Various activities on the second day of the “Citadel and Valley” Festival

Visitors and residents of a number of villages in the Wadi al-Nadara area in Homs countryside enjoyed the artistic and cultural activities that were held on the second day of the “Citadel and Valley” Festival.

The square of the educational complex in the town of Al-Hawash hosted a flower expo, which was held by Homs City Council, the Rural Women Support Center and the popular farmers’ market in Al-Hawash.

According to Raafat Halawa, the founder of the Rural Women Support Center and the popular farmers market in Hawash, the exhibition included various types of roses, ornamental plants and 50 types of thorns, trees, shrubs, perennial and annual flowering plants provided by the city council and some private nurseries in addition to products made by  rural women.

In a statement to the Syria Times e- newspaper, Halawa clarified that the products shown in this exhibition are the result of hard work and the fruit of the projects carried out by the center in the region with the aim of creating job opportunities and a source of income for a large number of families in the valley, whether within the center or in their homes.

He went on to say: “The quality and diversity of the products enabled them to occupy a distinguished place in local and foreign markets. A container of our center’s products was exported to America about four months ago, and preparations are now underway to send another container within two weeks.”

“Our participation in the festival aims to give visitors an idea about  the center’s products, such as dairy, cheese, pickles, jams, legumes and supplies, in addition to flowers, plants and fruit trees such as citrus trees of all kinds,” Halawa concluded.

 St. George’s Monastery Square in the village of Al-Mashtaia hosted the exhibition of handicraft and heritage products that were revived by the Homs Tourism Directorate with the participation of more than 75 artisans in Homs and some governorates.

In semi-circular domes, exhibits included food and handicrafts made of wood, ceramics, cardboard, glass, hand weaving, wool, embroidery.

The Governor of Homs, Engineer Bassam Parsik, told Syria Times e-newspaper: “All festivals in the world are organized with the aim of marketing a specific product. We are here at the “Citadel and Valley Festival” for this year 2021 to attract the largest possible number of visitors who are in Syria as internal tourism to this amazingly beautiful tourist area, which is rich with its ancient archaeological sites. We also try to attract expatriates who live abroad to visit this region and the indicators, thank God, are very positive for the expatriate tourism”

“As for the exhibition of handicraft and heritage products, it is considered one of the most important exhibitions held within the framework of the festival, which we hope will become an annual exhibition,” Parsik added.

Reem El-Shaar, who shows handicrafts and accessories in the exhibition, made it clear that she was able through her participation in most of the artistic events held in the city, to promote her products.

She pointed out that the high demand for buying her products and the moral support she received from everyone enabled her to move forward in developing her small project, through which she was able to secure a livelihood for herself and her children.

The Damascene mosaics profession and the traditional woodturning craft had their distinguished presence in the exhibition.

The artist Ma’moun al-Hallaq said that woodturning is a very ancient craft, and that he is the only one in Syria who is still practicing it although it has disappeared about fifty years ago.

“I am trying to teach this craft to my children to preserve it as our heritage is our identity. My participation in the exhibition stems from my belief in the necessity of reviving this craft and introducing people to it, and this is what I am doing here Where I make my products in front of people to inform them more about what a lathe is and how it works,” he concluded.

As for the cultural events, Al-Hawash University Library hosted a book fair held by the university in cooperation with the Arab Writers Union, Homs branch.

The exhibition displayed about three thousand books of various publications of the Arab Writers Union, including books, periodicals, stories, Arab and international literary and scientific novels, and studies.

Omaima Ibrahim, head of the Writers Union branch in Homs, said that the exhibition activates the cultural movement, adding that the exhibition includes short story, poetry, theatrical and artistic collections.

Interviewed by Amal Farhat