In Support of Cultural Tourism: A Scientific Dialogue Symposium at the Faculty of Tourism, University of Damascus

Damascus-SANA

With the aim of supporting cultural tourism, the Faculty of Tourism at the University of Damascus organized today a scientific symposium entitled (Cultural Heritage in Syria... The Beginning of Settlement and its Tourism Employment) in cooperation with the (Land of the Levant) Development Foundation.

The Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Dr. Raslan Khadour, confirmed that the faculty seeks to enrich students' knowledge of the practical aspects related to the tourism sector, indicating the importance of the symposium in terms of highlighting the Syrian cultural heritage and its discoveries during the past hundred years, and how to employ archaeological and historical sites in tourism.

Basil Al-Dunya, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Land of the Levant Foundation, pointed out that the institution has a peer-reviewed scientific journal that adopts international methods and methods by scientific arbitration, and that the aim of the symposium is to shed light on the first research it published, which bears the title (The Beginning of Settlement in Syria...and a Hundred Years of Research) by Dr. Hossam Ghazi Professor in the Department of Archeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Damascus, and presented it to professors and students with specialization.

During his presentation, Dr. Ghazi dealt with the modern archaeological discoveries in Syria that were found since 2004 until the present time, as recent archaeological excavations and discoveries proved the existence of cities and sites in Syria that are the oldest in the world, explaining the importance of the symposium in highlighting these discoveries to include them within the cultural scene. Syrian, highlighting the cultural and civilizational identity of Syria.

Historical researcher and former director of antiquities and museums in Syria, Dr. Bassam Jamous, talked about the historical and archaeological sites in Syria that are registered on the World Heritage List, stressing the importance of employing these sites for tourism and preparing economic studies to implement cultural, popular and religious tourism projects.

Dr. Ahmed Diab, a professor at the Department of Antiquities at the University of Damascus, referred to the violations that Syrian antiquities were subjected to during the crisis period, calling for the creation of a national charter for the work of antiquities in the next stage, and the need to include information about antiquities in Syria in school and university curricula and raise awareness of their historical and civilizational importance.

Dr. Lina Mohsen, from the Department of History at the University of Damascus, touched on stations from the ancient history of Syria, the historical stages of archaeological excavations in Syria, and attempts to exploit some missions that worked in excavations to distort historical facts.

The symposium included questions and interventions from professors and students of the college, which focused on the importance of shedding light on the history of Syria throughout the ages, investing in historical and archaeological sites and destinations and employing them in tourism, and holding more specialized seminars in this field to allow students from various disciplines to participate in them.

Indian Helena

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