Literature

  Tears for the Souq of Damascus On the road to Damascus I dreamed of the Souk The delicious biscuit, barazeh The over powering smell of maazoot   Souk El Hamadeyeh’s narrow lanes Shoulder rubbing lanes of fabric Copperware, clothing, underwear The silversmiths, surely do reign   Traditional foods and modern cuisine Great fashion and jewellery Syria, home of pure cotton High-rise buildings add to the scene   Mar Yohanna’s historical church Now a mausoleum The ancient...

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"  -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...

'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.  As explained in the introduction to 'A Foolish Man', Sweida is the southernmost of Syria’s...