Rural heritage products and handicrafts works in Lattakia Flower Exhibition 2022

The heritage “Al Batrni”  Park, on the western corniche of Lattakia city, is currently hosting the Lattakia Flower Exhibition 2022 in its thirty-third session, which is held by the Tourism Directorate there in cooperation with Lattakia Governorate and its city council.

The exhibits  varied greatly  including flower and ornamental plants , beehives, coastal  heritage cuisine, traditional handicrafts works , rural women’s products, small and micro enterprises , paintings in addition to sculptors .

The cultural event is accompanied by music of different kinds of musical instruments  as well as presenting folkloric songs and dancing performances.

Syriatimes e-newspaper visited the exhibition and met a number of participants who stressed that the exhibition of this year is characterized by the diversity, and the richness of participations in the field of heritage, natural, artistic and creative fields in addition to the participation of a number of plastic artists.

They pointed out that the  exhibition contributed to attracting popular tourism through gardens and parks, which are destinations for visitors and interested people.

The artist Maysa Kalash stressed to Syriatimes the importance of exhibitions to highlight skills in various domains and revive traditional arts to preserve them from extinction and introduce them to younger generations, in addition to exchanging experiences.

She   affirmed her keenness on  participating in the exhibition to showcase her works aimed at reviving the heritage including paintings that embody the Damascene house, Mandala , Dream Catcher, embroidery, crochet, knitting and home decorative works.

Kalash indicated that acquiring skills is necessary in several fields , stressing that with determination and ambition she managed to invest her talent and develop it by innovating new ideas.

The Participant Maya Kassab, a graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts , expressed her happiness to participate in the exhibition, as she considered it an opportunity to present her artworks, including drawing and writing on wood, glass, pottery, and porcelain.

Kassab is very impressed with the old Damascene houses and their outstanding construction, as she seeks through her art to embody these old houses with all their architectural details.

She expressed her desire to develop her art in this field and teach it to future generations and have her own artistic project.

At “ AlWaleed”   nursery plant pavilion  Syriatimes met Ahmed Al-Ahmadi , who pointed out that the pavilion witnessed remarkable turn out because it contained different types of ornamental flowers bulbs including , the lily, the tulip, the narcissus of all kinds, and the saffron, which is considered the economic wealth of our country, in addition to the seeds of pine, carob, cypress, fir and forest trees.

“We are trying to revive ancient traditional medicines byhighlighting plants and herbs that have medicinal and economic properties, such as aloe vera, which is beneficial for hair and body” Ahmed.

The participation of Chef Aida Salim of  the Rural woman’s empowering and supporting department at Lattakia Directorate  of Agriculture came in the exhibition by presenting healthy traditional dishes in addition to allkinds of jams, pickles, sweets and dairy products.

The chef stressed the importance of returning to nature and land with everything and avoiding chemicals, stressing the role of the department in supporting all the rural women’s products.

She expressed her dream of having her own restaurant to serve natural healthy food and reviving traditional   dishes.

In turn, the mother of the martyr Ali Nabil Qadero, Mrs. Emtithal Jafi of the rural women department said “when my son was martyred in the countryside of Damascus in 2013, I planted medicinal herbs and plants in the cemetery of the martyrs then I used them to manufacture medical soap and cream to treat illnesses and provided them for free to the wounded army personnel”.

She added “With the support of the rural woman department , I developed my products and manufactured cosmetics, shampoo, soap, perfumes, creams and soap for the treatment of skin diseases”.

She stressed the importance of exhibitions to promote their products, highlight medical natural products and exchange expertise.

Interviewed by : Rawaa  Ghanam

Photos by : Rawaa  Ghanam