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Asian Communities

Syrian Community

Syrian Community in Hamilton | General Information about Syria

Syrian Community in Hamilton

  • Population in Hamilton:

    Overall, there are about 50 Syrian families in Hamilton.

  • Major Languages:

    Arabic, Armenian, Kurdish

  • Major Religions:

    Islam and Christianity.

Common Foods

Kebabs Kebabs Hummus Hummus Kubbah dish Kubbah dish Falafel Falafel Swarma Swarma

Shawarma is meat, either chicken or beef, that is cooked on a steel stick. It also includes radishes, spices and salt. It is eaten wrapped in a pita, with onions, vegetables and sauces.

Sheikh Al Muhshi is meat wrapped inside curcumas served with yogurt.

Humus is made from chick peas powder fried in oil with garlic, spices and salt. Humus is served with salads, entries and main meals.

Traditional Clothing

Abaya dress Abaya dress Man and woman in traditional dress Man and woman in traditional dress

  • Women's clothing:

    Hejab, 40% of women wear hejab.

  • Men's clothing:

    Men wear abayas. Children's clothing is the same as that of the adults.

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Art and Culture

  • Musical Instruments:

    Aud, Anoon (string instrument with the body made of metal), Drums, Daff ( a drum made of wood and skin).

The Ud The Ud The Daff drum The Daff drum

  • Major Syrian businesses in Hamilton:

    CompuFirst computer business on 588 Upper James St.www.compufirst.ca

    Syrian immigrants also work in farm businesses, construction, sales and professional engineering.

    There area number of visa students from Syria in Mohawk College and McMaster University.

  • Areas of residence of the community's members in Hamilton:

    Hamilton mountain

General Information about Syria

  • Location:

    Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey.

  • Climate:

    Mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus.

  • Capital City:

    Damascus

  • Policy and legislature:

    Parliamentary republic. The governmenmt is currently supervised by the USA lead coalition.

  • Celebrations:

    Eid Ul Adha celebration after the month of Ramadan. Mothers day, Labour day on June 01, President's inauguration on 16th of November, Celebration of war with Israel 06 October ( 1973), 21 March the tree celebration (Spring).

  • Holidays:

    Independence Day, April 17.

  • Major Religions:

    Islam, Christianity, Yazidis, and others.

  • National Symbols:

    Lotus, Peacock, Tiger

    The National Flag The National Flag

    Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980.

  • National anthem:

    "Homat el Diyar" ("Guardians of the Homeland")listen

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