Cultural, artistic and heritage activities on the second day of the Citadel and Valley Festival

Homs-Sana

The activities of the second day of the Castle and the Valley Festival in the Wadi Al-Nadara area in the Homs countryside included various cultural, artistic and heritage activities in a number of villages in the valley.

The events included a flower exhibition hosted by the Educational Complex in the town of Al-Hawash, which included various types of roses, ornamental plants, and products of rural women.

In statements to SANA, Raafat Halawa, founder of the Rural Women's Support Center and the popular farmers market in Hawash, said that their participation in the festival aims to introduce visitors to the center's products, such as milk, cheese, pickles, jams and legumes, in addition to flowers and plants.

Farouk al-Yasin, a worker in the popular farmers market, said that the market is distinguished by its products, which are very popular, as he sells them from the producer to the consumer, while Samar Ibrahim, who works in the Rural Women's Support Center in the manufacture of mortar, confirmed that she got a job opportunity that contributed to improving her living situation.

Engineer Walid Attia, Director of Parks at Homs City Council, indicated the council's participation with some nurseries of 50 types of thistles, trees, shrubs, perennial and annual flowering plants.

In the square of St. George’s Monastery in the village of Al-Mashtaya, the heritage and handicraft exhibits varied in the heritage market, which was revived by the Homs Tourism Directorate, with the participation of more than 75 people of heritage professions in Homs and some provinces.

In semi-circular domes, each craftsman took his place to display his products of food and handicrafts made of wood, ceramics, cardboard, glass, hand weaving, wool, embroidery, recycling and others.

Engineer Ahmed Akash, Director of Homs Tourism, stated that the exhibition is gaining importance through the participation of traditional professionals for which the province is famous, in addition to the products of rural women in the villages of the valley, which constitutes an opportunity to attract visitors and market the products, stressing that the market continues throughout the days of the festival.

The engineer, Mona Mahfoud, head of the Rural Development Department in the Directorate of Agriculture in Homs, indicated that the productive rural women are strongly present in the exhibition, and their products are witnessing a remarkable turnout.

A number of participants in the exhibition, including the craftsman specializing in glass painting, Ahmed Al-Kurdi, Shahrazad Al-Satli, Noura Al-Rifai and Reem Al-Shaar, who manufacture handicrafts and embroidery, pointed out that their participation gives them the opportunity to market their products.

The profession of the Damascene mosaicist with the craftsman Iskandar Al-Halabi from Damascus and the traditional wood-turning craft of the craftsman Mamoun Al-Hallaq from Damascus had a presence within the market in order to introduce the heritage products that Damascus is famous for.

The activities of the second day of the festival also witnessed a concert performed by the singer Hassan Khalaf and his band in the town square of Nazareth, in the presence of the people.

As for the cultural activities, they included a book exhibition in the library of Al-Hawash University, which was set up by the university in cooperation with the branch of the Arab Writers Union in Homs, which included about three thousand books for the various publications of the Arab Writers Union, including books, periodicals, stories, Arab and international literary and scientific novels, and studies.

Dr. Samar Al-Dioub, Vice President of Al-Hawash Private University for Scientific Research, indicated that the exhibition offers books at nominal prices and includes 250 cultural, literary, intellectual and political titles.

Omaima Ibrahim, head of the Arab Writers Union branch in Homs, pointed out that all the books on display are from the Union of Writers' publications, and that the exhibition will continue until July 31.

A number of visitors to the exhibition expressed their interest in acquiring the paper book, including the pharmacist Reem Barakat, who confirmed that she loves literature as food for the soul. Zahraa Al-Yassin, a student who prefers reading novels, agreed with him.

In the hall of the Cultural Center in Marmarita, a book exhibition was opened. Atef Moussa, the supervisor of the exhibition, explained that it includes more than 700 titles and about four thousand books in the arts of culture and literature, indicating that the exhibition continues throughout the festival period.

Odette Deeb, director of the Marmarita Cultural Center, pointed out that what distinguishes the exhibition is its orientation to children through various titles, pointing out that prices are symbolic, with a discount of up to 30%.

The Marmarita Cultural Center also hosted a poetry forum, with the participation of a group of poets who presented patriotic and sentimental poems through which they sang the love of the homeland and the heritage of the village and glorified the sacrifices of the soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army.

The poet Hassan Samoun recited poems in the spoken dialect in which he sang about the beauty of Marmarita, as well as ghazals with the titles “I want to be rich, rich, and he will follow from your grouse and under the Syrian walnut,” through which he referred to the authentic customs of the people of the village.

The poet Ali Asaad, founder of the Safita Literary Forum, wrote a poem dedicated to the souls of the martyrs of Syria, entitled “They made a covenant for us and they were absent.” He also recited my poem “The Eyes of Jasmine, and you have the chapter of the speech” for the brave Syrian Arab Army.

The poet Hassan Ahmed addressed the soldiers of the army, glorifying their sacrifices through several poems, while the poet Rehab Ramadan saluted the souls of the martyrs through the poem “Martyrs with Jasmine are dyed,” while the poet Ghassan Al-Ahmad Abu Hamidi recited a poem dedicated to the protectors of the homeland, entitled “The Knight of Al-Sham.”

It is noteworthy that the festival will be held on the 24th, 25th, 29th, 30th and 31st of this month, in addition to the 5th and 6th of August.