Syrian Desert, desert of the northern Arabian Peninsula, including northern Saudi Arabia, northeastern Jordan, southeastern Syria, and western Iraq. In area the desert covers about 518,000 sq km (about 200,000 sq mi). The south central part of the desert is called Al Hamad, a name sometimes applied to all of the Syrian Desert. In the north it is bounded by the region known as the Fertile Crescent. The desert is not arable, having only about 127 mm (about 5 in) of rainfall annually, but cattle and camels are raised by Arab nomads. Pipelines cross the desert to connect the oil fields of Saudi Arabia and Iraq with Mediterranean ports.