Back محافظة السويداء Arabic محافظة السويداء ARZ Əs-Süveyda mühafəzəsi Azerbaijani سویدا اوستانی AZB Ас-Суейда (мухафаза) Bulgarian Governació d'As-Suwayda Catalan As-Suwayda Governorate CEB پارێزگای سووەیدا CKB Guvernorát Suvajda Czech Gouvernement as-Suwaida German
Al-Suwayda Governorate
مُحافظة السويداء | |
|---|---|
.svg) Map of Syria with al-Suwayda Governorate highlighted | |
| Coordinates (Al-Suwayda): 32°48′N 36°48′E / 32.8°N 36.8°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Control | Syrian transitional government |
| Capital | Al-Suwayda |
| Manatiq (Districts) | 3 |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Muhsina al-Mahithawi[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,550 km2 (2,140 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 375,000[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | SY-SU |
| Main language(s) | Arabic |
As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة السويداء, romanized: Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is the southernmost governorate, covering an area of 5,550 km², and is part of the historic Hawran region. The capital and largest city of the governorate is al-Suwayda.
Geographically the governorate comprises almost all of Jabal al-Druze, the eastern part of Lejah, and a part of the arid eastern steppe of Harrat al-Shamah.
Most inhabitants of As-Suwayda are employed in agriculture, cultivating crops such as grapes, apples, olives, and wheat. Additionally, As-Suwayda is home to numerous archaeological sites.
This governorate is unique in Syria as it has a Druze majority. Additionally, it has integrated Christian communities that have long coexisted harmoniously with the Druze in these mountains.[3]
- ^ The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows
- ^ "New Syrian government appoints woman governor of southern province". yahoo news. 31 December 2024. Archived from the original on 31 December 2024.
- ^ Balanche, Fabrice (2017). Atlas of the Near East: State Formation and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1918–2010. Brill. p. 27. ISBN 9789004345188.
...comprised 50,328 inhabitants, of whom 85 per cent were Druze, and it integrated Christian communities (7,000 people) who had long lived in these mountains in harmony with the Druze.