The capital of Syria is DAMASCUS, which has a population of over 1.7 million people. It is located in the south-western part of the country and is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The second largest city in Syria is Aleppo, which is located in the north-western part of the country. The current president of Syria is Bashar al-Assad, who has been in power since 2000. Other important cities in Syria include Antioch, which was an important trading center in the Roman Empire, and ARAM, which is located in the north-eastern part of the country. Syria is bordered by Lebanon to the west, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north.