deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

“Evacuation Day (Arabic: عيد الجلاء, romanized: ʿīd al-jalāʾ, also known as Jalaa Day or Clearance Day) is Syria’s national day commemorating the evacuation of the last French soldier at the end of the French mandate of Syria on 17 April1946after Syria’s proclamation of full independence on 27 September1941.

Syria has been an important strategic place in the Arab world since the 600s. It has been ruled by many different people, always central to Arabs.

“Sayf al-Dawla has remained to modern times one of the best-known medieval Arab leaders. His bravery and leadership of the war against the Byzantines, despite the heavy odds against him, his literary activities and patronage of poets which lent his court an unmatched cultural brilliance, the calamities which struck him towards his end—defeat, illness and betrayal—have made him, in the words of Bianquis, “from his time until the present day”, the personification of the “Arab chivalrous ideal in its most tragic aspect””

“Syria’s independence is celebrated on April 17 as a federal holiday honoring the nation. Syria is a nation in Western Asia that is home to deserts, towering mountains, and lush plains. The bulk of the population in the nation are Syrian Arabs, along with Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, and other ethnic and religious groups. In addition, it is a country with many different religions, including Sunnis, Christians, and Shiites. Damascus is the country’s capital and largest city, and Arabs make up the majority of the population in terms of both religion and ethnicity. A unitary republic, Syria is divided into 14 governorates. Additionally, it belongs to the U.N.”

After World War I in a secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France, with Russian and Italian assent the entire region was divided into ‘spheres’ that were to be controlled and protected by Britain and France. It was called the Sykes-Picot Agreement after the diplomats who came up with it.

In the years that followed all of the countries continued to push and argue about Syria. The League of Nations became interested and tried to come up with their plans. In The Anglo-French Modus Vivendi it was agreed that the British would give France control of the area. It would be simplistic but true, Arabs were not consulted and were not happy.

After decades of conflict and civil wars the French finally relinquished control and on April 17th, 1946, the last French troops left Syria.