Deir Ezzor

Deir ez-Zor دير الزور Deir Ezzor - Deir Azzor
Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor suspension bridge •Armenian Genocide Memorial The Euphrates • 8 March Square Irrigation canal • Suspension bridge at night • Downtown Deir ez-Zor
Deir ez-Zor Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°20′N 40°9′E / 35.333°N 40.150°E / 35.333; 40.150
Country	Syria
Governorate	Deir ez-Zor Governorate
District	Deir ez-Zor District
Government
• Mayor	Mohamed Ibrahim Samra
Elevation	210 m (690 ft)
Population (2004 census)
• City	211,857
• Metro	239,196
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EET (UTC+3)
Area code(s)	051

Coordinates: 35°20′N 40°9′E / 35.333°N 40.150°E / 35.333; 40.150

Deir ez-Zor (Arabic: دير الزور‎‎ Dayr az-Zūr; Syriac: ܕܝܪܐ ܙܥܘܪܬܐ Dayrāʾ Zəʿōrtāʾ) is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located 450 km (280 mi) to the northeast of the capital Damascus on the shores of the Euphrates River, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. According to the 2004 census, it has a population of 211,857 people. Footballer Omar Al Somah was born here.

Among Syrians and neighbouring regions, Ad-Deir is used for short to indicate Deir ez Zor. The current name, which has been extended to the surrounding region, indicates an ancient site for one of the Early Christian secluded monasteries spread since the persecution times and Apostolic Age throughout Mesopotamia. Although Deir, which is Arabic for "monastery", was thought to be kept throughout Medieval and Modern Age renaming, Zor, which indicates the riverbank bush, appeared only in some late Ottoman records.