Syria: An Economic Survey 



Dew. In summer a heavy dew falls in the coastal plain and 

 in the mountains, which is indispensable for the summer crops 

 (durrha, sesame). 



Winds. The winds are fairly strong throughout the year. The 

 prevailing wind is from the southwest and brings the winter rains. 

 In spring and fall the sirocco (Chamsin) blows from the Arabian 

 Desert. In summer there is a sea breeze in the daytime and a 

 land breeze at night. 



Lakes and Streams. The important lakes are the Lake of 

 Antioch, fed by the Kara Su and the Aphirin Su, the Lake of 

 Horns, formed by the Orontes, the prairie marshes near Damascus 

 fed by the Barada, the salt lakes near Jebbul, and the three 

 lakes of the Jordan Valley, Merom, Tiberias, and the Dead Sea. 

 Syria has no navigable streams. Its deepest rivers are barely 

 a yard in depth and from 30 to 50 yards wide, with a swift current. 

 The three main rivers of Syria are the Orontes, (about 186 mi. 

 long), with its source in the Lebanon near Baalbek, which flows 

 into the Mediterranean near the Lake of Antioch; the Litani, 

 which also has its source in the Lebanon and flows into the 

 Mediterranean near Tyre; and the Jordan (124 mi.), which com- 

 ing from Mt. Hermon, flows through the Lakes of Huleh and 

 Tiberias and empties into the Dead Sea. Besides these longitudinal 

 streams there are several small transverse streams, the Nahr el 

 Kebir (near Latakia), the Kadisha (near Tripoli), the Nahr 

 Ibrahim and the Nahr el Kelb (near Beirut), the Brook Kishon 

 (near Haifa), and the Aujah (near Jaffa), all flowing from the 

 western mountain range into the Mediterranean. The Barada and 

 the Nahr el Avadj flow toward Damascus from the eastern mount- 

 ain range, while the Yarmuk and the Zerka flow into the Jordan 

 from the Ajlun. The Kuveik flows through Aleppo into a prairie 

 marsh, and the Kara Su and the Aphirin Su flow into the Lake 

 of Antioch. 



Health Conditions. In general the land may be considered 

 healthy. The only diseases which are constant and epidemic in 

 certain sections are malaria and trachoma. Malaria is prevalent 

 in (a) the coastal zone, where swamps are formed by the rain water 

 which is dammed up by sand dunes and rocks, (b) valleys with an 

 impervious sub-stratum and imperfect drainage, (c) the banks of 

 shallow streams, and (d) mountain districts where rain water is 

 preserved in badly made cisterns for use in summer. Both these 

 diseases could be successfully combated. (International Health 



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