Current Time in Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Deir ez-Zor stands on the banks of the Euphrates in eastern Syria, roughly midway between Aleppo and the Iraqi border. It is the largest city of the Syrian steppe and the capital of the governorate that shares its name, spreading across both sides of the river in a landscape where irrigated green fields give way abruptly to open desert. The climate is hot and dry, with fierce summers and cool winters, and the river has shaped almost every aspect of life here for thousands of years.

Before the Syrian conflict the city was home to well over two hundred thousand people, which made it the main urban centre of the whole eastern part of the country. Its importance came from its position where desert trade routes meet the Euphrates valley, and from the oil and gas fields of the surrounding province, which supplied much of Syria's energy production. Farming along the river, especially cotton, wheat and vegetables, also supported the local economy.

The region around Deir ez-Zor is one of the oldest inhabited parts of the world. Nearby lie the ruins of Mari, a Bronze Age Mesopotamian kingdom whose palace archives held thousands of clay tablets, and Dura-Europos, a Hellenistic and Roman frontier town that preserved an early Christian house church and one of the oldest painted synagogues ever found. The modern city itself grew in the nineteenth century, when the Ottoman authorities established an administrative post to govern the tribes of the middle Euphrates. In 1915 and 1916 it became a tragic destination for Armenians deported across the desert, and a memorial complex was later built to commemorate them.

The best known landmark was the Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge, a slender pedestrian crossing built by French engineers in the 1920s that became the symbol of the city. Along with the Armenian memorial church and much of the older quarters, it was destroyed during the years of war that followed 2012, when the city endured a long siege. The regional museum, which held remarkable finds from Mari and other sites, also suffered heavily.

Life here has traditionally revolved around the river, the markets and strong family and tribal networks. Riverside cafes, evening walks along the corniche and the exchange of news in the souks defined the local atmosphere, while the cuisine of the middle Euphrates, based on lamb, river fish, flatbread and dairy, remains distinctive. Al Furat University, founded in the 1990s, gave the city a role in higher education for the entire eastern region.

Roads link Deir ez-Zor to Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra and the Iraqi frontier, and an airport lies to the east. Reconstruction of bridges, water supply, schools and hospitals has been slow but steady in recent years, and residents have gradually returned.

Deir ez-Zor matters as the gateway to Syria's eastern provinces, a place where ancient Mesopotamian history, desert culture and the life of a great river come together.