14 October 2019
Last month, I was in Damascus for just 8 full days. I had a journalist's visa which ensured I had the chance to interview some distinguished Syrians as well as some 'ordinary' Syrians, all of them impressive people, and most of them women.
Most evident was the fact that the war has led to women in Syria finding...
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...
My Country
- by Nizar Qabbani,
- translated by Norma Medawar
From the lisp of the
blackbird…
From the saddening
huskiness of the flute…
From the flickering sounds of
the folk songs
From the sighs of the
minaret…
From a cloud at sunset
woven by a chimney and by
the wound of the bricks of
the decorated and widespread
villages…
From the whispers of a star
settled in our east
From a story between
a rose and a...
"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...
October 2019
In July 2019, I visited an exhibition titled The Sea by acclaimed Aussie artist Luke Cornish at the Bondi Pavillion Gallery, Sydney.
Luke had kindly contributed to the second issue of Beloved Syria, so I was really pleased to catch up with him and see more of his work from Syria receiving very respectful attention in Bondi!
With Luke's permission, I took...
By Iskhandar Razak
A Syrian refugee granted asylum in Melbourne has started a magazine to give Australians a different perspective of her homeland, which has been ravaged by years of war.
Syria was once a nation of 22 million people and home to historic sites that predate the bible.
But now the UN estimates nearly 11 million have fled their homes after years...
Written by Chris Ray and first published in Atlas Obscura, Dec 10, 2019
BY CHRIS RAY DECEMBER 10, 2019
On a bright spring day in April 2013, the minaret of one of the world’s most famous mosques came crashing to earth in the Syrian city of Aleppo. The sound was heard across the Old Quarter, even over the din of artillery...
'A Foolish Man', the story below, is from Kan Ya Ma Kan: Folktales and Recipes of Syria and its Ethnic Groups by the late Muna Imady. It is published here by 'Beloved Syria' with the permission of the author's mother, Elaine Imady.
This story comes from Sweida.Â
As explained in the introduction to 'A Foolish Man', Sweida is the southernmost of Syria’s...
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;...
‘Beloved Syria’ is honoured to present this beautiful documentary featuring the Gardenia Choir, a women’s choir based in Syria which has performed both in Syria and abroad.
At the start of the film, the choir sings 'Barcarolle' from Jacques Offenbach's ‘The Tales of Hoffman’, a song that must be familiar to tens of thousands of choir members and opera lovers...
