Syrian Desert

Syrian Desert, Arabic بادية الشام, DMG bādiyat aš -SAM, is the western part of North Arabian dry steppe, among the nearly two-thirds of the land area of Syria, Jordan and the eastern part of western Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia. The Fertile Crescent to the north of the Euphrates River goes with decreasing rainfall southward first in a little rain steppe and rises beyond the Syrian border gradually to hyperarid desert plateau of Inner Arabia to.

Geography

The Syrian desert is a total climate variability desert steppe. Your border to north subsequent Jazeera is the Euphrates. In this area, the average annual rainfall are already below 150 millimeters, farming is possible only with irrigation in Euphrataue. The rains in the winter months allow the semi-nomadic cattle breeding of goats and sheep. In the West itself of the Syrian Altsiedelland with fertile agricultural plains along the line of Homs - Aleppo to the mid-19th century, a Neusiedelland with non-irrigated corn fields about 100 kilometers from the north-south line east to the cultivation limit ( 250 mm) in the steppe extended. Salamiyya is one of these border settlements, founded by Ismailis from the Jebel Ansariye.

South of the rich lava fields of the Syrian desert right up to the mountain massif of Jebel al-Druze in Hauran region. The main road between these towns continues south over Damascus and crosses throughout Jordan. It marks there about the western border of the Syrian desert.

The highest elevation in Syria is 1390 meters a summit of Jabal Abu Rujmayn, a rugged rocky mountains north of Palmyra, the widely visible rising from the 500 meter high sandy- stony plain.

In summer, temperatures rise to 45 to 50 degrees, while by February they can fall below freezing at night in the winter months of December. Thus, the climate is similar to the deserts of North Africa.

Name

Al- Badiya ( " steppe, desert " ) means the land of the Bedouin to distinguish it from al - Jazeera to the north of the Euphrates. As an old geographical name Badiya represents the vast desert steppe (Sahara ), walk in the nomads in search of pasture, unlike Hadira where there is surrounded by farmland fixed settlements and where to retire, the Bedouins in their summer camp at waterholes. Comprehensive Badiya means all land outside fortified settlements. Ash- Shām ( aš -SAM) is the Arabic word for Damascus.

In ancient Egypt all the enemy and living outside of the Reich peoples were called the nine bows. One of these people was called in the ancient Egyptian language as Chaset - charu, which can be translated as "Syrian Desert ". Chaset is the word for " desert ", with charu the Hurrians were meant.