From savoring produce at the peak of freshness to meeting the people who grow your food, there are countless reasons to support farmers markets.

There are many benefits to buy locally grown food, and each person makes their choice for different reasons. Locally grown food creates important economic opportunities, provides health benefits and helps reduce environmental impact.

Shedding light on this unique experience Syriatimes e-newspaper visited “Souq Al-Dayaa” (the village market), which is organized twice a week at Al-Sultan park in Lattakia by “Souq El-Dayaa” civil society association there.

  A number of farmers display a wide range of hand-made products including excellent food industries  like dairy products by rural women including jam, pickles, concentrated juice in addition to oil, soap and dry medical plants, traditional handicrafts, cosmetic and accessories made of natural plants as well as many other household products  which Syrian rural women can produce with high quality and free of chemical and preservative materials.

Damascus History Foundation sought to correct the autobiography of Ahmad Hamdi al-Khayat (1899-1981), on the Wikipedia Arabic International Encyclopedia. Al- Khayat was a Syrian doctor and one of the founding fathers of the University of Damascus and the Medical Syndicate.

He was born to a Damascene family known for the art of woodcarving and marquetry. He studied at the Medical Institute and graduated at the end of World War I, in 1918.

Skyrocketing prices

Gold is one of the most important valuable metals on earth. This lustrous yellow precious metal has been considered as a wealth by all countries of the world as its price measures the strength of economies, that is, when gold prices are high in a country, this means that the economy of this country is not healthy.

In Syria, the price of 1 gram of 21 karat gold was 1805 Syrian pound (SYP) in 2010, a year before the crisis caused by the terrorist war on the country started. The prices witnessed gradual increase in later years to hit 17,500 Syrian pound per 1 gram of 21K gold in 2018. In 2019,  gold prices jumped to 28,000 Syrian pounds per gram of 21K gold, a 15-fold increase compared to the prices before the crisis.

However, a skyrocketing increase in gold prices in Syria has been registered this year, 2020, particularly under the coronavirus pandemic crisis and the deteriorating economic situation in the country caused by the western sanctions and the unfair coercive measures which have badly affected the exchange rate of the Syrian pound and consequently weakened the Syrians' purchase ability.

According to Ghassan Jazmati, Chairman of the Association of Goldsmiths and Jewelry Making in Damascus, gold prices in Syria have hit a record high (about 111,000 SYP per 1 gram of 21 karat gold early this month), as a result of manipulation in the exchange rate of the US dollar on the black markets that caused devaluation of the Syrian pound (2500 Syrian pound to 1 US dollar).

On July,19, 2020, the people of Syria will cast their ballots in parliamentary elections and they will prove once again to the whole world the they are the only ones who have the right to make decisions in Syria.

The Syrian people, who have confronted a terror war that has entered its 10^th year, will select their representatives to the parliament taking into consideration that participation in the elections is a national duty and they must be highly selective to help the new members of parliament to be active in addressing  all challenges, which the country is facing due to the ongoing war and sanctions.

For the second year in a row, Syria will participate  via internet  in the World  School Debating championships ( WSDC )  2020 in  Mexico..

The WSDC , which  will be held  from 19-24 July  with the participation of 75 countries, is an annual English-language debating tournament for high school level teams representing different countries.

The Distinction  and Creativity Authority stated in a statement , which  SANA  received a copy on Thursday ,  that the Syrian team participating in the championship consists of five members ,  the coach and referee.

 The statement  indicated that the debates will be in  English, where the first round includes six  tournaments .  The duration of each one is one hour.  The team must win at least four tournaments  to ensure qualification to the second round and reach the final debate.

Syrian youth George Marrash  has recently won the world  Ten Outstanding  Young Persons  ( TOYP )  Competition  , which was  held by the  Junior International  Chamber (JCI ) ..

The young Marrash  won the category  of "Contributing to Children's Peace, Global  Peace and Human Rights" due to his active contribution in the field of community development.

The winner Marrash  told SANA   that he  had started volunteering   as a facilitator of teenagers  Clubs in Damascus countryside before he contributed to the establishment of the "Peace Makers “ Civil Society  Association in Lattakia.

The English poet and writer, Oscar Wilde says that, “Beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible”.

The history of make up

Civilizations have always used cosmetics for centuries in religious rituals to enhance beauty and to promote good health though not always recognizable compared to today’s advanced products. Cosmetics usage throughout history can be indicative of a civilization’s practical concerns, such as protection from the sun or conventions of beauty.

 The timeline below represents a brief history of cosmetics, beginning with the Ancient Egyptians in 10,000 BC.

10,000 BC:

Cosmetics were an integral part of Egyptian hygiene and health. Men and women in Egypt use scented oils and ointments to clean and soften their skin and mask body odor. Oils and creams were for protection against the hot Egyptian sun and dry winds. Myrrh, thyme, marjoram, chamomile, lavender, lily, peppermint, rosemary, cedar, rose, aloe, olive oil, sesame oil, and almond oil provided the basic ingredients of most perfumes Egyptians used in religious rituals.

About the typologies of cosmetics in use among the Phoenicians, little is known. In this context, generally references come from bibliographic Latin sources: in antiquity, women preferred to paint white their face, red lips and cheeks, yellowish eyes and black to surround their eyes.