The Syrian revolution and its ambiguity
17 March 2021
“The transformation of the Syrian conflict into proxy wars and regional settlements added more confusion to the Syrian revolution. It was no longer possible to see any victory as a...
On narratives of the Syrian revolution
15 March 2021
An introduction to our series marking 10 years since the events of 2011.
Randa Baath: 'Any cultural act is vital'
12 March 2021
“I believe that the task of culture, in all its forms, is aimed at self-discipline. Take music, theater, cinema and singing, for example, and notice how young men and women...
Mourning Hassan Abbas
10 March 2021
He spread the culture of cinema when Syria was still the kingdom of silence. He spread the culture of citizenship at a time when Syria was dying under sectarianism, and...
Aleppo’s destruction from above
10 March 2021
There are different angles to look at every landscape. Our view from the ground is completely different from our view from the sky.
Songs of nostalgia in New York City’s long-lost ‘Little Syria’
05 March 2021
The songs that New York City’s Syrian musicians performed from 1913 through the 1940s included recorded poems, folk songs from the homeland and original compositions telling of loss, love, fondness...
Documentation and forms in the contemporary Syrian novel
02 March 2021
After 2011, narrative documentation prevailed over fiction and novels, compared to allegorical or historical fantasy. What pushed Syrian narrative arts toward documentation? What are the political and social events that...
From Aleppo to Beirut, cities burning
26 February 2021
At the onset of the revolution, Syrians gave roses to their killers, in the hope of convincing them that we wanted to build a nation and a country. The Lebanese...
‘Why do you take photos?’
19 February 2021
I often asked myself: “Why are we really capturing these incidents? Is it because we genuinely believe that we can achieve justice in our country by exposing the truth? Or...
Politics and the Syrian novel: A mutual influence
16 February 2021
What if events in Syria constituted a series of successive, ongoing epics of courage and, at the same time, constantly unfolding epics of death, bitterness and human suffering?
Mending what has been broken
12 February 2021
“I often tried to talk to my husband to figure out why he absolutely resented me. After repeated rejections, he told me honestly, ‘I can longer come near you. I...
Arts, reality and the test of time
09 February 2021
“In the past, characters were pessimistic, devastated and defeated, scared and subdued, or nonchalant and only cared about their individual salvation. Characters reclaiming their dreams resurfaced in Syrian narratives, and,...
Cities in Revolution
Documenting the history of the uprising in six different syrian cities
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