Lena is an Armenian Syrian singer, composer and musician. Described as a Syrian ambassador spreading the jasmine voice of Damascus, she has performed in Germany, England, Sweden, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Russia, as well as her home country of Syria.
She sings mainly in Arabic and Armenian, but also in Syriac, English, French and Italian.
Lena graduated from Damascus University in...
Syrian actor and artist Faadi Sobeih was born in Damascus, Syria, on 1st November 1974 (currently aged 46).
His first days in his acting career began in 1998 in Damascus and became really famous. He is known for his acting in comedy and being featured in Syrian Drama TV. He loved acting when he was a kid and it was...
In September 2019, Rasha Milhem - Syrian journalist, translator, writer and filmmaker - spoke about 'Restart', the short film she wrote at the end of a diploma course. In April 2019, it won her a 'best scenario' award.
Rasha explained that the movie focuses on people who remained in Syria during the war and their family members who left Syria;...
Published by Beloved Syria with the permission of the author.
'A Child in Damascus' was first published in SYRIA through writers' eyes, Edited by Marius Kociejowski (Eland Publishing Ltd, 2010)
A Child in DamascusÂ
by Josceline Dimbleby
...years later I understood the saying that once you have lived in Damascus, it lives in you
In the early summer of 1950, aged seven, I arrived...
"To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man" Â -Aristotle*
Ahlan wa sahlan
A warm welcome**
This post is dedicated to Syrian writer Ms Muna Imady (1962 - 2016) and the country and people she loved.
In an interview for ‘Beloved Syria’ (September 2019), Muna’s mother, Elaine, spoke about 'Kan Ya Ma Kan: Folktales and Recipes...
Samir Mardini is a gifted Syrian Australian musician, who performs every week with his brother, Sargon, at Raqwa Café & Beer Garden in Preston, Melbourne, where I interviewed him one Sunday evening.
Samir and Sargon are often invited to perform at weddings and other events at cafes, restaurants and lounges. They are becoming quite well-known within the Arabic communities in...
Food isn’t just meant to be eaten for the sake of eating in Syria; food is meant to be tasted, enjoyed, even loved. It’s meant to be eaten slowly and, most importantly, fill the stomach.
Food is a staple to the Syrian way of life. It is at the heart of the culture. It’s a way to connect with friends...
This gallery of images brings together photographs already presented on other pages of Beloved Syria. When I took these pictures, I was given permission to present them online -to a world that knows so little about life in Syria, so little about the remarkable warmth and spirit of Syrians.
(Note: It is very possible some of the images were taken...
Written by Chris Ray, this article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on Jan 25, 2020 as "Ode to Damascus". Â
It may seem like an unlikely holiday destination, but as peace returns to Syria, the struggling nation hopes tourists will too. By Chris Ray
Tourism in Damascus, Syria
Nour Neema at the Sah al-Naum hotel, which...
On a crisp winter’s morning in December 2008, a group of university students from Melbourne began their tour of Syria with a visit to the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Damascus, where over 250 Australian soldiers from both world wars have been buried. Kurt, an Australian Army officer, spoke to the students. A veteran of the war in Iraq, Kurt...
