Syrian Iconic Singer Sabah Fakhri Gets Highest Order of Cultural Merits in Tunisia
TUNIS- Renowned Syrian Singer Sabah Fakhri has got the highest Order of Cultural Merits in Tunisia.
The honoring ceremony was held at the headquarters of the Culture Ministry in the Tunisian Capital.
Talking to the press, Fakhri said “I feel very proud of getting this order which brings my memory back to the time when Tunisia’s Ex-President Al-Habib Bourqeba awarded me with the same order in the 1970s.”
The Tunisian Culture Minister Latifa Lakhdhar also expressed her happiness for standing beside the icon of Arab Art and one of the most prominent Arab singers; Sabah Fakhri.
She said “culture is the strategic weapon to fight the plagues facing Tunisia with terrorism at the top of the list.”
Sabah Fakhri is one of the most famous singers in Syria and the Arab world and greatly contributed to Eastern music.
Born in Aleppo in 1933, Fakhri has got a very beautiful and strong voice. He started singing religious songs during childhood and then moved to the heritage singing. He enriched the Arab music with hundreds of wonderful songs and Andalus-originated Muwashahat and Qudud Halabiya which are very popular in the Arab world. He also sang poems by old Arab poets including Abu Attayeb al-Mutanabi and Abu Firas al-Hamadani.
The highest Order of Cultural Merits is the top order in Tunisia. It is given to outstanding Arab cultural personalities whose artistic works have left great positive effect on culture in Tunisia and the entire Arab world.
The honoring comes on the sidelines of the Second Session of Carthage Music Days which were held between March 14th and 21st in Tunis.
In Syria in 2007, President Bashar Al-Assad awarded Fakhri with the highest order of merits for his great contribution to enriching the Arab artistic heritage.
Earlier, Fakhri entered Guinness Record for singing 12 hours without stopping.
Rawaa Ghanam