Damascus countryside - SANA
Whoever comes to Syria must be aware of the finer details, and many of those who come to it are visitors from all over the world, documenting what they saw with their writings and photographs, including Chilean artists whose works were gathered in an exhibition organized by the Chilean Embassy in Damascus, in the ancient Monastery of St. Jacob in the city of Qara, in the countryside Damascus.
The exhibition, titled “Syria Through the Lens of the Chileans”, contained a number of photographs by Chilean artists: the engineer “Mauricio Castillo”, the lawyer “Mayo Arria Donoso” and the philosopher “Gustavo Cataldo Sanginetti”, each of whom specialized in a specific aspect of Syria, so the contents of the pictures varied between archaeological humanity as well as craftsmanship.
The Chilean ambassador to Syria, Patricio Dam, confirmed in a statement to SANA that the bilateral cooperation between Syria and Chile is progressing in a good way, especially on the cultural and academic levels, and that there are future plans that contribute to strengthening this cooperation.
Ambassador Dam pointed out that the idea of the exhibition came after the creative work of the three photographers, which aims to depict Syria and life in it.
The head of the monastery, Mother Fadia Al-Lahham, considered in a similar statement that the arrival of Chilean artists, at different times, and their portrayal of real life in Syria and the Syrian person in particular, by focusing on faces of all social statuses and ages, and then transferring them to Latin American society, contributes to strengthening ties and drawing a true picture. And beautiful about the Syrian society.
She stressed that this type of exhibition expresses in its content the unity between peoples, especially in the humanitarian field, considering that man is the essence of life, and also because it is a way to exchange the cultures of peoples among themselves.
Regarding choosing the Monastery of St. Jacob to hold the exhibition, Al-Lahham indicated that the reason is due to the historical and heritage importance of the monastery, which dates back to the fifth century AD, in addition to its archaeological content, which gives the exhibition an aesthetic character, such as the hall of ancient manuscripts, murals, and many others.
For his part, Director of the Palmyra Museum, Dr. Khalil Al-Hariri, stressed that the establishment of this type of exhibition contributes greatly to conveying the true image of Syria to the outside world as a country of art and heritage, as it brings us closer to other peoples, and informs us of their customs and culture.
Among the visitors of the exhibition, Osama Satie saw that this exhibition carries more than value as it is a symbol of the convergence of cultures between the two friendly countries, and aims in its potential to shed light on the image of Syria, as monitored by Chilean photographers who took many pictures that reflect the Syrian heritage and the well-established Syrian civilization.
It is noteworthy that the exhibition “Syria Through the Lens of Chileans” continues until the twenty-second of this month.
Khader Suleiman
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