Rif Dimashq Governorate

Rif Dimashq Governorate ( "", literally, the "Governorate of the Countryside of Damascus", Damascus Suburb) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is in the southwestern part of the country. It borders the governorates of Quneitra, Daraa and al-Suwayda (comprising the historic Hauran region) in the southwest, Homs in the north, Lebanon in the west and Jordan in the south.
The Governorate completely surrounds the city-governorate of Damascus and it has an area of 18,032 km² and a population of 2,273,074 (2004 census).
Districts.
The governorate is divided into ten districts ( ; manatiq). There were nine district until February 2009, when Qudsaya District was created from parts of Markaz Rif Dimashq and Al-Zabadani districts. The districts are further divided into 37 sub-districts.There is a small village belonging to the Damascus countryside (Ghouta) called Aqraba, which is characterized by its fields and agricultural orchards. ( ;nawahi).