Deir Ezzor

Deir Ezzor, also transcribed Dayr al-Zour or Deir Ezzour (Arabic: دير الزور), known colloquially as El-Deir (الدير ad-dayr; lit. "the Abode"), is the most populous city and administrative seat of Deir Ezzor Municipality, one of the 155 municipalities of the Syrian Arab Republic. The city is located on the banks of the River Euphrates, approximately 450 km northeast of Damascus. It is home to over 330,000 people, most of whom are Arab Sunni Muslims but also including a significant Kurdish minority which is a mixed group of Sunnis and Shias.