Abu Rummaneh Cultural Center in Damascus held a symposium for the prominent Syrian actor Saleh Al-Hayek .
The Symposium was honored by the Minister of Culture, Dr. Lubana Mashouh and the Director of Damascus Culture, Naima Al-Ibrahim in appreciation of Al Hayek’s long career in enriching acting in Syria.
From childhood Saleh showed talent in playing the Oud, singing, composing, and drawing .
His talent later appeared also in puppet shows, and he was able to master it and practice it in the Al-Midan neighborhood of Damascus, where he lived.
Al- Hayek said that he liked acting since his childhood, so he went to the Stars Art Club where he met Youssef Harb who was impressed by his many talents and because he was unable to buy an Oud instrument he moved into acting.
His first work was in the role of a female named Fatima due to the lack of girls in that period. He also met the great actor Abdel Latif Fathi and he was influenced by him.
He participated in three plays. He worked with the band Dabas. He was the hero, actor and singer. They achieved great success for a year and a half.
He also wrote the play “Various Stations”, which was a successful directing work that was shown for four years in Damascus and Aleppo, then was followed by the play “Summer Party for June 5”.
He worked in acting on TV. His first series was “The Sun rises Again” and then “Wings”. The work tells about the families of Al-Sarim and Al-Battar. It highlighted the struggle between the rich and the poor.
As for his participation in the Bab Al-Hara series, he said that his participation in this famous series was because of his love for the character ‘Abu Sayyah’, and he participated in parts 3 to12 of the series.
The actor also worked in the Radio in the episodes of “The Rule of Justice”, and he acted in all the roles presented in the work including: investigator, judge, lawyer, merchant, and even a real estate broker etc..
He is not only a talented actor but he is also a singer. He sang a song written to Palestine, entitled: “Where is Peace” which won many prizes in the Arab world.
Report Photos by : Nada Haj Khidr