visit, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Arman Kirakosyan
will meet with Syrian officials, RA Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran
Balayan told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Leon Zeki, prominent Armenian businessman and member of the Aleppo
Chamber of Commerce, in turn, emphasized the importance of consulate
in strengthening collaboration with Deir ez Zor community.

A Syrian of Armenian decent Surin Varkanian was appointed as Armenia’s
Consul to Deir ez Zor, his native city.

Deir ez Zor is a city in north-eastern Syria on the Euphrates River
and capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 450 km from the capital,
Damascus. It has a population of 230,000 (2002 estimate).

The city and its rural surrounding is a fertile and prosperous
farming area, with livestock-breeding, cereals and cotton crops. Many
agribusiness institutions work there as well.

Since the discovery of light crude petroleum in the Syrian desert it
has become a centre for the country’s petroleum extraction industry.

It is also a minor centre for tourism with many tourist facilities
such as traditional French-style riverbank restaurants, up to 5-star
hotels, a hub for trans-desert travel and an airport in Al-Jafra
suburb. There are salt mines nearby.

Deir ez-Zor is situated 85 km to the northwest of the archaeological
remains of Dura-Europos and 120 km northwest of the remains of the
ancient city of Mari. During Roman times it was an important trading
post between the Roman Empire and India. Conquered by Zenobia, it
became part of the kingdom of Palmyra. After a successive wave of
conquests, it was finally destroyed by the Mongols as they swept
across the Middle East.

The modern town was built by the Ottoman Empire in 1867. In 1915,
the city became a major destination point in the Armenian Genocide;
a memorial commemorating this tragedy is located in the city. France
occupied Deir ez-Zor in 1921 and made it the seat of a large garrison.

Meanwhile, the region was locally ruled by Haj-Fadel Abboud, a member
of an aristocratic family. In 1941 British-led forces defeated the
Vichy French during the Syria-Lebanon campaign, which included a
battle over Deir, and they handed administration of the region to
the Free French. In 1946 it became part of independent Syria.

Deir ez-Zor is also famous for its suspension bridge that spans the
Euphrates and was built by the French in 1930.

It has a regional-level museum and a big Cultural Center. The
newly established Al-Furat University has its center in Deir ez
Zor. Of this University, faculties of Agriculture, Science, Arts and
Humanities, Education, Law, Petrochemical Engineering and Medicine
are located in the city, while other faculties spread in neighbouring
districts. Many other vocational schools and professional institutes
also provide post-secondary education. The local daily newspaper
Al Furat is published there. The city hosts the governorate’s only
two universities; a public one established in 2006, Al-Furat, and a
private one established in 2007, Al-Jazeera.