Qardaha (Arabic: قرداحة‎ / ALA-LC: Qardāḥah) is a village in northwestern Syria, in the mountains overlooking the coastal town of Latakia. It is mainly an Alawite town and the traditional home of the Assad family, that has ruled Syria since 1970. During the reign of Hafez al-Assad 1970-2000 the government poured massive investments into Qardaha, Lattakia and the surrounding region. Today, this is evident already before entering Qardaha, as the broad Syrian coastal highway makes an inexplicable pass into the mountains just to reach Qardaha. Qardaha has a lot of luxurious villas.

Qardaha is surrounded by the villages of A'aen al-A'aros, Debash, Kabo, Bustan al-Basha, and Bhmra. Major families in Qardaha: Al-Assad, al-Khayer, Othman, Shalish, Ismail, Jabbour, Nassif, Hatem, Suleiman, Deeb, Kina'an, Makhlouf, Aslan, Jarkas. A major statue of Hafez al-Assad is found in the town center, and a huge mausoleum containing the graves of Basil al-Assad and Hafez al-Assad is also located there. Hasan al-Khayer was also born in Qardaha.

Bashar Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: بشار حافظ الأسد‎, Baššār al-ʾAsad, ‎‎‎Arabic pronunciation: [bæʃˈʃɑːɾɪlˈʔæsæd])‎; born 11 September 1965) is the current President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000.

Al-Assad graduated from the medical school of the University of Damascus in 1988, and started to work as a doctor in the army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital, in London, specializing in ophthalmology. In 1994, Al-Assad entered the military academy and in 1998, Al-Assad took charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. In December 2000, Assad married Asma Assad, née Akhras. Al-Assad was elected as President of Syria in 2000 and 2007, unopposed each time. During the Syrian uprising, activists and protesters have called for President al-Assad's resignation.

Bashar Hafez al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, the son of Aniseh (née Makhluf) and Hafez al-Assad. His father, Hafez al-Assad, born to a poor family of Alawite background, had risen through the Party ranks, to take control of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in the 1970 Corrective Revolution, thus installing himself as president. Hafez al-Assad purged the Party, and introduced effective Alawite rule of Syria.

Rami Makhlouf (Arabic: رامي مخلوف‎, born 10 July 1969) is a wealthy Syrian businessman and the maternal cousin of President Bashar Assad. He is the main owner of Syriatel and according to the Financial Times he is thought to control as much as 60% of the Syrian economy through his web of business interests that include telecommunications, oil and gas, construction, banking, airlines and retail. He is considered one of the most powerful men in Syria and according to Syrian analysts no foreign company can do business in Syria without his consent and partnership. He is a part of Bashar Assad's inner circle.

Rami Makhlouf is one of the wealthiest individuals in Syria and the cousin of Bashar Assad. He is related to the Assad family through his aunt Anisa Makhlouf who is the wife of former Syrian President Hafez Assad. His personal wealth was estimated in 2008 to be about $6 billion dollars. He is the main owner of Syriatel which is one of the two licensed mobile phone company's in Syria. Besides owning Syriatel, he is involved in real estate, banking, free trade zones along the border with Lebanon, duty-free shops, and luxury department stores. According to the Financial Times, he is thought to control as much as 60% of the Syrian economy through his web of business interests,