Love, hope and feminine passion are the core of a newly issued novel titled "Qamar Mousa” by Syrian writer Ghunwa Fidda.  The novel tells a love story between a woman (Qamar) and a disabled fine artist (Mousa) in an attractive narrative style.

The novel, published by al-Ghanem for Culture publishing House, is Fidda’s first literary production. It focuses on the cultural and social dimension of women’s personality.

The heroine, Qamar, is an educated woman with knowledge of Arab and foreign cultures. She has enough background of knowledge that enables her to play the role of an enlightened intellectual and a reformative person in the society which she wants to be overwhelmed by love and amity and positivity.

The Ornina Artists' Group adopted an innovative style in their paintings which were recently exhibited at the “Old Tartous Gallary”. The exhibition is under the supervision of the Head of "the Ornina Group", the artist George Chamoun and the artist Samaher Dalla. It was held on the occasion of the World Day of “Nonviolence” under the patronage of "Al Adiyat Association" in Tartous .

24 artists from Tartous  participated in the exhibition. Their paintings are close to those of children because they express the feelings of children afflicted in this brutal war on Syria.

Damascus, ST- Words and Music, a collection of Russian stories by Roman Mikhnikov.  The main subject of most of these stories is music , thus most of its heroes are musicians.

The 159-page collection issued by the Syrian General Book Establishment , is translated into Arabic by Dr. Farid Hatem al-Shahaf . He translated  this collection in an interesting way while preserving the foreign environment in which the events took place.

It is noteworthy that Mikhankov is a director and composer who won many international awards. He wrote many famous books (cat arrival) and (Prometheus clock) , he also directed many plays and movies.

Rawa Kakhia, a student of Communication Engineering Department at Al-Baath University, made several colored decorative paintings in an elaborative artistic way using Mandala art.

The earliest evidence of Buddhist mandala art dates to the first century B.C. Although rooted in Buddhism, mandalas later became present in Hinduism, New Age Spirituality, and other religious practices like metaphysics.

Elegance by the yard: The famous Syrian silk, known as brocade is perhaps one of the most opulent and luxurious products of the Orient. The extraordinary thickness of this fabric, intense colors of natural dyes, intricate, centuries old patterns and fantastic quality of workmanship, combine to create the most luxurious fabric that trees ever made. A certain top French designer salon sells it around US $ 300 per yard.

Of the Fabric: Only two small factories in Damascus still manufacture brocade using traditional ways. The process is so demanding and time consuming that a single person makes only one meter a day, using the very finest silk and golden threads. The knots are tied very tight, like in the best oriental carpets. Consequently, availability of the fabric is inevitably limited, and that, combined with its exceptional quality and high market demand, push the price up. Is a there a better place than Damascus to buy Brocade?