Freedom between Reality and Fiction

I think that freedom as a concept has not been determined accurately so far. The great efforts exerted by writers, thinkers and philosophers to give the real meaning of freedom is a clear evidence of the depth of its meaning. Freedom,…

Lessons in creativity and joy at XOXO

Last week, a small crew of 37signals folk headed to Portland for the XOXOfestival. It was a high-speed joyride of creative spirit, and it might have permanently changed my outlook on making stuff. Here are a few of the morsels that will…

Syrian Dabke Goes Global, Again

In 1997, Iraqi-American producer Mark Gergis first heard the music of Syria-born Omar Souleyman. The fast-paced dabke sound was emanating from a cassette kiosk in Damascus and Gergis, a self-described “archivist of international…

Syrian Food: Lifting the Veil

'Good lady, are you absolutely sure you are not more hungered?'  Our waiter peered anxiously at us, before energetically slapping his belly in case we didn't understand. Unfortunately, in Syrian culture, refusal of food is taken as a polite…

Tourists Warm Up to Syria

When French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited here in September after hosting Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier in Paris, he went a long way toward breaking this Mediterranean nation's diplomatic isolation.   But tourists, many of…

Damascus Vacations

Having survived thousands of years of successive civilizations from the Egyptians, Greco-Romans, Muslims, Crusaders, Mongols, Ottomans and French to the modern Arab era, Damascus is one of the most resilient and historic cities on Earth.…
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UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria: Reports about United Nations evacuating all its s... Army General Command: The Syrian people are facing systematic media and terrorist war aiming at dest... Syrian Army Eliminates large numbers of Terrorists, destroys dozens of their vehicles in northern Ho... Presidency of the Republic: President Al-Assad is assuming his work, national and constitutional dut... Lavrov: Russia, Iran, Turkey agreed on facilitating the stopping of military operations in Syria, st... Iran reaffirms ongoing support for Syrian people, government Russian and Iraqi foreign ministers discuss situation in Syria and its serious impacts on the region... Damascus International Airport operating at full capacity, news about stopping operations is not tru... The Russian "Roads of Glory - Our History" movement condems the terrorist organizations' attack on S... Baghaei: Allegations about the evacuation of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus are not true 27 martyrs in Israeli occupation massacres in Gaza A statement by the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces Joint statement of the foreign ministers of Syria, Iraq and Iran: "Threatening Syria’s security enda... Friends of UN Charter condemn terrorist attacks in Syria Foreign Ministers of Syria, Iraq and Iran hold joint press conference on the situation in Syria Iraqi President reaffirms need to preserve Syria's unity and sovereignty Israeli occupation forces raid Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza, force medical staff and patients to lea... The Syrian Army eliminates dozens of terrorists in Hama countryside Lavrov: Information indicates the United States, Britain support terrorist groups in northern Syria Fayyadh: Syria’s security cannot be separated from Iraq’s