Syria’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Syria’s historical heritage was not spared the ravages of the horrific war that has spanned over a decade. Today, Syria’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites stand in a heartbreaking state of
June 26, 2024
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Little Syria: Little Syria: Syrians’ First Home in the Western World
New York City is known for its diversity and multiculturalism, but few people know about the history of one of its earliest and most influential immigrant groups: the Syrians. In this article, you will learn about the origins, achievements, and challenges of Little Syria, the neighborhood that was once home to thousands of Syrians and other Arabs in Manhattan. You will also discover how Little Syria was erased from the city’s landscape by urban development, and how its descendants are preserving its memory and heritage today. Join us as we explore the fascinating story of Little Syria, the first home of Syrians in the Western world.
Beginning in the 1880s, Syrians had a complex relationship with New York City, as it hosted one of the first, if not the very first, Syrian communities outside their homeland: Little Syria of New York. Little Syria was formally the name of a neighborhood located in Manhattan, NYC, extending from Washington St. to Rector St. Most residents of this area originated from the Eastern Mediterranean region, which used to be referred to more often as Greater Syria, also known as the Levant. The area became NYC’s first Arab-speaking center, primarily Syrian and Lebanese. In Brooklyn, there were two other concentrations of migrants from then Ottoman Syria.
Migration began in the period after the short but devastating civil conflict and massacres of 1860 in Lebanon and Syria and the collapse of the economy in the region during the late Ottoman era. Most were Christians, along with a sizable Jewish minority and some Muslims. Little Syria played a leading role in the development of Arabic journalism and it was the first place where Syrians could type in Arabic, as Ottoman Turks were threatened by the development of Syrian political movements within literary circles.
Most Syrians encountered hostility from locals when they first arrived, and hateful sentiment spread about these migrants as thieves. Indigenous society dwarfed Syrian society which then left for other parts of New York and other states, and then by the 1940s, the society disappeared completely with the construction of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in 1950. To this day, you can see parts of Little Syria with the ancient heritage that the Syrians of New York keep, which now spans over a century, and you can see the extent of their influence on their city and their relationship with the Levant.
