What's On Magazine Sample

Society
CONTENTS
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23 24 25 26 27 28
Europcar Middle-East Regional Meeting. Celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Sri Lanka. launching Malaysian Syrian Business Council. Cultural Center Lattakia. Silver Scorpio-Premiere Display. Deaf Day: 15 minutes of inspiration.
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Heritage & Travel

Heritage and Culture Preservation Takes new directions in Damascus.
Events
34 35 36 37
Kasperasky Mobile Security 9 Provides Support for BlackBerry and Android. Dedeman Creates Happy Moments. Starwood Hotels & Resorts welcomes its President & CEO. The British Council Holds a lecture on Creative Economy.
Lifestyle
44 50 54
The Oscars Goes to The Worst Red Carpet of the Year! Celebrity Mothers Dreaming of a Bright Future for their Children. What No One Ever Admits About Marriage.
Features
57 60 62 64
Damascus lost visual identity. Stubborn Superstitions. Syrian Students: Time to Think Outside the Box. Syrian Expats: Priceless Resource in the Development Race.
Interview
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Editor Letter
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Yamm Mashhadi: The Writer, the Woman and the Mother
Culture 11
12 14 16 18
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72 Guide
Film & TV
66 67 68 68 69 70 70 71 71 71
Series Tackling Corruption Differs Little After 15 Years. Dox Box 2011 Festival. Ice Age Rio. The Adjustment Bureau. Battle: Los Angeles. Mars Needs Moms. Sucker Punch. Rango. Hall Pass. Never Say Never.
Abed Azarieh: A Mystical Evening at Damascus Opera House. The Northern Lights Snowball: 2011 at the Canadian Embassy. Sparkling Performance in Memory of Chopin. Why 80s and 90s Music is Still Alive in Syria. Saneyah Saleh: A Distinguished Artist, Kept in the Shadow.
welcome
March - April 2011 Issue No. 73

Published by UNItEd GroUP under decree no:1597 by Syrian government on 3 APR 2005
Hello everybody The month of March signals (or at least should signal) the start of the spring season with its wormer weather and slightly longer days. This in turn encourages the launch of all those social activities that were waiting for the bad weather to end. The period between February the 15th and the 15th of March was busy with social activities and hence, came the extensive Society and Events section in this issue of Whats On. March, also, is the month during which humanity celebrates the Mothers Day as an acknowledgement of the huge role that mothers play in building better societies, therefore we at Whats On- decided to celebrate this noble occasion in our unique way. Weve prepared an entertaining article about some very well-known Syrian celebrities who are also mothers and asked them about the meaning of motherhood for them and how did motherhood change their lives. We have, also, prepared a quite unique and open interview with the famous female Syrian scenarist Yamm Mashhadi. In the interview Yamm took us to the depths of her home and painted us a very honest and clear picture of what it takes to have a successful carrier as well as maintaining a healthy family atmosphere. Yamm, also, gave us a comprehensive idea about her upcoming projects and her future directions. Our Fashion Editor Hala Jarjoura will take you to the floors of the 2011 Oscars ceremony and its red carpets through a novel and funny article in our Fashion section that will discuss who wore what in the Oscars. Our Features section has a bunch of important articles that tackle several critical sides of the Syrian society as well as the development horizons for Syrian economy. All the sections that you love are of course- still here: Culture, Travel & Heritage, Film & TV...etc. They are all here, and they cover all the important events on the Syrian cultural scene. Remember that our upcoming issue will be released on April the 15th, and dont forget to send us your valuable feedback to: basel.bannoud@awicompany.com Enjoy. Basel
dAMAscUs Huda Building - 5 Iskandaria St. East Mazzeh P.O.Box: 1999. tel: +963 11 2060. fax: +963 11 6129401 AlEPPo tel: +963 21 2000. fax: +963 21 264 1488. UG coUNtry MAGAzINEs MANAGEr Carole Bechara coMMUNIcAtIoN MANAGEr Haidara Suleiman EdItor IN cHIEf Basel Aal Bannoud basel@whatsonsyria.com EdItorIAl coordINAtor Reem Zakhour coNtrIBUtors Ehab Al-Saiid, Kinda Al-Mtwalli, Elsy Melkonian, Huda Fansa, Lama Abdullah, Isis Noufouri and Baraa Fares. dEsIGN Art & Production Manager Rita Zahar senior designer Alaa Abdullah Production officer Feras Kaissy PHotoGrAPHy Principle Photographer Qusai Al Jarrah www.whatsonsyria.com sAlEs MANAGEr Wisam Al-Nader sAlEs coordINAtor Masa Sidawi sales team Zeid Al Ajlani - Asaad Ebish fINANcE Gihan Abbas Ahmad Mashnoq Abdulqader Asmar rEsErVAtIoN Ayham Ibrahim
magazine
Interview
Yamm Mashhadi - The Writer, the Woman and the Mother
Yamm Mashhadi
The Writer the Woman ,
and the Mother
n innovative writer and a caring mother, her works deal with the core of peoples. She graduated from the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts, but this was not the only source for her innovation, everything she sees inspires her creativity to produce amazing drama such as Another Rainy Day, Shaa Al Hawa, and Takht Sharki. Yamm Mashhadi expresses depth in everything whether on the personal level or on the professional level.
It is a rather depressing day, considering theres always someone suffering or crying. Personally, I would suggest calling it Womans Day instead of Mothers Day, because Mothers Day is always associated with strong and painful emotions about motherhood. We always perceive a mother as a housewife, even the presents she receives on Mothers Day are concerned with housekeeping like; cooking pots, Microwave, kitchenware, etc. We rarely think of a mother differently from what we are accustomed to think of her, and this is the idea that I mainly presented in the drama series Takht Sharki.
Mothers Day; what does this occasion mean to you?
Having become a mother, what do you think of Mothers Day now?
Although my son is still too young to know anything about Mothers Day, I would say I have a much more beautiful image of this day now.
Is motherhood a choice, a coincidence, or is it something customary after marriage? What do you think?
I dont tend to think of women as entities which are separate from the society. A woman is like any other human being who has a good side and a bad side. I dont like to talk about women only, it sounds like a bad idea. I talk about the human being in general and the problems that they endure in their society. I was criticized for discussing issues related to women more deeply than anything else. However, our expectations of becoming liberal are not so high, considering our society is still a conservative one. I tend to deal with problems that people are exposed to, within which there are the difficulties of the life of the woman who is an essential person in the society. Takht Sharki concerns young people and their problems which I focused on and dealt with on an equal basis.
As a writer, how do you highlight the vital issues that women are exposed to in a society that we consider somehow liberal?
For me it is not that difficult, because I work at home and my husband helps me take care of Ward who is two years and five months old now. I am there with him 12 hours a day because he needs to be taken care of. Basically when I am working on a story I only get two hours of sleep.
Do you have a nanny?
Some mothers tend to leave their children for long hours with maids who are usually of foreign nationalities, to which extent does this affect these children?
Of course it is a choice, because this is a huge responsibility on all levels, in terms of providing proper education, a secure environment, or anything else. Therefore, when people are financially incapability, they must think carefully before deciding to have more children.
It is wrong to deprive a woman of motherhood, because motherhood is a very noble state of being, which I had the chance to experience after I had my son, this is when I realized the significant of it and found a new taste for life.
When financially incapable, do you think parents shouldnt have children?
This will definitely affect the child, because he needs warmness and care. Mothers must be well aware that they would have to be responsible for their children before they have any. Children have the right to be raised by their mothers. I am not trying to lecture because everyone knows whats best for their child more than I do, but bringing up a child these days has shown a lot of mistakes.
As a mother, what do you think of children working in the streets?
Your mother is the person with whom you can talk freely and honestly. If you lose her, you lose confidence in life. There cant be a special connection and language between two people other than that between the mother and her child. The word mother means trust, responsibility, and fear, it has includes so many aspects in life.
Your mother died a long time ago, what memories do you still have of her?
A lot of people would support the idea, but I am against this type of labor, because we dont know how it would reflect on these children, and here I am not encouraging unemployment, considering that job opportunities are not always available.
A father and a mother are both very essential in ones life, and none of them can replace the other.
Does your father fill the gap that your mother has left?
No I dont, but maybe I will write about unemployment and the unavailability of job opportunities, which I included in Takht Sharki.
Are you interested in writing about children who are homeless or who are being used by certain people?
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March - April 2011 Issue No 73
Interview
Yamm Mashhadi - The Writer, the Woman and the Mother
Do you support the idea of women working after childbirth?
Of course, working helps women achieve and develop their skills, which reflects positively on the children and adds more values to their lives.
Do you feel like you have limited time to write more drama, although the audience is always anxious to see more of your work?
If the content of this series is too heavy, it is ok if the number of episodes exceeds 30. In general, production companies control this number, and personally I support all kinds of work.
What about series that show throughout Ramadan and have more than 30 episodes?
one of the most appreciated occupations in the world, but here in Syria, it didnt live up to its potential. Journalists are treated like mercenaries although we have a number of prestigious names. Until now I havent received a proper invitation from anyone.
about it because of their social and economical status. Women who are financially independent immediately decide to leave their husbands once they have been offended by them physically or verbally. New studies show that 23% of Syrians dont have a diploma.
I come up with one work every two years, but currently I am working on something new for next year. In the end, I am a full-time mother and housewife, and I hope that I am doing a good job. My job gets harder every time considering I write a script and need to create something new every time, and I also need some time before starting something new. We face a lot of problems in our society and need a thousand series to portray all of them. I always present the daily suffering in my drama, and therefore, my work is presented all around the Arab World.
In the end, this is team work, and I dont refuse changes made to the text as far as they dont change the objective of it considering there are a variety of opinions among the staff and crew.
Do you approve of the changes made to the screenplay you wrote while shooting?
Compared to television, cinema productions are very weak, and this is mostly up to the current status, considering that film directors write their own scripts.
Were you ever interested in writing a screenplay for a film?
Syrian custody law is fairly reasonable, and in case the mother gets married, custody goes to her mother. Children need a mother and a father, and both of them have the right to see the child.
What about the problems of divorced women and their custody rights?
What else do you want to introduce?
No one ever asked me to write in a newspaper or magazine, once someone does, I will take the initiative. When Darine al-Jindi asked me to write about a certain subject in al-Baath Newspaper, I said yes. I respect journalism a lot, it is
Seeing as you started as journalist, are you not interested in writing sections in newspapers or magazines about certain topics?
Why not? Of course they have to be adjusted as to fit with the conditions of our society. Also, they must indicate that this is work is based on another movie.
In Egypt, some movies are adapted from Western movies, what are your comments in this regard?
Do you have any dreams on the professional level or on the personal level?
A study shows that three out of five women experience violence and most of them dont talk
How do women react to the violence they are exposed to in our society?
My dreams are like anyone elses; they are never so big, because aiming too high breaks your neck. I wish to have a successful career, and also I hope to be able to raise my son properly.
It does not matter to me, the important thing is that it raised controversy, which is the main objective of this work.
Takht Sharki received more criticism than encouragement. Do you have any comments about this?
I dont think anyone in the Arab World would be able to cross any line at all.
Writers now are prone to focusing on very sensitive issues, what do you think?
My work deals with what causes this matter, it is not important to talk about the issue itself, and if I want to deal with homosexuality, I will look for the reasons behind it, I wont just explain who I am against. Until this day, no one was able to portray homosexuality in our society in the right way.
A lot of works dealt with homosexuality because the writers see that it is a sensitive matter. Would you consider writing about this issue as well?
There are no limits, every year we achieve 40 drama series in Syria, so why not have some story-based drama?
A lot of dramatists produce series that are based on a storyline. Whats your input about this?
magazine
Abed Azarieh
A Mystical Evening at Damascus Opera House

Words by: Safwan Salha
Abed Azarieh
n Tuesday, 1 March, as part of the musical evening programs held by Dar al-Assad for Culture and Arts, the Opera House presented a concert of spiritual and Sufi music presented by Abed Azarieh.
As usual, Whats On was there and, also as usual, it was fascinating evening at the Opera House. Abed Azarieh is an exceptionally creative artist, singer and composer, with more than 20 CDs of Arabic music and contributions to movie soundtracks, as well as a writer. He is the author of several books and translations, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh in French. He combines classical Eastern and Western instruments and between old and contemporary music, which are inspired by Sufi rituals. His warm, deep voice creates a deep contemplative atmosphere, evoking eastern spiritualism. When he entered the concert hall to loud applause, the first notes began to flow out across the audience. The audience was treated to warm Sufi melodies recounting the tale of Gilgamesh. He spoke on each poet before performing, telling the story of al-Hallajin, who
wrote the poem that inspire the second song Ana Man Ahwa (Me Who I Love). He was a Sufi poet who was crucified and burned in Baghdad for his beliefs. The audience could see the wonderful integration between music, instruments and poetry. Azarieh was active and joyful on stage, dancing with the melody like a child playing with a toy, directing the musicians before returning to his singing. Other songs included Kemaa by Omar alKhayyam and songs inspired by poet Ara Kalbi, Ibn arabi, Mahmoud Darwish, Alala al-Marri and an unknown Andalusian poet. There was a strong interaction with the audience who was carried away by the music. Azarieh ended the evening with a
beautiful song Ya Nasema al-Rehe (The Breeze of Wind) and Ya Mraa (Oh Woman), his own composition. Abed Azarieh was born in Aleppo and grew up amidst Eastern religious chanting, both Christian and Muslim. As a teenager he discovered popular Western music and American, French and Spanish songs. Later he studied Arabic literature at the Lebanese University in Beirut and then moved to Paris. Azarieh gained great fame outside of the Arab World. He has held many concerts during tours of Europ and the U.S. and has attracted a large Western audience. His fans are spread from Sweden to France and from the U.S. to Italy and Japan. His music has attracted the admiration of many famous artists such as Jhonadams, Jefbakly, Devedbern and Peter Sellars.
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culture Businessmen Club in Syria, then we voted and at the end of the voting the committee has decided on Aamal as a recipient of the charity fund. It was a democratic procedure. - What would you tell us about the donators? We reach out different business people in Syria through different ways, some of them had heard about the event for the first time this year and some people we had worked with last year. They were all incredibly generous, incredibly supportive. Also I would like to thank Four Season hotel which has spectacular people who worked so hard on this event and they make it very special. Dr. Rami Y. Khlil, Executive Director of Aamal said: Actually, the collaboration between Aamal and the Canadian embassy is not new, we started such events a year ago. Last august we met together and decided to have a dedicated activity to help Aamals kids, we have a lot of names on the waiting list, some kids need operations, some others need hearing or visual aid. The most important thing today is not only the event itself or the revenue but to spread the massage that supporting children with disabilities is a must. We have to shift from sympathy to deeds. 2.5 millions Disabled people in Syria, we should work together to help them, it is not only the government responsibility but also the civil community should participate. - What would you like to say for the Canadian embassy? I would like to show gratitude to the Canadian embassy and their genuine generous support and also I have to express thanks to other embassies like the American and the British for their initiatives which made our 2011 event calendar full of activities. I hope that such initiatives will be adopted by both the private sector and the diplomatic community in Damascus.
The Northern Lights Snowball
ThE NorThErN LighTs sNowbaLL 2011 at the Canadian Embassy
he Canadian Community and the Embassy of Canada in Damascus, in cooperation with Aamal, the Syrian Organization for the Disabled, held a gala fundraising dinner to benefit children with disabilities, on February 11, at the Four Seasons Hotel.
he Snowball was attended by diplomats, members of international community, Syrian businessmen and Syrian government officials.
Ambassador of Canada Mr. Glenn V. Davidson kindly answered our questions: - What would you tell us about this occasion? This is the second of Snow Ball events, the first occasion last year was to commemorate the winter Olympic in Vancouver. We thought winter is a long time and a long season why dont we break this up and celebrate the great event in Vancouver so we did that last year and we contributed the funds raised for charity then we thought lets change the theme a little bit so lets have our goal to raise money for disabled children. We had wonderfully generous supports from sponsors, we had tremendous contributions from not just the Canadian community but also from the whole community in Damascus and we hope it would be a successful evening in order to be able to help children who really need help here. - Why did you choose children in particular? Well, I think that children touch everybodys heart and with young lives sometimes a very small contribution can make huge difference
that helps them embark a whole new life, we thought why not invest in the future, there are so many young children in Syria so this is the right thing to do. Mrs. Hala Gordon, Chairwoman of Snow Ball Organizing Committee said: This is the second year that the Canadian community organizes the Snow Ball, this year the focus is the Northern Light; it is a beautiful natural phenomenon in the polar region of Canada, through this theme and in this beautiful evening we hope to encourage people to donate to charity and our chosen charity partner this year is Aamal the Syrian Organization for disabled. We hope to raise enough money to be able to pay for some procedures to help hearing impaired and visual impaired for children so they can live a normal life and look forward to a better future. - Why did you choose Aamal? We are committee volunteers from various aspects of the Canadian community in Syria. We took some research that had already been done on the Syrian charities from the
John Bell, Country Manager of Petro Canada said: For us, it is to perform values, three things to be considered when we do community investment; we look at health, education and environment. Mustafa Ali is an international artist and Syrias sculptor number one , has offered one of his famous sculpture A Man and A Wall, he commented : I always have the desire to support people with disabilities , as a sculptor I participate with big joy in such events and produce my works to help and make those children happy. Sabhan Adam is a well-known Syrian artist, he said: I usually participate in charity events in secret. This is the first time that I offer something in public, and I am very glade to be part of this event, the painting is a big size of 3 meters X 165c and it has a significant impact on my career.
DoNaTors worDs
The Snowball events started in 2010 on the occasion of celebrating the winter Olympics in Vancouver. This year Snow Ball is organized to raise funds for children with disabilities. Many international and local companies participated in the event. Snow Ball sponsors are Adwoc, Air France, Khwanda Group, LEAD, Petro Canada, Syrian Canadian Business Association and Tinawi for Communication Technology. Snow Ball aurora silent auction menu contained many precious items; Fender guitar autographed by well-known singer Bryan Adams, Mustafa Ali sculpture A Man and A Wall, Sabhan Adam Painting, Amethyst and 2.5c diamond pendant from Tawfik Hallak jewelry collection, Tow return tickets to Canada from Air France, A night in a deluxe presidential suite and Friday Brunch for 4 people from Four Season Hotel, and others.
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culture
Sparkling Performance in Memory of Chopin
Sparkling Performance in Memory of
Chopin
hree exceptional composers and a pianist from Syria presented a magical piano recital, given by Raji Sarkis who played pieces by Zaid Jabri, Shafi Badredden and Rami Chahine.
Raji Sarkis
Born in Damascus, Raji acquired his musical talent from his mother, Mari-Laure Samaan who presented him to the audience for the first time at Al-Kabbani Theater, giving a performance in the presence of the great French pianist Eric Berchot when he was only 10 years old. After graduating from the Arabic Institute for Music in Damascus, with excellent mention Piano, and after obtaining a BA in Music and Piano performance at the High Institute of Music in Damascus and another BA from the General Medical School at Damascus University, he decided to dedicate his life to music, specifically the piano. In 1999, as a result of his performance of the 2nd Concerto for piano of S. Rachmaninof with the Syrian National Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Maestro Solhi Al-Wadi, the Swiss Fondation Al-Ousseimi awarded him a scholarship (a first in the Foundations history in the arts scholarship field) to complete his higher studies in Paris at lcole Normale de Musique de Paris/Alfred Cortot, where the Examining Committee, unanimously agreed to award him First prize (and written congratulations) in teaching and piano performance. In 2001, he received the 1st prize in piano performance (Excellent Degree) from the Conservatoire International de Musique de Paris where three years later he became a member of its jury. Instructed by Victor Bunin, Vladimir Kuzunin, Almaz Abdellayva, Ghazwan Zerkly and Sahar Melhem, Sarkis continued his higher studies in Paris through a number of international and well known piano professors and experts, such as Germaine Mounier, Marian Rybicki and Pascal Godart. He also participated in workshops led by professional masters in interpretation and pedagogy, Jean Fassina, Svetlana Navasartian, Franoise Thinat and Anne-Marie Ghiradelli, to name a few. Born in Damascus in 1975, he began his musical education by studying the violin with R. Sukar. He completed his M.A. degree with honors and graduated from the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus in 1998. He currently studies music at the Maestro Mawada Institute in Lyon, in addition to his role in leading the orchestra with Maestro Peru at the Institute of Dijon (France). In 2000, he won second place in the competition of the Second World Promises, which was held in Lebanon. From 1995 until 2000 he performed several concerts with the band and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra and was first violin in the Arab Music Ensemble.
Chafi Badreddine
Born in Beirut in 197, he graduated from the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus in 1998. He is currently studying music at the Maestro Modo Institute in Lyon, in addition to his role in leading the orchestra with Maestro Peru at the Institute of Dijon (France). In 2000, he won second place in the competition of the Second World of AOUD, which was held in Lebanon. From 1995 until 2000 promises solo performer playing in several concerts with the band and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra was first violin in the Arab Music Ensemble.
Rami Chahine
The recital was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture as part of their efforts to support Syrian composers on the bicentennial anniversary of Frederic Chopin, whose music was performed by Raji Sarkis. The audience had a surprise when Sarkis entered tapping a stick against a glass before playing with the stick on the piano strings, then passing the cup over the piano strings while tapping the dulcimer installed above the strings, produce amusing sounds.
His first piece was written by Rami Shaheen titled Chobbakan, similar to funerary music or Buddhist rituals, as Sarkis mentioned during his commentary. The piece was unique in composition and performance and surprised the audience. With the second Adagio entitled Ballade, Sarkis continued the sparkle and regaling the audience. He then performed a scherzo, demonstrating a great deal of talent as player and composer.
After intermission, Sarkis returned eagerly to the music hall and waited for silence to fall before performing beautiful melodies, including pieces he himself had composed, beginning with Andante spianato et grande polonaise, followed by Shafi by Badr al-Din. He also performed Some Words by Ziad Jabri, which demonstrated technical elegance in notation cascades as well as a smooth flow of melody and harmony. He ended the evening by bowing to endless applause.
Zaid Jabri
Studied music composition with Bella Takisieva and obtained a Bachelor of Music Higher Institute of Music in Damascus in 1999. He ontinued his studies at the Higher Institute of Music of Havana, Cuba in 2000. In 2001 was awarded the Japanese Government Monbusho to do research in music composition. He studied at the University of Tokyo under the supervision of Professor Hiroaki Minami, Matsushita Isaw. He received a Masters degree in Music Composition from the University of Tokyo in 2004, and is currently assistant professor of music composition in the Al-Baath University in Homs. He was also one of the delegates to receive a doctorate degree in music composition at the University or Dnberg Germany under the supervision of Prof. Violeta Dinescu, and studies electronic and multimedia authoring at the University of Hamburg. Since 2000 he has participated in the many concerts in Cuba, Japan, Syria, and Germany, the most recent at the Orchestra Impuls Festival in the city of Halle and a concert with Radio Bremen.
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culture Belian, 22, believes that the lack of a good radio station that can air new and various types of music other than just sticking to trance and dance music is to blame for the situation. In Syria, Mix FM is the only radio station dedicated to non-Arabic music. According to the DJ, Mix FM is playing a big role in the foreign music education. We are trying to introduce the Syrian listeners to all kinds of new music as well as introducing the young generation to old music, which formed the basis for all genres of modern music, he points out. Mix FM plays the best of UK, US and European releases for the new generation all day long and the best of the 80s and 90s for older listeners after 8 p.m. to satisfy all music lovers in Syria.
Why 80s and 90s Music is Still Alive in Syria
usic 90s M ia s and in syr y 80 w h ll alive s s ti i

by: Ah Words
ama med R
dan
DJ Martin, one of the main DJs of Mix Fm, however, does not believe that Syria suffers from this problem at all. The people who like music from the 80s and 90s are more the people who lived certain periods of their life with that type of music, he explained. They grew up with it and it became part of their memories. These people are usually adults aged between 30-50 years old. But why is it popular? Well, due to the fact that it was the golden age of music, he adds.
aking a taxi ride from one point in Damascus to another, youre bound to listen to whatever the taxi driver is listening to. Sometimes you find yourself listening to a song long-gone from your iTunes music library, or categorized somewhere at the bottom of the oldies playlist on your iPod. Songs such as 1993s My All by Maria Carey and 1978s Hotel California by The Eagles are tracks constantly played around the capital in cafes, restaurants, stores and radio stations.
We went around the city, talked to people listening to these songs and asked the simple question: why are these songs turning into an almost Syrian Folklore? Simply because they are immortal songs, says Abdul-latif Attaya, who was sitting in a caf in Bab Toma when his mobile started ringing. His choice of ringtone seemed to be George Michaels Careless Whisper, released in 1984. This song is one of the songs that will never die. It is simply a perfect collection of tune, voice and lyrics. The 23-year-old, who was born years after the release of the song, shakes his head in enjoyment and adds, Its just a perfect song! Cline Dion seems to be a favorite for the Syrian youth as well, although youngsters are not as interested in her latest efforts as her
previous work. I love Cline Dion, says Amal Al-Ghazali, a 19 years old university student. I use [Celines 1996s hit] Because You Loved Me as my caller tune on my mobile. Whoever calls me will hear that beautiful song instead of the usual ringing tune. I believe that songs like [1997s Titanicthemed single] My Heart Will Go On are going to last forever, Amal adds with an overromanticized expression on her face. The love embodies by that song deserves such fate. These songs are outdated, out-fashioned and over-exposed, Samer Helal, 32, says, and I would like to point out that Hotel California, the famous Eagles song, is not a love song. I repeat, its not a love song and it is almost a horror story! Listen to the lyrics, please! Shant Belian remembers: Last June I was in an internet caf and they were playing [Whams 1984 single] Last Christmas, that was really funny.
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Saneyah Saleh
Saneyah Saleh
he late Saneyah Saleh is considered one of the greatest Syrian writers and poets of the second part of the last century and one of the foremost authors in what is called womens literature despite her small fame in the Syrian literary scene.
Words by: MURHAF ZINO
A Distinguished Artist, Kept in the Shadow
Unsurprisingly, the majority of Arabic literature written by women concerns the issues of women suffering cause by the limits of tradition, the relationship between men and women, womens struggle for freedom. These authors try to express themselves openly and clearly about concerning sensitive subjects like love, the body and attitudes towards men. These themes appear clearly in Syrian literature of the last half of the last century. A number of talented women during this period wrote remarkable poetry, such as Mae Ghazal, Samira Brake, Maram al-Masri and Saneyah Saleh who left this world in early 1985. Saleh was born in 1935 in Masyaf, a small city situated among the mountains ear Hama. She had a miserable childhood of solitude and sadness. She was a quiet girl. She, herself, once wrote about her childhood the following in a poem entitled The Dreams of the Dhild: From the window of the careless breeze, I raised my head as a bird, to look at the ancient childhoodI did not find anything.only the broken dolls and tires of straw. After she finished her secondary education she left Masyaf and moved to Damascus to study at the university in the Faculty of Arts where she met the late great Syrian poet Muhammad al-Maghout who later became her husband and with whom she lived an exceptional love story full of affection and sufferings, joy and despair. In 1961, she abandoned her silence when she participated in a poetry competition organized by a prestigious Lebanese magazine. She won first prize for her poem The Body of the Sky from among a large number of competing Arab poets. This was her first real step in her journey into poetry. Shortly after she joined a group of poets to establish Poetry magazine and worked side by side with her husband, Adonis, Osni alHaj, Jousef al-Khal and others who established a modern style of Arabic poetry.
Her first poetry collection appeared in the year 1964, entitled The Narrow Time in which she presented her point of view concerning the reality of women and their suffering in a traditional, male dominated society. She also expressed her feelings of sadness and solitude. She wrote in a poem entitled The Roots of the Wind from The Narrow Time:
THE WINDS OF THE SEA CATCH THE BREATHE BUT MISERY IS AN OLD WINE AND THESE SEASONS ARE FLEEING FOREVER TO THE WORLD OF SAND I COLLECT MY WINGS AND FALL AS THE HEADS OF FLOWERS PALE, AND WITHOUT ROOTS YELLOW AND COMING FROM THE AUTUMN OF THE EARTH AFFECTED BY THE SEA WIND . THE SAND OF YOUR COAST IS THE GOLD OF SORRY I DREAM OF YOU AS A LORD I FLEE TO YOUR STRENGTH YOU HOLD ME FAR AWAY FROM THE STORM BECAUSE SEASONS ARE FLEEING FOREVER NO BOAT WILL CARRY ME TO RETURN.
Her second poetry collection was published in 1970 under the title The Ink of Execution in which she continued delving into the same ideas and same style of writing. She proved herself a pioneer in free poetry as it appeared in the pages of Poetry magazine. The themes of her poetry dealt with the issues of women, love, childhood, the body and isolation. In a poem from this collection, she spoke of herself as a symbol of womanhood: In addition to the value of her poetry which brought something new to Syrian and Arabic poetry. The importance of this late poet arises from her establishment of her own independent personality among this group of famous poets, who are still considered pioneers of contemporary poetry of the late 20th century, especially her husband alMaghout. Their relationship was characterized by the very strong love between them and their faithfulness until the very last days of her life, since she died before him. Despite this close relationship, she was not strongly influenced by her husbands work which influenced an entire generation of poets and contemporary poetry as well. She was able to find her own voice. Among these great poets, she built her own space and style. This does not mean that she was not affected by being the wife of alMaghout, always writing in this great poets shadow. Al-Maghout once said about this point: She is my single love. She is the opposite of hatred. She lived with me during difficult circumstances, but she used to be bigger than a city, bigger than the universe. She is a great poet, who did not take what she deserves. Perhaps my name affected her negatively because it overshadowed her presence. This is very painful. During her last years, she suffered a great deal after falling sick. Her husband and the two daughters suffered as well from her affliction. The poetry she wrote during this period reflects her suffering and her love for her husband and daughters. In her last poems, which were published after her death, she wrote about illness, death and motherhood, as well as writing eulogies. She says in a poem addressed to her daughter Sham:
THERE ARE CITIES IN MY BODY WHICH I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO ENTER AND HOW TO GET OUT FROM SECRET PEOPLE ARE LIVING INSIDE IT TO DECIDE THE FORM OF THE FUTURE.
OH ...YOU THE JEWELRY WHO SLEPT INSIDE ME FOR MANY AGES YOU HEARD THE NOISE OF MY BODY AND THE LOUD VOICE OF THE BLOOD I VEILED YOU FOR A LONG TIME UNTIL THE HISTORY FINISHED ITS SADNESS TO MAKE ONE OF US GET OUT OF THE OTHER.
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Europcar Middle-East Regional Meeting
Europcar Group
Location: Four Seasons Hotel Damascus Date: 22/02/2011 Europcar Middle-East Regional Meeting
Europcar international made its MiddleEast Regional Meeting with the presence of Mr. Olivier Metairie Franchise Zone Director for Middle-East, Africa and French Territories. Some companies were honored as an appreciation for vital contribution in the growth and development of Europcar in Syria.
Honoring Bank Bemo
Olivier Metairie
Europcar Middle-East Group
Olivier Boucher - Arnd Rieken
Honoring Shell Emmanuelle Lorance - Jose Menau
Honoring Banque Audi
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launching Malaysian Syrian Business Council
Location: Nobles Palace-Damascus Date: 6/2/2011 Event: Celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Sri Lanka.
On the occasion of the National Day of Sri Lanka, Dr. Musalam Druby, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Sri Lanka held a reception at the Nobles Palace in Damascus. The reception was attended by Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Lebanon and a number of Arab and Foreign ambassadors and diplomats.
Location: Sheraton Damascus Date: 2/2/2011 Event: launching Malaysian Syrian Business Council
Malaysian- Syrian Business Council was officially launched under the auspices of Mrs. Lamia Aasi, Minister of Economy and Trade, and in presence of Mr. Dato < Sri Mustapha Mohamed, Malaysian Minister of international Trade and Industry.
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society
Silver Scorpio-Premiere Display
Location: Cultural Center Lattakia Date: 23/12/2010

On the occasion of the international and Arab Day for Disabled, and under the auspices of Lattakia Governor, a celebration for disabled people was held in the Cultural Theater of Lattakia.
Location: Dar Al Assad for Arts and Culture Date: 9/2/2011 Event: Silver Scorpio-Premiere Display
Dar Al Assad for Arts and Culture with the initiative of The Open Hands presented the premiere- show of Silver Scorpio, and launched the Comics Book. This was a try to consolidate the understanding and cooperation between the people of Syria and the people of United States.
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society
Deaf Day
Deaf Day
15 minutes of inspiration
Words and interviews by: Diala Nufouri
Can you tell us about Laeth, the star of the film? Laeth Tahle was born deaf, and very early in his life, when he was two and a half years old, he had an operation, a Cochlear implant, so that he is able to hear in one ear. His operation was done successfully here in Syria. After that, he was able to hear and he started learning how to speak, but he never learned sign language, because he went to Aamal School. At this school they dont teach sign language, so he was learning how to speak and read lips although he was able to hear, but considering he had an operation not so early in his life, it was difficult to understand sounds and words and to speak to other people. He was very successful at Aamal School for the deaf, and then moved to another school, where he is also doing also very well. He had experience in a few fields when he was at Aamal School, such as theater performance, and he is a very good looking boy, very active and energetic. We had a very good first impression about him when we first met him, and his parents were also very cooperative with us while filming. After that, we had to teach him sign language, because the film has a lot of sign language. He did very well. Then we started rehearsals with the actress Sulaf Fawakherji, who also learned sign language for the film, and the rehearsal went really well.
Deaf Day is a short film that portrays the life of a young deaf child whose mother struggles to help him fit into the society. The film is 15 minutes long and is produced in cooperation with Aamal Organization for disabled children.
This film, which is directed by Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf, deals with the lives of children with special needs and the attitude of society towards these children. We had the chance to meet some of the people who were responsible for the making of this film: Mr. Anas Khalaf, Director of Deaf Day, Mr. Feras Moubayed and Mr. Wael Moubayed, Deaf Program Consultants at Aamal Organization. The interview took place at the Headquarters of Aamal, where we discussed how they were able to produce this work, and what the role of Aamal Organization was in the process. First of all, we would like to ask the director of this film, Mr. Anas Khalaf, about the making of this film. Mr. Khalaf, tell us how you and Mrs. Rana Kazkaz came up with the idea of this film. Rana Kazkaz, the writer and director of this film, and also my wife, came up with the idea of this film after attending a play in New York written by the ArmenianAmerican director Lizli Ivivian. Rana wanted
to convert the idea of this play into a film, so she proposed this idea to the writer of the play, and they decided to produce a Syrian short movie based on this screenplay. Deaf Day is a Syrian production and French co-production film, and it was made in three versions: American, French, and Arabic.
Was the film originally intended to be 15 minutes long? The film was intended to be a short film of 15 minutes since the beginning, because the play was 15 minutes long as well. So we wanted to keep the format as short film.
Mr. Firas, can you tell us about the financing of the film? In terms of support to cover the filmmaking, the equipment, the script, the crew and everything, we were really happy to help with that. We obviously had to find a sponsor to cover the cost of making the film. And we also wanted to make sure to make a big impact on the Middle East. We were lucky that we found Hyundai as a sponsor. Hyundai felt very moved by the project, because this wasnt just a game. It was a proper project, about a Syrian deaf child in a movie, and they were very happy to find the money for that project. After initial problems with the funding, everything went smoothly, and we hoped that this was going to open doors for people. You know, this is Anass first film in the Middle East. Plus, this work will hopefully take part in Cannes Film festival as well. Yes, Mr. Khalaf, how are you planning to introduce your film in Cannes Film festival? The film is now in the post production stage, it will be finished by the 15th of March, which is also the deadline for submitting the film to the Cannes Film festival. This festival contains several competitions for feature films, long films, short films, and also documentaries. It is of course the most famous festival in the world as you know, and we want to be ready by the 15th of this month to hopefully submit the film to the festival, because we think that this film is interesting and they would include it in the competition. We have already spoken to some people from the festival about sending them a film from Syria and they were very interested because the last time there was a Syrian film in the Cannes
Film festival was 10 years ago, in 2002. They are always interested to have cinema from this part of the world in general, and from Syria in particular, because Syria is very famous for making TV series, and a little less famous for its cinema abroad. So, we were really happy to participate in this development for Syrian cinema, starting with the short films and continuing with another project of a feature film. By the end of this year we want to shoot a feature film called Damascenes, also in Syria and with French co-production. So hopefully the success of Deaf Day will help us fund the new film Damascenes.
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society Mr. Moubayed, we would like to talk about the role of Aamal in the making of this film. How did this film help the Organization spread awareness about the life of disabled children in society? Ok, when we received information about Deaf Day, we knew it was going to be powerful to show the public how the situation is. For example Laeth, being a deaf boy who came to Aamal when he was unable to speak, after a few days learned how to speak and he was very happy. Later, he left school, and now he is much more independent in terms of being able to communicate considering he would have been held back before. I thought he had potential to become a role model himself if he took part in this project. I thought he could probably have positive opportunities in the future. His parents were also positive; they would always say that he could do this, and that nothing should hold him back. This could also encourage other parents not to keep their children at home, saying that they cant do something and always concentrating on whats missing. So its really about supporting your deaf son or daughter and helping them communicate. Personally, as my brother and I were born deaf, I was so frustrated when I was young. People thought I was stupid just because I wasnt able to communicate. There was this lack of understating of how to support me and I became quite stressed. Finally, when I accessed the educational phase, I learned the language and I was able to communicate. I got involved in sports, became an actor and so did my brother, who featured in the film Goyas Ghosts alongside Natalie Portman. That proves that you can achieve things regardless of deafness or any other disability and this is a message not to give up. My brother and I grew up in the United Kingdom, but Laeth is a Syrian boy, and he could be a role model. People might think: well if he can do it, I can do it, and anyone can do it. Its really just to show people what can be achieved. But also, this film portrays the difficulties associated with this life, and thats why we were very glad to be part of this project. What about Mrs. Fawakherji and her role in the film? Sulaf is a fantastic actress. I thought maybe some people wouldnt want to be involved in such a project, but Sulaf took the role.
started, but she realized and learned a lot about the culture of deaf people and sign language because of this project. She could see that the reason why deaf people are held back is because of a lack of opportunities, not because they are stupid. In the end, we want to thank everyone who supported this project, and we wish to see many more in the future. This is obviously an amazing achievement, and we hope that you will be able to achieve more in this filed. In the end, we would like to thank you very much for this lovely meeting and we wish you all the best in the future. After the interview, Mr. Feras Moubayed and Mr. Wael Moubayed gave us a tour around the facility to show us the different activities that the Organization is planning for the disabled children and the various centers available to deal with disabilities, such as regular classes, safe play grounds, test rooms, speech therapy chambers, monitor rooms for parents to watch the process, autism center, a rehabilitation center for the visually impaired, a rehabilitation center for hearing impairment, and a rehabilitation center for speech and language.
She read the script and was very moved by it, and although she didnt know anything about sign language, she accepted the challenge of learning this language and actually enjoyed the experience. She had a very strong feeling about this project and wanted to take part in it. It is very lovely to have people like that involved in the project which is such an encouragement. Theres no shame in being disabled, its about being involved and positive. Deaf people live in a hearing world all the time. There is the deaf world and the hearing world and you cant operate in them both. Sulaf obviously didnt know much about deafness when she first
Deaf Day will be screened during Deaf Week, which is a special event taking place between the 20th and 27th of April.
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heritage & travel currently operating in the Damascus Governate. It is the primary initiative for preserving and designating an area that is outside of the Old City borders. In an interview with the project manager, Roula Abou Khater, she stressed the importance of preserving the Uqayba neighborhood as its urban and social structures are important and authentic environments that are integral to the cultural and heritage aspects of Damascus. Her testimony is validated; The Uqayba neighborhood was developed in the 12th century and was the first quarter to develop outside the Old City. This area also hosts the Great Mosque of alTawba. Amara barranieh is a vegetable market and metal workshop on the north of the area that has existed since the Mamluk period; these markets are also an important source of income for many of the locals. The dated structures and the continuous growth of the area led to the deterioration of the locality and its heritage; the area is also under threat of overcrowding and congestion due to its proximity to the Old City. The urgency of taking action was needed, thus under the leadership of Roula Abou Khater , project Lets protect our heritage funded under the EU and the Netherlands Royal Embassy; the IFPO, implementers of the project in partnership with Art Renaissance Association, the Netherlands Institute for Academic Studies, the Danish Institute for Academic Studies and the Damascus Governate collaborated in this collective heritage preservation project. The renovation projects started in January 2010 and the project will be completed on 6 March 2011.
Heritage and Culture Preservation Takes new directions in Damascus directed films that illustrated their life in the area and why is it an important element in their personal development. The project was replicated and exported to another neighboring area, known as Souk Sarouja. The local participatory process and efforts in preserving the local culture and heritage of the area was the locus of this project. The ramifications of this project must be noted. They present an unfamiliar process of initiating a collaborative effort between locals. Hussein Al-Saidi, one of the main engineers of the project, discussed the unique nature of the project in terms of collaboration, as the involvement of the locals through a public and private initiative fostered a sense of care and unity between the locals given their involvement in renovating their community. This project has also highlighted the importance of the heritage and integrity of the areas that are outside the borders of the Old City.
Lastly, the importance of enriching the area not only in the physical sense but also socially and economically set up a new platform for heritage and preservation efforts in Damascus. The results of this project should be utilized in other areas of concern in Damascus, as Rola Abou Khater discussed.
reservation efforts in Damascus have been and are tailored and focused the geographic Heritage and Culture Pstillthe <Old City>. In the lastonten years or so, area of
Preservation Takes new directions in Damascus
the administration of the Old City in Damascus has unveiled numerous proposals, funds and projects with the goal of preserving and rehabilitating the Old City quarter in Damascus.
University have confessed to the need of extending rehabilitation efforts into areas outside of the Old City in the extra-mural quarters of Damascus.
These elaborate plans have been beneficial economic and touristic gains from these preservation efforts have contributed to an increase of over 200 percent in tourist visits in the last year. Further, in January 2010, the Rehabilitation Fund Agreement in the Old City of Damascus was signed to provide residents and locals of the area with access to financing incentives to compel residents to rehabilitate the area. These plans have stressed the importance of fortifying the physical and cultural aspects that this unique urban structure holds.
Locals are equally optimistic about their interaction in preserving their homes, as with recent increases in tourism, fears of gentrification and displacement of residents has surfaced. Without doubt, these efforts should be applauded for their implementation and obvious benefits for the residents and the integrity of the Old City. However, new rehabilitation concerns have been voiced as forwarded by Abeer Arkawi and Roula Abou Khater. Both researchers and Architect professors at Damascus
On the 24th of February, a press conference titled as Lets Protect Our Heritage was staged. This press conference advertised the new rehabilitation efforts that were completed in the Uqayba neighborhood, an area adjacent to the surroundings of the Old City. This project presented a fresh take on preservation efforts
New Rehabilitation Efforts
Other new direction taken in this project is the public and local participatory process that it pursued. Rehabilitation and preservation efforts included the efforts of the locals in order to embed a sense of local belonging and partnership for the locality. The project used tactics that included members of the local community, teachers at the schools and students to awaken a collective spirit on the importance of preservation and local heritage. Efforts in the area included, but were not limited to: labor works of renovating and cleaning the area by the locals themselves; collaborations with local artists in urban design and the creation of an exhibition in the area to showcase local art and culture; also, a film documentary workshop was held to teach students about film-making in which two locals
Novel Directions
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Dedeman Creates Happy Moments
Latest
Mobile Security 9
K
aspersky Lab, a leading manufacturer of secure content and threat management solutions, announces the release of Kaspersky Mobile Security 9, an updated version of the product designed to provide smartphone users with the very latest in mobile security. The new version now supports the Android and BlackBerry platforms alongside Symbian and Windows Mobile, for even greater flexibility.
hether you use your smartphone for work, keeping in touch with your friends and family, or messaging on the move, with Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 you can be sure your mobile device is securely protected from all types of threats and your personal data will not end up in the hands of cybercriminals. Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 has been expertly designed to protect your smartphone from malware and spam, block unwanted calls, hide chosen contacts and files from prying eyes, locate your device if it goes missing, monitor your childrens mobile activities and even find out exactly where they are. With unique privacy protection technologies, you just need to push one button to hide selected contacts and their contact data, including call histories, contact list entries and SMSs, and mute their calls. Contacts can also be hidden automatically after a preset idle period or remotely by sending a predefined SMS. You can also filter out unwanted calls and SMSs by creating a white list and a black list of contacts.
Provides Support for BlackBerry and Android
Mobile users running Symbian or Windows Mobile operating systems can password protect and encrypt their files with a strong encryption algorithm. The GPS Find feature will help you pinpoint your smartphones current location, and if Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 is installed on your childs device, you can always locate them quickly and easily. The Parental Control module in Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 lets you restrict which numbers your children and other vulnerable individuals can call, such as premium-rate numbers, and allows you to control who calls them. Users are well aware that mobile threats are now a reality rather than science fiction. These days, smartphones are a very attractive target for cybercriminals due to the increasing amounts of valuable data that their owners store on them, said Sergey Nevstruyev, Vice President of Mobile Solutions at Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 is more than just an antivirus program for your mobile phone its a comprehensive mobile security suite. No matter what type of malware attacks your phone, or whether it is lost, stolen or used by others without your consent, Kaspersky Labs solution has got it covered, so your valuable information remains intact and your privacy guarded.
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Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 will help you keep your data confidential should your smartphone be lost or stolen, and can help locate a missing device too. The solution allows you to wipe confidential files or block them remotely by sending a special SMS; locate your lost device with the help of the GPS Find tool; or block your phone and be notified of its new number if the SIM card is replaced.
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events
The British Council Holds a lecture on Creative Economy
welcomes its president & CEo
The british Council holds a lecture on Creative Economy

he British Council is held a lecture on creative economy delivered by the British lecturer Kate Oakley at 1100 on Saturday 19 February in Rida Said Hall in Damascus University.
All around the world, the creative economy is talked about as an increasingly important sector of the global economy. But twenty years ago the terms creative economy and creative industries did not even exist. Where have they come from? And are these industries really so new that they did not exist fifteen years ago? The answer is both yes and no. Cultural industries are as old as human society. They are one of the roots of todays creative economy. When ancient traditions of cultural work and cultural industry- designing, making, decorating and performing began to be woven together with a wider range of modern economic activities advertising, design, fashion and moving-image media and, even more importantly, began to be given much greater reach through the power of digital technology that was the moment when the creative economy was truly born. The creative economy weaves together economic value and cultural value. Cultural industries are a vital and growing part of the economy in many countries and Syria has an extraordinarily rich tradition of cultural industries. Kate Oakleys lecture deals with the concept of the creative economy, and draws on her experience of working with a number of cities and regions in public policy in the creative industries both in the UK and internationally. The lecture was of a great interest to policy makers, cultural managers at every level, and people working, or intending to work, in the creative industries artists, musicians, writers, designers, performers, arts students. This lecture comes within the British Councils large scale programme Creative and Cultural Economy.
A writer and policy analyst, specialising in the cultural industries, cultural policy and regional development. She is a Visiting Professor in Innovation at the University of the Arts in London and at the Department of Cultural Policy and Management, City University. She was the author of the Creative London Report in 2004. Recent publications include Londons Creative Economy: An Accidental Success? (2007) co-written with John Knell, published by the Work Foundation and Better Than Working For a Living? (2007) a study of labour markets in festivals and events, published by City University. Kates current research interests concern work in the cultural industries, innovation and art education.
Kate oakley
A programme that is looking at the creative industries in the region and raising awareness on the economic potential that lies within those sectors. The project looks at policy work, entrepreneurship and leadership, capacity building and infrastructure needed to take this forward.
Creative and Cultural Economy (CCE) programme
uring the visit of the President & CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Mr. Frits Van Paasschen accompanied with the Starwood Senior Leadership Team, Mr. Roeland Vos, President of Starwood in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Guido de Wilde, VP & Regional Director ME and Mr. Fahed Abu Shaar, the Area Director and General Manager of Sheraton Kuwait. Mr. Mohamed Mansour has invited the Team for a dinner where Mr. Van Paasschen and Mr. Vos expressed their admiration of the Syrian Hospitality and the tourism future of Syria as well they commended the role played by Mr. Mohamed Mansour in developing the sector of tourism in Aleppo by his continued support to the management team at Sheraton Aleppo Hotel in order to provide excellent services to it guests.
The British Council is the UKs international cultural relations body. Last year the British Council engaged face to face with 13.2 million people and reached 221 million. The British Council is a non-political organisation, working in over 100 countries worldwide to build engagement and trust for the UK through programmes which support intercultural dialogue, the UKs creative and knowledge economies and help to tackle climate change.
british Council
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lifestyle
The Oscars
The Oscars Goes to

The Worst Red Carpet of the Year!
he gossiping and whisperings started a months before the biggest fashion night of the year.Who will be wearing what? Who is going to get the title of fashion icon of the year?
Unfortunately, this Oscars night was very disappointing and the worst so far on all levels!
Words by: Hala Jarjoura
Hailee Steinfeld
The 14 years old Oscar nominee looked stunning in her Marchesa dress, and I think she should win the title of best dressed on the red carpet, especially that she helped designing this beautiful dress. its very obvious that she is going to be a big star both in acting and in style.
Anne Hathaway
She tried to make a statement wearing this vintage red Valentino gown for the Oscars night -as she was the host of the event- but I am not sure about her choice, because the dress was ugly, especially from the back, it is as if old curtains from the middle ages got attached to the dress, but she looked pretty though with her hair up and the red lipstick.
Gwyneth Paltrow
She has the perfect figure and she knows that! So for that reason she wore this sequin golden dress from Calvin Klein which I think suits anybody but her. The dress is simple but it managed to attract the attention of all the attendees, and her hair and makeup were as simple as the dress.
Halle Berry
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She walked on the red carpet with confidence wearing this amazing Marchesa tulle dress, the color suited her dark skin perfectly, and the contrast between her masculine short haircut, and her feminine look made her look more beautiful than ever!
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The Oscars
Cate Blanchett
She is always known for her bold fashion choices, and for this year she had chosen a bold but ugly dress from Givenchy, you will wonder why Im saying its an ugly dress especially that its a normal and maybe elegant dress from the front, but the surprise was the back with this gross yellow coral growing on the on it.
Natalie Portman
Mila Kunis
Romantic is the word to describe the look of beautiful Mila, she wore this amazing lace dress from Elie Saab Haute-Couture collection; she looked absolutely stunning and elegant. The fashion experts were expecting a bolder choice from this young actress, but she preferred the classic Hollywood glam over the edgier modern fashion.
All the eyes were on her and all the media and the fashion editors and expertise were looking forward to Natalie>s red carpet moment, but all she did is disappoint us, with her whole look, starting with this purple dress from Rodarte, the purple shoes, and the purple accessories. She was suppose to wear a dress from Dior since she>s the face of the brand>s perfume, but she has changed her mind at the last minute according to Galliano>s scandal. But we will not accept this excuse because she could have chosen a better dress or at least a better combination of colors.
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The Oscars
Nicole Kidman
What was she thinking when she chose this dress from Dior?! And why is she insisting on wearing white when any color can suit her skin more than white?! Those questions will remain popping on our minds until she decides to choose more suitable color for her.
Penlope Cruz
The fashion icon who we always presumed never to make a mistake on the red carpet. Well, she surprisingly did! We congratulate her for her new baby born, and for getting back in shape very fast, but definitely not on her choice of that red dress from L>Wren Scott.
Sandra Bullock
Scarlett Johansson
She walked the red carpet in a beautiful red dress from Vera Wang, the dress is beautiful and it was the best of all the red dresses of that night, but the problem is that she looked as faint as a wax statue. A little bit of tanning doesn>t harm anybody!
If she was going to her friend>s wedding, I could have understood that Dolce & Gabbana dress choice, but for the Oscars night!? It is definitely a very bad choice, and more is the visible bra that looked very tacky. Scarlett, you could have went to hairdresser at least and got your hair done for such an event!
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Celebrity Mothers Dreaming of a Bright Future for their Children
CELEbriTy MoThErs DrEaMiNg of a brighT fuTurE for ThEir ChiLDrEN
My mother is not beautiful as other mothers, nor smarter than them, but she is the best because she is my mother. This is what every creature on earth says about her mother. All mothers wish to be like their own mothers, to walk in their mothers steps by raising their children and educating them as best they can. Everyone sees their mother as perfect and complete, but what about the other way around? Do mothers see their children as the best children ever? Do celebrity mothers differ from ordinary mothers?
Amal Arafeh, a famous artist, is proud to be the mother of two daughters, Salma and Maryam. They were a consolation for the death of Amals mother. I love my daughters, they are the best, she says. I show my passion for them and do my best to control it. Amal says her daughters take up all her time, even the time she used to spend with her husband. Before I had them, my husband and I had such a crazy life; we did whatever we liked. Now, we have new rules that we have to stick to. When I had my first daughter, I felt so limited, but I got used to it. Bringing up children is not an easy task. Amal was at a loss as for how to bring up her daughters. When I was pregnant, I read a lot of books about modern methods of child rearing. I replaced the phrase That is wrong, dont do it with I wish you wouldnt do that, because it is not beautiful. In time I discovered that I was actually educating myself by raising my daughters.
Motherhood: an indescribable feeling
Suzan Najem Aldeen misses her childhood and does not want her memories to be erased, so she tries to recreate her memories for her children. My childhood is full of the smells of nature and the gentle life of the villagers. I visit my village every time to remember my memories and satisfy my nostalgia for my parents house, she said. Suzan believes that raising a boy is more difficult than bringing up a girl. Girls are gentle, lovely and obedient, while boys are always stubborn and hyperactive. They form their personalities outside of the house, whereas girls yearn for home and their mothers. I have two boys, Hayan who is obedient and Hazem who is feisty. The girls Soheyr and Sara are so kind towards me and their brothers. As for me, I follow and try to control every detail of their life. In spite of my busy schedule, I always talk with them about their problems. Im very strict about priorities. I play with them. I teach them not to be sad when I am abroad, Suzan said.
i follow every detail
Actress Dima al-Joundy spends a lot of time at home, raising her children and keeping them safe from the dangers lurking outside. She raises her children by teaching them to stay away from bad friends and avoiding bad habits that might be absorbed from neighbors. Al-Joundy and several of her friends agreed to follow a particular method of child rearing, but they have strayed far from modern child rearing techniques. I punish my daughter by depriving her of something she loves the most, such as not telling her a bedtime story. Tya is such an organized girl and not demanding. I am so happy with her because she is a fast learner, social, kind and so smart, Dima said.
anti-modern upbringing
Actress Soulafa Meemar believes that her decision to dedicate herself to bringing up her daughter Dahab limited her acting career. She believes that raising a child is a difficult and sensitive duty, especially when parents realized the importance of forming the childs personality. The first and most important priority for me is to raise my daughter so she can depend on herself by teaching her the basic rules of life and how to interact with her friends. I dont care if my daughter is superior or not. I care about her creativity. I believe that education is important to understand some important points in life, but it doesnt help understanding the vaguer aspects of life. I try my best to organize the basics of the life of my baby, such as setting a bedtime and feeding him at a specific time.
big responsibility
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Love is the most important thing that should exist between mother and her son. If we lose love in the house we must look for the problem. Building love is everything. Love comes first and morals come second.
sawsan rashyed
Salma is an excellent housewife, and is loving and respectful. She has two sons Hany and Dany they are the light of her life. She wanted to have girl but she couldnt. The love she has for girls, she gives to her sisters daughter.
salma almasry
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Hamzeh and Ali are the center of her life. She spends most of her time with them and surrounds them with tender love. She tries her best to be a perfect mother and wishes to bring them up as her mother brought her up. She respects their needs and believes that everything she does for them is her duty.
soulaf fawakherjy
All the artists and actresses spoke out of passion. They forgot their popularity for a moment and spoke like the mothers that they are. All of them said that whatever a woman might do for work, she will still remain a mother and share in the passion of motherhood.
Mother is mother
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What No One Ever Admits About Marriage
What No One Ever Admits

eems like as soon as a friend gets hitched, the relationship confessions stop. So whats everyone else not talking about when it comes to being married? We found out.
About Marriage S
I have a habit of hiding money from my husband. Im an accountant, so naturally Im in charge of handling the household finances. But hes aware of how much I make and spend. During tax season, I do a lot of extra work on the side, and instead of depositing the checks, I cash some and treat myself to massages, facials, lunches basically anything that doesnt come in a shopping bag that Id have to explain! says Marisa, 34.
ove and Money
OK, I know that this is going to sound cheesy, but I really believe that my husband is my soul mate. Im lucky to have found him, to be married to my best friend and to be genuinely happy in my relationship. But if I talked about it with the abandon I feel, Id drive everyone crazy. Says Tracey, 25.
oul Mates
My man is not the most motivated guy in the world, so I bribe him to do things around the house by offering him sexual favors. I currently owe him three for the crown molding he put in the bedrooms! says Elisa, 29. Lets Make a Deal Im a staunch feminist, but I took my husbands last name when we got married. The reason: Wed made a deal that if I did, I could name all of our future children. First and middle names, no questions asked. Not even my mom knows about that deal. Everyone probably thinks Im a traditionalist deep down. Says Brooke, 28.
IY
My husband signed a prenuptial agreement. My family has a lot of money, and since my husband came from practically nothing, they forced me to get him to do it. Wow, Ive never told anyone that! says Sarah, 29.
re-Nup for Him
I love when my husband has to go out of town for work. I hear friends talk about how much they miss their husband when hes gone and how hard it is to juggle everything. I feel neither of those things. When hes away, it takes me back to the peace of mind I felt when I lived alone. I watch what I want, eat dinner at 10:00 P.M., clean the house or not. Its when I get to be Claire, rather than Claire the wife, and I cherish it. Sorry, honey! says Claire, 30.
lone Time
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Damascus lost visual identity
lobally recognized as the oldest continuously inhabited capital, Damascus is a trove of culture, history and natural beauty. From the ruins of Jupiter temple and the famous gates of the old city to the sacred sites and the Ghouta green belt that once surrounded it. However, the city has been influenced by tremendous pressure caused by exponential population growth, rapid expansion of housing and industry, besides the large rural-urban migration of people seeking employment and better opportunities.
This issue has been an annoyance to the residents of Damascus. Some of them argue that this is the result of inadequate laws and lax enforcement while others primarily blamed the community in terms of each individuals role in maintaining the aesthetic image of the city. Over last years, Damascus Governorate has taken several initiatives aimed at improving the aesthetic image of city. In this regard, traffic nodes, public parks, squares and historical sites have undergone enhancement projects. Moreover, national cleaning campaigns were launched with the participation of governmental and civil society organizations. In a press conference, State Minister for Environment Affairs Kaukab al-Sabah Dayah said that the ministry is working in cooperation with civil society organizations to raise environmental awareness. Areas of unauthorized housing and collective violations surrounding Damascus are one major source of visual deterioration. The ugly grayish view of concrete apartment blocks randomly scattered around the city create a gloomy scene as well as a negative impression that a visitor would get about Damascus. Moving inside the main city, the view of building facades is very stressful for the eyes. On the whole, they are not clean and lack architectural identity. It looks like residents are free to install whatever accessory they want on the exterior of their apartment or store. In one building, you could spot different windows and shutters at each floor. Furthermore, balconies are modified, screened or enclosed with different styles and decorations.
These factors triggered several negative phenomena such as the overwhelming visual pollution which has afflicted the city in the last decades. Some manifestations of visual noise in Damascus are reflected in the areas of unauthorized housing, unclean buildings with mixed-style faades, building violations, the overlap of old and modern construction, littering, advertising signs and posters, overhead power lines, not to mention the view of satellite dishes on rooftops and balconies. The absence of visual identity in Damascus is clear to the eyes of the beholder, Said Kareem Hawash, a graphic designer and member of the Syrian Plastic Artists Union. Visual pollution has a stressful psychological impact. To reduce visual noise, we primarily need to expand the citys green areas, public parks, and open spaces.
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features In a bid to curb visual pollution, an ad hoc committee chaired by Governor of Damascus was formed four years ago. In this regard, Damascus Governorate along with affiliated municipalities sent notices calling the committees of buildings overlooking main streets for enhancing the facades and eliminating disfiguring factors. However, according to governorate officials, such initiative was met by a lukewarm response. Upon being named as the Cultural Capital of the Arab World in 2008, Damascuss medieval buildings were renovated and streets repaired in preparation for the year-long festival. However, that was simply a small step towards reducing visual pollution. Satellite dishes installed at rooftops and balconies are another type of exterior distortion. It was a jungle of satellite dishes scattering over rooftops in Damascus, said one commentator. However, such jungles have been diminishing during the last year following the enforcement of a new law in 2010. The latter stipulates for replacing individual satellite dishes with a central dish for each building. Ahmad Ammar Salam, Associate Director of Service department at Damascus Governorate pointed out that the achievement rate of replacement process in Damascus was 54 percent. He added that some residents regrettably showed unwillingness to subscribe to a central dish and chose to install private dishes on their balconies. Such a step shifted the visual impact from rooftops to the balconies, said Salam. During recent years, several traffic nodes in Damascus underwent improvement works aimed at enhancing those areas aesthetically and functionally. Prominently, the northern entrance to Damascus underwent a remarkable improvement project aimed at reducing traffic congestion as well as enhancing the visual image. According to governorate officials, the project involved the construction of over 12 km of roads along with more than 450,000 square miles of green areas. Undoubtedly, the northern entrance to Damascus is aesthetically pleasing now. Recent improvements which affected traffic nodes in the city represent an important step forward, said Rani, a commuter. He also pointed out that the southern entrance is still afflicted by chaotic views of random construction areas which give a negative impression to visitors. The southern entrance needs immediate work as it represents an important gate for tourists from the Gulf region. Another aspect of visual deterioration is reflected in the advertising signs and plastered posters negatively affecting the view with no style guide. In this regard, Damascus Governorate removed thousands of signs and banners disfiguring the entire faade of Damascuss main streets. However, the city is still plagued by haphazardly placed posters which are being plastered on any surface to announce the death of a member of the community, advertise entertainment events, or even introduce a new plumbing service. On the other hand, littering is increasingly becoming a major concern. Some tourists were offended by the view of plastic bags stretching along the road to the airport and other areas. On the individual level, some residents have no problem whatsoever with throwing canes, bottles, wrappers, plastic bags and other leftovers wherever they think most convenient.
OTHER CONCERNS
TRAFFIC NODES
As part of his efforts to spread environmental awareness, the Syrian artist Mohannad Deeb, manager of The Work n Art Atelier in Damascus, took an artistic initiative centered around the issue of visual pollution and specifically how the use of major construction elements, concrete and metal, would negatively impact the surrounding environment. The project aims at changing the way we look at concrete and metal. It will utilize such elements to create art that presents them in a new and interesting way, said Deeb. We look forward to better interaction between the community and public spaces. In this regard, we cooperate with sculptors and local communities to bring art into public spaces in Damascus.
THE WORK AND ART ATELIER
The Work and Art Atelier in Damascus Muhtaraf Shughul Wa Fan is one of Rawafeds incubated cultural projects at the Syrian Trust for Development. This project aims to empower and enable sculptors by creating a space for artists to exchange ideas and experiences. The Atelier will also explore how sculptors can utilize their work to effectively enhance the relationship between the art pieces and the cultural and social environment. Specifically, the project will ask participants to look to public spaces, materials and concepts - which are often overlooked and habitually dismissed - to redefine beauty and to present these elements in new ways. Within the same context, Basam jaroudieh, member of the Damascus Governorate Executive Bureau, pointed out that 21 Sculptures will be distributed at various points
in Damascus. These works were produced as a part of the Damascus International Sculpture Symposium 2009 which aimed to create a cultural dialogue between Syria and the world through sculpture representing various cultures and civilizations from the participating countries. On 19 February 2011, a two month cleaning campaign named We Love Damascus was launched by Damascus Governorate in coordination with Nongovernmental organizations and volunteers. Maher Bouzo, Director of Environment Affairs in Damascus Governorate pointed out that the campaign aimed to maintain the beauty and cleanliness of the Old City of Damascus by removing advertising posters. He further added that it comes within the framework of the national cleaning campaign, which was launched in 2010 in the Syrian provinces with the aim of preserving the shape of cities and enhancing the culture of volunteer work in the local communities. Some of the areas of the Old City, Bab Touma and Bab Sharqi, have recently undergone remarkable renovation and enhancing works with the aim to revive and maintain their historical significance. These works were carried out by Damascus Governorate in cooperation with volunteers from the National Union of Syrian Students. I am proud of what they did. The park and square of Bab Touma became aesthetically pleasing. I am excited that Damascuss old city is being revived after years of negligence, said Nour, a Syrian expatriate. Visual pollution adversely affects human psychology as well as the tourism sector and subsequently the whole economy. The key solution for combating this phenomenon, as most people agree, is through awareness campaigns, education and law enforcement. Children and young generations must learn community responsibility. Moreover, plans must be set to raise citizens awareness towards environment and the role of each individual in keeping the city clean and beautiful. Awareness campaigns launched concurrently with stricter law enforcement would produce great results, said Mohammed, a photographer.
WE LOVE DAMASCUS
Keeping Damascus clean and beautiful is possible through the shared and collective efforts of the citizens, government, and other civil society organizations.
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features
Stubborn Superstitions
Stubborn
Superstitions
Incurable social and physical diseases are the main reason that pushes desperate people to seek to be cured at the hands of charlatans. These witchdoctors are found in every isolated village and sometimes control the decisions and behavior of the other residents. It is not weird to hear about a woman with supernatural powers and reality-defying acts, even from highly educated people, who visit her for solutions for their problems or just out of curiosity. Whatever the reason of these visits, we saw a necessity to study such phenomena and look for the truth behind it. We visited several wizards and witches. We talk talked about their work and asked people why they visit these witchdoctors instead of going to hospitals or doctors. These wizards and witches give their verdict and the poor desperate people carry out their instructions. In one of the biggest cities in Syria, witchdoctors have their special place among poor uneducated people. They control them by convincing them of the truth of metaphysics. In this city, we discovered some of their tactics used to exploit poor people, including promoting the veil worn by Muslim women as an amulet that protects them against Satan and evil spirits. Sometimes it can be used to protect the livelihood of the person who wears it or can be hanged in their shop. This amulet industry is monopolized by witchdoctors called the amulet master. This man is the last hope for those with nowhere else to turn and who are gullible enough to swallow the witchdoctors claims. They visit this master to solve their problems or to help them take revenge on an enemy. For example, a woman brought her barren daughter to a witchdoctor and asked him to heal her by casting spells. Another woman wanted the wizard to help her take revenge on her ex- husband. Women are the biggest fans of sorcery. Witchdoctors exploit women, stripping them of their savings while claiming to solve their problems. In cases where women do not have enough money to pay, witchdoctors sometimes demand sexual favors. According to police reports on cases of sorcery, women are more often victims than men. A 66 year old man was cheated by a witchdoctor when he paid 15 thousand SYP to
make his wife return home. When she failed to show up, the victim reported the incident to the police who arrested the witchdoctor and confiscated his books and instruments. In a similar case, a 35 year old woman went to a witchdoctor for help, who proceeded to rape her and perform magic in front of her. When she cried for help, the witchdoctors brother entered the room wearing a police uniform and threatened her then raped her in turn. The entire affair had been arranged by the two brothers mother who used their activities to cheat people in the neighborhood. A 22 year old woman was married to a man she loathed. Several days after the wedding night, she became sick and depressed and considered killing herself. Her mother suggested that she consult a witchdoctor. The woman accepted. After several spells were cast amid burning incense sticks, the witchdoctor told the woman that she is haunted and that someone cursed her with a voodoo device and buried it somewhere. The witchdoctor told her where to look for the device, and after digging at the spot, she found a rooster head wrapped in cloth. She took it to the witchdoctor who burned it. The woman recovered from her depression and decided she loved her husband. Stories like this are common in cities all over Syria. Al-Mekhawy is an Arabic word referring to a man that has developed a strong friendship with a genie and considers him a brother. One woman would go with her daughter to a witchdoctor for his ability to predict the future and help her find the husband of her dreams. Predicting the future is an ability that everyone desires. Al-Mekhaway is capable of reading the future in detail. Witchdoctors have different means of predicting the future. Some contact genies and souls, others can read stars, some augury and other palmistry. The wizard asks for money not as a wage, but to cover the cost of the incense and instruments. However, these payments can be exorbitant. A witchdoctor told us that he can communicate with genies and the souls of dead people to ask them about the affairs of their clients. This communication can also involve the use of young children, roosters and chickens.
This helps us to know about the future and the past. Some of us can write amulets to determine events and control reality, a witchdoctor claimed. My sister is 20 years old and one day a man came to us to marry her, claims one woman. We refused due to financial reasons. He refused to lose hope and started to visit every day and after every visit we noticed that our sister personality started to change. She loved him a lot and forced us to accept him as her husband. We accepted, and they got married, but after one year she came to us complaining that she cant even look at him. After visiting a wizard, we discovered that he (the husband) used some amulets to affect her and made her love him. After one year the amulets became useless and she hated him again. In Dara city, sorcery saw its heyday 25 years ago. The city was considered a sacred place for witchdoctors before the phenomenon began to disappear following efforts to raise the education levels of residents. During the 1970s, witchdoctors, called al-Khatatta, controlled the city. Al-Khatattas claim the ability to talk to genies, to give them orders and to imprison them. We witnessed an al-Khatatta session during which an al-Khatatta spoke with a genie until it flew to the ceiling and disappeared. Something dropped from the ceiling. It was a small bag with papers in it. After opening the bag, we discovered that the genie went to the house of a haunted man and brought back spells and amulets that had been hidden in his house. Another story involves a girl that had lost her ID, so she went to a witchdoctor to help her find the ID card. According to the girl, the witchdoctor told her that the ID is in a specific book between pages 81 and 82. The girl returned home to find the ID exactly where the witchdoctor had told her. According to lawyer Jamal Kahwaji, article 754 of the penal code calls for: Imprisonment for ten days maximum and a fine for everyone who deals with or profits from conversing with spirits, hypnosis, palmistry and tarot card reading and all that has to do with the knowledge of the unseen. Clothing and equipment used will be confiscated. Repeat offenders will receive up to a six month imprisonment and a fine and should be expelled from the country if he or she is not a Syrian citizen.
espite decades of development and high the educational levels all over Syria, sorcery still lurks in the background. No matter how much we ignore sorcery and pretend that it does not exist, this dangerous phenomenon appears from time to time. The question that should be asked is; who are these people who exploit others by giving them false hope and empty promises.
Rooster head
Al-Khatatta in Dara
Al-Mekhaway
Sorcerys victims
Is sorcery a crime?
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Syrian Students - Time to Think Outside the Box
Syrian Students
Time to Think outside the box
etween the age of 18 and 20 years, young men and women who have freshly graduated from high school encounter an enormous change in their lives. They are transitioning to a phase where they will be solely responsible for their own future. In Syria however, there is an additional reason.
management and self-torture as they finish the academic year with a satisfactory grade point average and the content of their text books crammed into their heads, which of course will fade away before the new semester even begins. This is not to deprecate the intellectual abilities of the young generation or the efforts of the over-achieving students. However, neither highaverage students nor others have been able to show their real potential, but there is no way of knowing if the top students would still be top students if the educational system was reformed to include critical thinking. Hard work is the main factor for success, but the efforts of those students who worked so hard to achieve these results should have been directed towards a more productive process. Jeeda, a senior in high school said, I like biology and physics, but considering I am a student in 12th grade, I have limited time to grasp a subject. There are so many interesting and important things in physics for example, but they take a longer time from me to study just from the book. Theories can be taught in class, but application should be done more often in labs; experiments should be performed for us, then we could grasp ideas much better and faster. Following graduation from high school, students enroll in universities where they find they are unable to comprehend the uses and application of theories and formulas only to realize that these are the same theories and formulas that they memorized thoroughly in high school only to forget because they never applied them. High schools fail to prepare students for higher education. Furthermore, primary and secondary schools often place emphasis on the wrong areas, leading to students knowing some subject matter well while being unfamiliar with the topics that are emphasized in higher education.
of my favorite subjects. The teacher does not introduce us to the new division, just starts by writing down the title and goes on with the first outline. I just cant find the relations between some laws. She also commented on the differences between teachers. It differs between one teacher and the other sometimes. Some teachers may manage to present the main ideas and explain them in time so that we are able to understand more, but we would only be able to understand up to a certain point. There are exceptions. Many people would claim that the purpose of education is being achieved in Syria. On the regional level, Syrian has a reputation for difficult curriculum, which leads people to think that there is high quality education. However, upon closer inspection, this is a flawed argument. Successful Syrian inventors, doctors, novelists, engineers, and other specialties are out there, indeed, but we should not be satisfied and should aim to multiply the number of excelling students in all domains by providing a better education for young Syrian who have a bright future in front of them. Potential exists in everyone, which is the reason why we see so many brilliant minds among us. However, that is not a reflection of the effectiveness of education methods. These are exceptional cases that have been inspired and motivated by personal experience and ambition combined with the positive aspects of their flawed primary and secondary school education.
Not only does presenting material within a proper scientific approach help develop certain skills, it also activates the dormant sense of questioning and reasoning. A simple initiative, such as special seminars or workshops, would produce clear improvements in terms of the enhanced mental capabilities of students once they are introduced to an open field of research. Although they must comply with certain guidelines of course, they will achieve a lot working on their own. Such initiatives were carried out in some Syrian school on many occasions and have resulted in students showing remarkable progress. Of course must give credit to the Ministry of Education which has implemented projects to improve the education sector. The Ministry is undertaking a number of projects to develop the education system, such as the recent curriculum reform which aims to present material to students in a new thoughtstimulating design and focuses on developing the students problem-solving skills. However, raising an educated generation is more difficult than just printing books and adding more subjects. The authorities responsible for the process of education must follow a much more effective approach. If this means that there needs to be drastic developments in the education sector starting with infrastructure and finishing with conducting research on areas of the curriculm. The costs are nothing compared to the benefits we would witness in the level of education of the young generation and their ability to contribute to Syrias development.
If you ask any Syrian student questions on the subjects they are taking, most probably wont be able to give an answer that shows they have truly grasped what they are being taught. They may tell you about how this subject may affect their average, the names of teachers, and the problems they are encountering in terms of impossible exams that cover too many chapters from their text books. Exceptions exist of course; one out of 30 students could actually give you an answer thats related to your question, but not necessarily a confidence inspiring.
School courses in Syria have become a restraint for the young students who continue to go through the inevitable academic
path half-asleep. The applied curriculum is constructed as a fixed text along with some pictures, illustrations, and maps, and then approved as standard teaching material, to the point where it is treated like sacred scripture. Everyone must comply with the scripture. Teachers even have a grading scale when correcting exam papers on the basis of whether or not the student has mentioned certain sentences from the book in their answer. The scripture is memorized. There is no room for creativity, and you cant express in your own words and ideas your understanding of the material; that is, of course, if you even have any deeper understanding beyond the forms and words you have memorized so accurately and proudly recite by rote.
Memorize is a commonly heard word, repeated ad nauseum by students and teachers. Students can even point out on which line in the book certain information is giving. Students cant give their own input to prove their ability and to discuss and process. They memorize the basic anatomy of a rat, a frog, and the human body, but still cant recognize a spleen if they see one. They memorize the forms of cubic equations, linear equations, and differential equations and have absolutely no idea what these equations are. And the same goes for the rest of the subjects; geography, chemistry, and physics which end up being memorized rather than studied. Students who achieve stellar grades have basically proven their skills in time
One flash of insight during class could create an entirely new perspective for a student, and ignite eagerness for further research and exploration. Many students have not been had this opportunity due to the absence of inquiry. While our beloved younger generation suffers from a lack of insight, their fellow students in Europe, Canada, the United States and other countries have had the chance to decide on the academic path that will best help achieve what they pursue in life. The teacher walks into the classroom with so limited time to finish a certain part of the lesson, says Luna, a ninth grade student. Take for example chemistry, which is one
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features Syria has been doing well in reforming and decentralizing its economy in recent years. These last two years alone witnessed the issuance of more than 300 decrees and amendments; an average of at least one reformative legislative act every other day. Syria is on the right track to compete with force regionally and the large numbers of expatriates globally is a could potentially give Syria an advantage over its neighbors. Ahmad al-Askar, General Manager of Diamond Pharma, puts it this way: Having lived in the West, in America, then coming back here, I would say if I had a better opportunity I wouldnt have returned capital runs away from risk, so investing is viable in Syria, and I consider it to be a land of opportunity for me, and all my family we all came here to build something, and we built it, and we still have years to grow in the future, and we only did this because we had the foundation in the country: the stability, opening of the market, and the opportunities present within the local market. The only thing lacking would be a solid infrastructure. There is lot to be done. Ahmad Malki, a mechanical engineer, said: Just because my colleague worked in Saudi Arabia, and despite the fact that he has no college education, he gets paid double my salary, while my workload is double his. This also extends to preferring to hire foreigners rather than Syrians and Syrian expatriates.
Syrian Expats bar of the quality and standards, and that has been practiced by setting a mandate in the company stating that for any foreign consultants or construction firms to work with us, they have to team up with local ones. This has double benefits as I call it. The local personnel will learn and be updated by the international standards that had been somewhat absent from Syria, while international personnel will learn the ins and outs of how to conduct business in Syria; especially passing building permits and navigating Syrian laws. Foreign experience and know-how are crucial in the development efforts Syria is pursuing. The government realizes this and is working on attracting more expatriates, whether be it through the Ministry of Foreign Expatriates, or one of the 50+ Business Councils and associations established between Syrian Businessmen and their counterparts abroad. Though many still wonder why there is a need for this large base of expatriates anyway. Shouldnt the development process rid of us this need to rely on expatriates and keep Syrians from leaving in the first place?
Syrian Expats
Priceless Resource in the Development Race
Emaar IGO, a major real estate developer in Syria, realized the opportunities expats present in Syria, and formed its key project, the The Eighth Gate, around this idea. According to Sarhad Haffar, ex-CEO of Emaar IGO, in an interview last year, The Eight Gate answers needs of foreigners and Syrian expatriates who wish to come back to work in Syria and settle in it, but who cannot live without their set standards abroad. A lot of them are from the Americas, but the majority are actually from the Gulf. Were aiming at two things that are very important. First of all, we need to raise the
Feasible means of cooperation
esides Lebanon, Syria is one of the few countries in the Middle East, maybe even in the world that has a Ministry of Expatriates. Many expatriates are returning now, opening up new businesses locally, and speeding up the pace of competitive development.
Comparing Syria today with Syria 15 or 20 years ago we see a different country We see private banks, exchange bureaus. If you want to buy a Prada suit you dont have to go to Europe, you dont have to go to Lebanon, you can just buy it in Malki. Perfumes, chocolates, Cubans, canned fruits from Guatemala or Chile, it is all in Syria. The supply for this niche market is majorly driven by the demand of expats. Looking closer, we find that these expats are the commodity of another niche market themselves, the Human Resources (HR) market. Amer Aidi, founder and managing partner of The Agency, said: With the global crisis hitting major markets, especially the GCC ones, many Syrians had to return here to look for employment. This has had a profound positive effect as expats come back with either capital to invest, or know-how and experience to contribute to the development of the local economy. That was the positive effect, but the negative effect is HR managers foreign fever, which values any Syrian with a double nationality more than any other candidate. Next in value come those with a foreign education, and then those with work experience.
A Niche market
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film & TV
Dox Box 2011 Festival
yrian director Zohaer Qanoua recently finished shooting the second series of the drama series Diaries of a General Director, written by Khalid Haidar and starring a talented cast.
series Tackling Corruption Differs Little after 15 years
2011 Festival
n its forth event opening on 2 March, 2011, Dox Box held a press conference in al-Kindi Cinema to introduce the films which will be screened during the event (took place on Feb the 23rd).
Orwa al-Nairabi opened the conference saying, We will be displaying 43 films during this event. 12 of those are Arabic films, six of which are Syrian films. The films are presented by 22 countries from all around the world. Some of them are 6-10 minutes films and some may take an hour and a half, and this year we notice an increasing level when it comes to performance and quality. During the conference, the curators of the festival screened several scenes taken from several films included in the festival. And explained how this years event is presenting films that portray different issues and ideas. Better Life which portrays the problems of youth from different parts of the world. Another event will be an important part of this years festival and it generally includes films that focus on the lives of men as opposed to the much more common films that discuss women issues. Four of Longinottos movies will be screened this year, and on 8 March, the filmmaker will discuss her work in a conference. Another event this year is called Its My World, an event which aims to introduce a younger audience to the documentary film industry. Syrian films will be introduced during the event Voices from Syria, which was included in last years festival. Dox Box Soura award will be presented for this events best director by an international jury in cooperation with Soura Productions of the famous Syrian director Hatem Ali. The Dox Box Soura award is one of Mustafa Alis works and a cash prize of 2,000 dollars. The festival which will conclude its activities by the time this issue of Whats On is being printed will include 45 films this year selected by the nomination committee out of 600 nominated films. The media sponsor of the event is the United Group for Publishing and Advertising. Previous years Dox Box festival hosted some of the most important documentary filmmakers from around the world like D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus from the USA, and Patricio Guzmn from Chili. Al-Nairabi referred to the attendance this year of renowned filmmaker, Kim Longinotto from Great Britain, whose is the recipient of many awards.
The second season continues the theme of the first, tackling the issues of corruption and how we can stamp it out. The series is a social problem that addresses serious social issues but does so with humor. In the first season we saw one of the best Syrian comedy series, now running for 15 years, present the flaws of our society, especially the issue of corruption. Qanoua lays this issue bare by depicting the inner workings of a government administration. The show focuses on the relationship between the administrators and the citizens, between the administrators themselves and within a family. The main character is Ahmad Abd al-Haq, played by Syrian actor and director Ayman Zidan. Ahmad is a doctor who left his work in medicine to become general director of
one of the most important administrative government agencies. Upon arriving, he discovers that corruption has infected the entire administration. Hypocrisy, deception and bribes dominate the behavior of the clerks. The honest director decides not to challenge the system, but to disguise himself as a simple clerk so he can remain close to the corrupt officials and change things for the better. However, he finds that he is not immune from corruption, which infiltrates his own family. His wife, played by Nadeen khouri, and his son and daughter try to take advantage of his government post to threaten others and procure bribes from them. The central idea of the second season differs little from that of the first, but the writer takes into consideration social developments
which transpired during the period since the first season was aired. The directing style has changed and the depiction of corruption differs as well from the depiction of corruption 15 years ago. A number of well-known Syrian actors star in the series. In addition to Zidan, Marah Jabr plays the role of an old clerk in the administration. She is 40 years old and still single and suffers from loneliness as she searches for a husband, spending all her time with the internet rather than with people. Husam Tahseen Bek also stars in the series. He plays the role of a corrupt clerk who happily accepts bribes. He tries to confront the new director and expel him from the administration with a series of ploys, but all are in vain. The series will be aired next Ramadan.
Al-Nairabi also expressed gratitude for being able to expand to a third city which is Aleppo, where the films of this years festival will be presented in the newly-opened Goethe Institute in al-Shibani school. Al-Nairabi added that the Audience Award will be presented this year, which is the viewers choice of best film. The award is a work by Syrias famous sculpture Mustafa Ali and 3,000 dollars. This years festival includes special events. One of them is entitled In Search of a
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Battle - Los Angeles
From the makers of the hit ICE AGE series comes RIO, a comedy adventure about taking a walk on the wild side. Blu is a domesticated Macaw who never learned to fly, living a comfortable life with his owner and best friend Linda in the small town of Moose Lake, Minnesota. Blu and Linda think hes the last of his kind, but when they learn about another Macaw who lives in Rio de Janeiro, they head to the faraway and exotic land to find Jewel, Blus female counterpart. Not long after they arrive, Blu and Jewel are kidnapped by a group of bungling animal smugglers. With the help of street smart Jewel, and a group of wise-cracking and smooth-talking city birds, Blu escapes. Now, with his new friends by his side, Blu will have to find the courage to learn to fly, thwart the kidnappers who are hot on their trail, and return to Linda, the best friend a bird ever had.
Director: Carlos Saldanha Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway
Created by: Khaldoun Qaddoura
For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the worlds great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. Its up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any theyve ever encountered before.
Director: Jonathan Liebesman Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Ramon Rodriguez
Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? Matt Damon stars in the thriller The Adjustment Bureau as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he>s ever loved across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York. On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) a woman like none he>s ever known. But just as he realizes he>s falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself-the men of The Adjustment Bureau, who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.
Director: George Nolfi Stars: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt.
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Rango
Take out the trash, eat your broccoli-who needs moms, anyway? Nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) finds out just how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack) when she>s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. Produced by the team behind Disney>s A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express, Mars Needs Moms showcases Milo>s quest to save his mom-a wild adventure in Disney Digital 3D(TM) that involves stowing away on a spaceship, navigating an elaborate, multi-level planet and taking on the alien nation and their leader (Mindy Sterling). With the help of a tech-savvy, underground earthman named Gribble (Dan Fogler) and a rebel Martian girl called Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), Milo just might find his way back to his mom-in more ways than one. Based on the Book by Berkeley Breathed.
Director: Simon Wells Stars: Seth Green, Joan Cusack, Dan Fogler
In the film, Rango is a pet chameleon who lives in a terrarium. He has long thought himself a hero, but then finds himself removed from his contemporary American southwest surroundings and ending up in an Old West town called Dirt, which is populated by various desert critters garbed like characters out of a spaghetti western. As hes always thought himself a hero, Rango establishes himself as the lawman, strolling the streets as a sheriff-like character. Unknown to him, the good guy role does not do very well in Dirtwith a whole cemetery filled with good guy tombstones. But that does not stop Rango from trying, constantly seeking to fit in with his surroundings, no matter how challenging. At a certain point in the narrative, Rango will come to question everything about himself. Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher
Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared. Sucker Punch is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between whats real and what is imaginary. She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girlsthe outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish)to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm). Led by Babydoll, the girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents, with a virtual arsenal at their disposal. Together, they must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive. But with the help of a Wise Man (Scott Glenn), their unbelievable journeyif they succeedwill set them free.
Director: Zack Snyder Stars: Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish
Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are best friends who have a lot in common, including the fact that they have each been married for many years. But when the two men begin to show signs of restlessness at home, their wives (Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate) take a bold approach to revitalizing their individual marriages: granting them a hall pass, one week of freedom to do whatever they want...no questions asked. At first, it sounds like a dream come true for Rick and Fred. But it isn>t long before they discover that their expectations are out of sync with reality.
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly Stars: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis
Never Say Never is the story of a YouTube fairy tale manifest; it>s the saga of the power of social media, luck, and mass hysteria, and the perfect storm that ensues when all three amorphous concepts come together in harmony. For those that don>t know Justin Bieber>s story, it goes as follows: teenage parents have extra-talented baby encouraged musically placed videos on YouTube, It isn>t much more complicated than that. Why this kid and not the thousands of others on the Internet doing basically the same thing?
Director: Jon Chu Stars: Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus.
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ORGANISATIONS - DAMASCUS
EMBASSIES - DAMASCUS
Aga Khan Network 3343610\1 Agency for Combating Unemployment - ACU 6122607 Amal Al-Ghad 3741010 Boosting and Inspiring Dynamic Youth Achievement - BIDAYA 33502373 Euro Info Correspondence Centre - EICC 6133865 German Academic Exchange Service - DAAD 371925 UN Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO 6121145/6 International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC 3310476 International Organization For Migration - IOM 6121370, 6121375 Syrian-European Business Centre - SEBC 6133865 Syrian Family Planning Association - SFPA 3310396 Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association - SYEA www.syea.org Strategy Highlighting and building Abilities for Business - SHABAB 6611689 United Nations 6129811 United Nations Childrens Fund - UNICEF 6122592/3/4 United Nations Development Programme - UNDP 6129811 United Nations Food Program Agency - UNFPA 6113773/8 Mob 0944593854 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - UNHCR 2139961/2/3 Mob 093210 0273 United Nations Industrial Development Organization - UNIDO www.unido.org United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees - UNRWA 6133035/9 United Nations Volunteers - UNV 6129811 Mob 0988805745 World Food Programme - WFP 612 0597/8 World Health Organization - WHO 3329315, 3315053 Mob 0933400316
MINISTRIES - DAMASCUS
Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Ministry of Communications and Technology Ministry of Culture Ministry of Defence Ministry of Economy & Foreign Trade Ministry of Education Ministry of Electricity & Energy Ministry of Establishments & Construction Ministry of Expatriates Ministry of Finance Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Health Ministry of Higher Education Ministry of Housing and Construction Ministry of Industry Ministry of Interior Ministry of Irrigation & Water Resources Ministry of Justice Ministry of Local Administration and Environment Ministry of Religious Affairs Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry of Planning Ministry of Social Concerns & Labour Ministry of Supply & Internal Trade Ministry of Transport
2227600, 2213613 3320807 3338600, 3338633 8813236, 3721287 2213513, 2213514 4444702 2228334, 2229654 2223596, 2246690 3134302 2220200 3713255, 3713256 3311020, 3311022 2129862, 2129861 5431076, 2217572 2231834, 2231845 2220101, 2211001 2221401, 2221402 2214108, 2213738 2226005 4419080 4455972, 4445610 2218854, 2218853 2225984, 2210355 2219241, 2219044 3339111, 3336801
Embassy of Afghanistan Embassy of Algeria Embassy of Argentina Embassy of The Republic of Armenia Embassy of Australia Embassy of Austria Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain Embassy of Bangladesh Embassy of Belorussia Embassy of Belgium Embassy of Brazil Embassy of Bulgaria Embassy of Canada Embassy of Chile Embassy of The Republic of China General Consulate of Cuba Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus Embassy of the Czech Republic Royal Danish Embassy (+Greenlandic Embassy) Embassy of Egypt Embassy of the Republic of Equador Embassy of the State of Eritrea European Commission Delegation Embassy of Finland Embassy of France Embassy of Germany Embassy of Greece Embassy of Hungary Consulate of Iceland Embassy of India Embassy of Indonesia Embassy of The Republic of Iraq Embassy of Iran Honorary Consulate of Ireland Embassy of Italy Embassy of Japan Embassy of Jordan Embassy of the Republic of North Korea Embassy of Kuwait Embassy of Libya Embassy of Latvia Embassy of Malaysia Honorary Consulate of Thiland Honorary Consulate of Malta Embassy of Mauritania Embassy of Morocco Embassy of Netherlands Embassy of Norway Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Consulate of Philippines Embassy of Poland Consulate of Portugal Embassy of the State of Qatar Embassy of Romania Embassy of Russia Embassy of Saudi Arabia Embassy of Serbia Embassy of Slovakia Embassy of Somalia Embassy of South Africa Embassy of Spain Embassy of Sudan Embassy of Sweden Embassy of Switzerland Embassy of Tunisia Embassy of Turkey
6112910 3331446, 3334548 3334167/8 6133560 6116692, 6132424 6138010 6132314 2212648 6118097, 6118098 6122189 6124551/2/7/9 4454039, 3318485 6116692, 6116851 3311891, 3338443 3339594 3339319, 3334609 6130812/3, 6131823 3331383, 3339395 6190900 3332932, 3333561 33488820, 33488877 6112357 3327640 6127570/1/2 3390200 3323800 6115009, 6113035 6110787 4467110, 4452090 3347351/2 6119630/1, 6117939 3341290 3710826, 6117675 3342144 3332621 3338273, 3332553 6136260/1 4424735, 4417614 6117644/5 3338851, 3333914 2451321, 2212462 6122811/2/3 3316144 / 3316214 3733601 3309317 6110451 3336871 6122941 6110408, 6622506 6132694/5/6 3335844 3333010, 3336010 3320253,3337716 3320044 3327570/1 4423155/6 3334780, 3334915 3336222, 3333689 6132114/5, 6133648 3335534 3222650, 2229200 6132900/1/2 3304470, 3302470 3340070 6111972, 6111975 6132700/4 3331411
Embassy of Turkmenistan Embassy of Ukraine Embassy of United Arab Emirates Embassy of the United Kingdom Embassy of the United States of America Apostolic Enunciator of Holy See (Vatican City) Embassy of Venezuela Embassy of Yemen General Consulate of Iraq General Consulate of Turkey General Consulate of Armenia General Consulate of Russia Consulate of France Honorary General Consulate of Portugal Honorary General Consulate of Ukraine Honorary General Consulate of Hungary Honorary General Consulate of Italy Honorary Consulate of Austria Honorary Consulate of Belarus Honorary Consulate of Belgium Honorary Consulate of Benin Honorary Consulate of Brazil Honorary Consulate of Bulgaria Honorary Consulate of Canada Honorary Consulate of Chile Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic Honorary Consulate of Denmark Honorary Consulate of Finland Honorary Consulate of Germany Honorary Consulate of Greece Honorary Consulate of Malta Honorary Consulate of Morocco Honorary Consulate of Norway Honorary Consulate of Pakistan Honorary Consulate of the Philippines Honorary Consulate of Romania Honorary Consulate of Serbia Honorary Consulate of South Africa Honorary Consulate of Spain Honorary Consulate of Sweden Honorary Consulate of the Swiss Confederation Honorary Consulate of Tunisia Honorary Consulate of the United Kingdom
EMBASSIES - DAMASCUS
2241834 6113016 3330308 3391505 33914444 3332601, 3332446 3335356, 3337490 7186682
MALLS - DAMASCUS
CONSULATES - ALEPPO
021-2641068/9 021- 26499670/80 021-2687240 021-2232401, 2269377 021-2211829, 2219823 021-2235566 021-2660375 021-2122626 021-2214601 021-2114072 021-2110933 021-3622667, 3622665 021-2277022/33 021-4600004 021-2660375 021-2684160 021-4642666 021-4663500/20 021-2281398 021-2123001/2/3 021-2639898/9 021-2633787 021-2211888 021-2679051 021-2677438 021-2113461 021-5110220 021-2266601 021-2255926 021-2121333 021-2233095/6 021-2689644 021-3634634 021-2665002, 2669785 021-2280510/1
Cham City Centre Damascus Boulevard Damasquino Mall Ski-land Mall Town Centre Mall Al-Mounchieh City Centre New Mall
2117189 3235650 www.damasquinomall.com 5475551, 5475566 6217780, 6224444
MALLS - ALEPPO
021-2227030 021-2674010
SUPERMARKETS - DAMASCUS
Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Turkey 041-473777, 041-475357 Honorary Consulate of Belgium 041-477966, 477966 Honorary Consulate of Finland 041-470171/2/3 Honorary Consulate of Greece 041-467881 Consulate of the Netherlands 041- 472531/4/5 Honorary Consulate of Sweden 041- 470171/3 Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Turkey in Lattaika 041-473777 Honorary Consulate of Greece Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Turkey
CONSULATES - LATAKIA
ABS Abu Staif & Sons A.S Bader Ghloul Grand Mart - City Center Mall Rami Soubeh Shereen Teeba Zain El-Abdeen Zaid Mdawer Zenobia Al-Diwan Al-Mazrahe Al-Saha Al-Skhra Marosh Twenty Four (24)
6113080 6119373 3730206 3336785, 3314470 6326410 8881637 6625160 4458154, 3315220 2764825 3733231 6212282 3730625 021-2269055 021-4601333 021-2114823 021-2680985 021-4642101 021-4659401 031-2622662 031-2220674 031-2510423 031-2761592 031-2122842 031-2113004 031-2222925 033-523249 033-316866 033-314617
SUPERMARKETS - ALEPPO
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043-221104, 325000 043 -211114
Abu Al-Awad Al-Ashraf Al-Rawda Al-Shahbaa Al-Syoufe Al-Taleb Al-Tasweek Wal Tawfeer Al-Henem Al-Malab Al-Nour
SUPERMARKETS - HOMS
SUPERMARKETS - HAMA
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Last Station Olabi Patisserie Old House Lacasta Cafe & More Stop 5 Al-Andalous Garden cafe Beite Cafe Blue Stone City Cafe Mamma Mia Restaurant Al-Qalaa - The Citadel Al-Atlal Broasted Fawaz Le Jardin Sultan Restaurant 041-468871 Mob 094657765 041-461013 041-475744 041-477919 031-416915 031-234032 031-2459999 031-239755 031-2112400 031-7340493 033-222234 033-223884 033-25335 033-235104 034-5913073 034-913600 034-910878 Azem Ecole Beit Al-Aqqad Beit Nizam Chapel of Ananias Dahdah Palace Jamaa Al-Jadeed Khan Asad Pasha Khans of Souq Medhat Pasha (Straight St.) Madrassa An-Nuri Maktab Anbar Mausoleum of Salah El-Din Minaret of Jesus (Column) Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque Sayyida Zeinab M ausoleum Shrine of Hussein Shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yehia to Muslims) St Pauls Chapel Takiyya As-Suleimaniyya The Citadel The Tomb of Beybars Umayyad Mosque
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - DAMASCUS
ATTRACTIONS - DAMASCUS
ATTRACTIONS - HAMA
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - HOMS
Apamea Azem Palace Khans of the Souq of Hama Qasr Ibn Warden - Palace The Beehive Houses-Sarouj & Twalid Dabaghein The Castle of Musyaf The Grand Mosque The Norias
ATTRACTIONS - PALMYRA
East Wall Palace-Qasr Al-Heir Al-Sharqi Qalaat Jaabar - Castle Qalaat Najm - Castle Qalat Ibn Saman - Castle Temple of Bel The Theatre The Tower of Elahbel-Valley of the Tombs Dura Europs-Tal Al-Salhiyyeh Mari-Tel Hariri Qasr Al-Banaat Rasafa-Al-Mansoura Saray-Qanawat
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - HAMA
Art Caf Art Cafe Ninar Maharaja Indian Restaurant Abu Rummaneh Damascus Gate Al Farouk for food and sweets Al-Karieh Restaurant Al-Khawali Haretna Sushi Beit Jabri Canoun Al-Tennin Casablanca Elissar Inhouse Coffee Kanaan Palace Resort Kaser Al Wali Restaurant La Casa Leilas Restaurant & Terrace Narciss Linas Segafredo Taj Mahal Tarboosh Al-Sham Tche Tche Cafe Trovka Restaurant Zaman Al-Khair Restaurants Zenobia Quattro Cafe-Restaurant Chopin Cafe Bazar Alcharq Beit Alkaisar Beit Sissi Beroea Cantra Dar Ward Delta Emeralds Kan Zaman Kaser Alwali Larose Lily house Mejana Metastrada Taj Alklaa Wanes
2325757, Mob 0988995566 4522257 Mezzeh 2005 3355555 5475500 or 1/2/3/4, 0933202075 2131322 5475551/2 2225808 5441148 3354077 5443200 6116967, 6114778 5417598 5424300, 5428577 3336039 7138201/2/3/4 4461389, 3322336 3331288 5445900 5416785, 5431205 2143798 2316070 - 2142420 - 6117363 2453434 6115158 2216339 0988995566 6440175/6 2220575-2450116 6133625 5436502 021-2249120 021-5230130 021-4651444 021-9325 021-2122010 021-3620620 021-2122411 021-2126987 021-3311299 021-9911 021-2642241 021-2222501 021-2027 021-4663300 021-9250, 021-4606033 021-2116002 043-326083 043-220408 043-313313, 213900 043-328755 Mob 094667887 041-850027 041-843231 041-458000 041-475403 041-456200 041-447207
Ishtar Hotel Villa Palmyra restaurant Traditional Palmyra Restaurant Al-Rashid Restaurant Lazaward Hotel Restaurant DEC Lailati
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - PALMYRA
ATTRACTIONS - DER EZZOR ATTRACTIONS - RAQQA ATTRACTIONS - SWEYDA ATTRACTIONS - EZRAA

The Basilica of St George The Church of St Elias
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - RAQQA
022-241919 022-216120/2 051-220469 051-229648
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - DEIR EZ -ZUR
BARS & CLUBS - DAMASCUS
MUSEUMS - DAMASCUS
ATTRACTIONS - ALEPPO
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - ALEPPO
Backdoor Club Champions Pub Le Serai Pub Blue Bar Domino Jar Al-Ward Jet Set Kasabjy Le Serai Pub Marmar Massimo Pub Oxygen Le Piano Bar XO Bar Z Bar Dome Baron Hotel Bar Sissi House
4446255, Mob 0988990066 4450676, Mob 0988900096 3737061 3340240 5431120 5429185 2232300 4416184 3737061 5446425 www.massimo-pub.com 5444396 5420542, 5430375 3391000 2217700 0991555444
Ain Dara Site Al-Jdeida Quarters Churches & Cathedrals Al-Madrassa Al-Halawiyya Basilica of St Simeon (Qalat Samaan) Bimaristan Arghan Church of Qalb Lozeh Cyrrhus (Nebi Huri) Ebla (Tel Mardikh) Khans around the Great Mosque Madrass As-Sultaniyya Mosque of Abraham Serjilla Shibani School Souq Bab Antakya Khans The Aleppo Citadel The Great Mosque
The Army Museum The Historical Museum of Damascus The Museum of Arab Medicines & Sciences-Nuri Health Centre (Bimaristan) The National Museum The National Museum of Popular Arts and Tradition - Azem Palace The Azem Palace
AIRLINES - DAMASCUS
ATTRACTIONS - TARTUS
Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa-The Citadel Qalat Marqab-The Castle
BARS & CLUBS - ALEPPO BARS & CLUBS - LATAKIA BARS & CLUBS - HOMS
ATTRACTIONS - MAALOULA
Convent of St Thecla
Ayounak Cave Khawaja Restaurant Yamak Viamidos
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - TARTOUS
021-2210880/1 021-2124362 041-475744 041-330033 031-2112400 031-2459999
ATTRACTIONS - NABEK
Monastery of Mar Musa Monastery of St Sergius The Salah Eddin Castle Ugarit
Lacasta Cafe & More Moodz Bar Abu Nawas Blue Stone
ATTRACTIONS - LATAKIA ATTRACTIONS - HOMS

Air France Alitalia British Airways Cyprus Airways Egypt Air Emirates Etihad Gulf Air Royal Jordanian Airline 2218990 2222262 3310000 2225630 2232158 9934 3344235 2221209 2315577
Al-Andalus Cafe Al-Kordaha Restaurant Allegro Cesar Express Cafe Italian Corner Restaurant
RESTAURANTS & CAFES - LATAKIA
Azze Hrawe Residence Church of the Girdle of Our Lady Qalaat Al-Hosn (Krak Des Chevaliers) Outskirts of Homs St Georges Monastery-Outskirts of Homs
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Lufthansa MEA Airlines Syrian Air Turkish Airlines Syrian Air Air France KLM Airlines Lufthansa Syrian Air Syrian Air 2211165 2213147 2450098 2212263
guide
HOTELS - ALEPPO
DEDEMAN Mansouriya Palace Sheraton 021-2661600 021-3632000 021-21211111
GALLERIES - DAMASCUS
AIRLINES - ALEPPO
021-2241232, 2220501 021-2232238 021-2211074 021-2223005 041-476863 051-221801
Dummar Cultural Complex French Cultural Centre The Italian Cultural Centre Goethe Institute Russian Culture Centre Spanish Culture Centre
3115142 2316192 3319543 3719435 2317158, 2317351 3714003
CD SHOPS - DAMASCUS
Beit Wakil Coral Julia Dumna Dar Zamaria Mirage Park Hotel Riga 021-2117083 021-3330660 021-3636100 021-2288555 021-9895 021-9294 Aal Bal Art Cafe Ninar Art House Atassi Gallery Ayyam Gallery Beit Al-Nur Beit Al-Sham Dar Al Baath Dar al Mada Dar Ez-Zarqan for Arts Fateh Muddaress Free Hand Gallery French Cultural Centre Galerie Abdal Gallery Sahar Occasions Galleria Chantout Atelier Ishtar Khan Assad Pacha Kozah Mustafa Ali Naji Al Ali Nassour Gallery Ninar Art Caf Ruaa Art Gallery Rafia Gallery Tajalliyat Gallery Al Rywak Al-Sayyed Al Shaab Ur-Nina Gallery Al-Sharq Showroom Dar El-Mhanna Ebla Gallery Kawaf Fine Arts Gallery The Small Museum Arts Home 5445794 4522257 6628112 3321720 6131088 5431287 3330038 6622141 2322276 5431899 2246710 3344219, 3347211 2316192 5445794 4444846 5436502 6617780 4465086 2215961 5410900 5421988 4423762 3710344 5422557 5610901 3310803 6112338 3337933 332 1450, 3334390 2319606 2243783 021-442861 021-2634098 021-2268757 021-2230985, Mob 0933260301 021-2232596 041-477827 Al-Balabel Al-Beiruti Al-Madar Al-Mahatta Al-Nihlawy Al-Salka Al-Sham Kanawati for Music Mirza Music Mozart Asia Floyed King Radio one Rotana 2216826 3313475 3336722 54498761, 5410821 4441982 2214461 2457153 2323088 4470294 2321445
AIRLINES - LATTAKIA AIRLINES - DEIR EZ-ZUR
HOTELS - DAMASCUS
Ramsis Isis Jdayda
021-2111102 021-2126345 021-9225 \ 3632000
LUXURY - LATTAKIA
Afamia Rotana Resort Lattakia 041- 330033
OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS - DAMASCUS
CD SHOPS - ALEPPO
021-2112993 021-2122596 021-2248440 021-4464063 021-2122702
Art House Four Seasons Talisman1 Dedeman Sheraton Damascus Old Vine Cham Palace Ebla Cham Palace Beit Zaman Hotel Dar al-Yasmin Hotel Semiramis Hotel
6628112/5 3391000 5415379 3322650 2229300 5450164 2232320 2241900 2241945 5435380 5443380 2233555
CINEMAS - DAMASCUS
Damascus International Airport (Flight queries 167-Reservations 187) 4530201/9 Central Tourist office 2323953, 2210122 Immigration and passport office-Visa extensions 2219400 DHL 096345345 Amigo Net 5421694 Internet Cafe Smile 2326239 Spotnet Cafe 5433374 Tourist Office DHL Concord Internet Cafe Internet Centre
OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS - ALEPPO
Queen Center Arjaan by Rotana Alfares Alarabi Omayyad hotel Blue Tower Hotel Damascus International Hotel Fardoss Tower Hotel Maaloula Hotel Rawda Hotel Safir Hotel Damascus Carlton Hotel Palmvillage Hotel
6664003 2225320 - 2248800 2235500 3340240 2311600/1/2 232100 7770250 6416206-7 / 6416210 6470140 2122000 3919004
021-2121228, 2230000 021-4440322 021-2247272 043-315906
OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS - TARTUS OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS - HOMS
GALLERIES - ALEPPO
Messenger Internet Cafe Tourist Office Happy Net cafe Tourist Office
031-2212336 033-511 033-216057
OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS - HAMA
GALLERIES - LATAKIA
OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS - PALMYRA
034-5910574 041-416926 041-465310
CULTURAL CENTRES & INSTITUTES - DAMASCUS
Al-Ahram Al Ameer cinema Biblous Al-Cham Cinema de Cham Diana Dunia Al-Fardous Al Khaiyam cinema Al Kindi Rametta cinema Shamas & Ataasi Al-Sofaraa Ugarit cinema Al-Zahraa Aleppo cinema Al-Ameer Al-Cham cinema Al Hamraa cinema Al Khaiyam cinema Opera Rametta Ugarit Az-Zahraa
2212504 2228513 2213355 4437008 2232300, 2232310 2211847 2211888 2213424, 2214472 4437008 2218899 3214384 2212388 2317008 2311539 2222212
CINEMAS - ALEPPO
Antique Khan Hotel Beit Rose Hotel Orient Palace hotel
5419450 5441241 2231351
Tourist Information Office Center Net
OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS - LATTAKIA
Afamia Hotel Al Hossen Residence Al Majed Hotel City Hotel Future Tower Hotel Al-Haramein Hotel Al-Rabie Hotel Ghazal Hotel
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Society

Heritage & Travel

Yamm Mashhadi: The Writer, the Woman and the Mother

March - April 2011 Issue No. 73

Yamm Mashhadi - The Writer, the Woman and the Mother

and the Mother

Mothers Day; what does this occasion mean to you?

Having become a mother, what do you think of Mothers Day now?

Do you have a nanny?

When financially incapable, do you think parents shouldnt have children?

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

Yamm Mashhadi - The Writer, the Woman and the Mother

Do you support the idea of women working after childbirth?

Were you ever interested in writing a screenplay for a film?

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March - April 2011 Issue No 73

A Mystical Evening at Damascus Opera House

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

The Northern Lights Snowball

ThE NorThErN LighTs sNowbaLL 2011 at the Canadian Embassy

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

Sparkling Performance in Memory of Chopin

Sparkling Performance in Memory of

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

Why 80s and 90s Music is Still Alive in Syria

usic 90s M ia s and in syr y 80 w h ll alive s s ti i

A Distinguished Artist, Kept in the Shadow

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

Europcar Middle-East Regional Meeting

Honoring Bank Bemo

Europcar Middle-East Group

Olivier Boucher - Arnd Rieken

Honoring Shell Emmanuelle Lorance - Jose Menau

Honoring Banque Audi

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

launching Malaysian Syrian Business Council

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

Silver Scorpio-Premiere Display

Location: Cultural Center Lattakia Date: 23/12/2010

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

Preservation Takes new directions in Damascus

New Rehabilitation Efforts

Dedeman Creates Happy Moments

Provides Support for BlackBerry and Android

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

The British Council Holds a lecture on Creative Economy

welcomes its president & CEo

The british Council holds a lecture on Creative Economy

Creative and Cultural Economy (CCE) programme

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

The Oscars Goes to

Words by: Hala Jarjoura

March - April 2011 Issue No 73

Celebrity Mothers Dreaming of a Bright Future for their Children

CELEbriTy MoThErs DrEaMiNg of a brighT fuTurE for ThEir ChiLDrEN

Motherhood: an indescribable feeling

i follow every detail

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Do you want to see your article on this page?

What No One Ever Admits About Marriage

What No One Ever Admits

ove and Money

re-Nup for Him

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What's On Magazine Sample