Al-Hasakah (Syrian island) Governorate is a Syrian governorate located in the north-east of Syria. Its center is the city of Al-Hasakah
Al Hasakahis is famed for its folkloric songs that express the joy and sadness of its people.
The Directorate of Intangible Heritage in the Ministry of Culture held a Musical Cultural Activity on Sunday at the Arab Cultural Center in Abu Rummaneh center in Damascus ,a part of program “windows 5” that aims at reviving the folklore singing.
In the evening, songs were performed by singer Iskandar Obeid, and the young singer Rinas Al-Youssef who performed Mardali songs , which is one of the components of the heritage of the Syrian Al Jazeera region (northeast of Syria) ,accompanied by the oud and other folklore musical instruments,
The journalist, Idris Murad, the supervisor of the “Windows 5″program talked about the origin of the Mardali songs, which is related to the city of Mardin with its engraved yellowstone, and overlooks on the Euphrates River.
Idris Murad said to Syria Times that ” Windows cultural project started 4 years ago aiming to make people familiar with our heritage and to revive folklore “.
“TheMardalian dialect extends from Mardin to Mosul, passing through the Syrian Al Jazeera region Al-Hasakah” he said.
The young singer Rinas Al-Youssef, who participated in sentimental and emotional songs, told Syria Times that “this is his first participation in a musical evening of Mardali singing, he has been singing this style since his childhood. He aimed from his participation to acquaint people with this kind of singing”.
“Mardali singing is characterized by the simplicity of its pronunciation and it is soft on the ear, beautiful and interesting” he added.
The singer Iskander Obeid said” that the Euphrates folklore singing is distinguished by sadness melodies. Our aim is to revive our folklore singing”.
The musician Shukri Subari said that “our goal is preserve our heritage and acquaint the new generation with this kind of singing”.
Reported by: Nada Haj Khidr