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The two faces of RamadanDifferent approaches and traditions upheld in Syria

Syria and Turkey's flourishing economic ties

Jazz lives in Syria: A look at the young Syrian music movement

Zaha Hadid: Exclusive interview with the world acclaimed Iraqi architect

Business

27 Syria and Turkey: Strengthening ties ------------------------------------------------

30 Fruit and vegetable sellers under pressure ------------------------------------------------

23 Zaha Hadid ------------------------------------------------

Forward guest

4 Long life, good health, Saber!------------------------------------------------

Syria 100 SP | Lebanon 5,000 LL | USA $6.50 | Jordan 1.5 JD | UAE 10 AED | UK 2 GBP | Saudi Arabia 10 SAR

CONTENTS Forward Magazine, August 2010

7Appetizers------------------------------------------------

2 Inbox------------------------------------------------

For subscriptions please log on to www.fw-magazine.com

In this issue, Forward Magazine explores the different ap-proaches to Ramadan within Syrian society; those who see it as a time of piety and test of faith, while others deem it a time of entertainment and an opportunity for self-indul-gence and self-gratification.We start with opinions from the Syrian street on Ramadan’s direct influences on the daily life activities and routine, cou-pled with facts from service industry experts on the effects Ramadan has on businesses. We end with a brief on the tra-ditions upheld in Syria at this time of year, and the results those have on the social fabric, as well as a brief photo essay expanding on the topic.

Cover story16

20The many Ramadan traditions------------------------------------------------

Forward Advisor

The last word

53Khan Asaad Pasha------------------------------------------------

56A journalist’s eye over the Middle East------------------------------------------------

47------------------------------------------------

Culture

Technology

In Syria we trust

35 A glimpse on the Art Market ------------------------------------------------

36 Jazz lives in Syria ------------------------------------------------

37 The young Syrian music movement ------------------------------------------------

40 Sufi chants ------------------------------------------------

Start-ups

Face of the Future

44 Medium ME: Syria’s portal to E-Commerce------------------------------------------------

46 Face of the Future: Ali Khwanda------------------------------------------------

32 Integration of culture in local development ..............................................................................

Interactive theatre in public schools ------------------------------------------------

42Syria to Share Bandwidth Capacity with Neighbors ......................................................................................

Adobe creative Suite 5 hits the markets ------------------------------------------------

FORWARD SHABABTHE CREATIVE PLATFORM

OF YOUNG SYRIANS

August 20102

The Cast Chairman: Mohamed HaykalCEO and Publisher: Abdulsalam M. HaykalEditor-in-Chief: Sami M. MoubayedCopy Editor: Stephen StarrSenior Writer: Hamoud MahmoudStaff Writer: Hamzeh Abu-FakherArt Director: Ibrahim AladdinProduction Officer: Firas AdraPhotography: Carole al-Farah, Nabil Nijem, John Wreford, Gautier DeblonCover: Carole al-Farah, edited by Ibrahim AladdinContributing Writers: Helena Cobban, Lauren Williams, Ryan Gerety, Jennifer Mackenzie, Rassa Qass Youssef, Moritz Flick, Rana Chaar, Mayar MniniAdvertising, Circulation, Subscriptions byHaykal Media:Executive Manager: Ammar HaykalCreative Advisor: Karim ShukrGroup Sales Manager: Soud AtassiCommunication Officer: Yara BarhoumDistribution Supervisor: Mohamad TalebCirculation Manager: Ameeneh AbazaPrinting: Salhani Printing House, SyriaCorrespondents: Dubai, New York, Doha,Montreal, Washington DC, Beirut, Amman, LondonDistribution - Syria: General Establishment for Publications Distribution. Lebanon: Moyen Orient Distribution SAL

Contact:P.O.Box 28, Damascus, SyriaTel: +963 11 2245200Fax: +963 11 2223465Editorial: forward@haykal.comAdvertising: hm@haykal.com

“I dedicate Forward Magazine to my father Mohamed Haykal, whose guiding optimism has helped me see the many ways forward.” - Abdulsalam M. Haykal

Licensed in Syria by Decree 80 of August 24, 2008.

A publication of

inboxSend your comments to: Fax: +963 11 222 3465, P.O.Box: 28, Damascus, SyriaE-mail: forward@haykal.com, Blog: www.fwmagazine.wordpress.com

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Finding a job after graduationChallenges facing 200,000 Syrian graduates who enter the work force annually

US Congressman Baird: Science Diplomacy for Syrian-US relations

Keeping score: Syrian footballers now contenders for continental titles

Julio Iglesias: Exclusive with Forward

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The Syrian Education Gap

Kinan Bahnasi writes that among grad-uates “continuity has no value,” yet he also blames the trend of unimaginative youths lacking incentive as contribut-ing to the gap. Faced with this, in which direction can a young Syrian go? Surely this is a larger structural point which needs reform and is not merely an in-dividual responsibility. It seems to be a huge disincentive for young Syrians to go looking for different positions and diverse jobs just to be told that they would have been better off stick-ing with one of them and then end up,

as Mr Bahnasi mentioned, as under-trained employees in companies which “don’t look at their employees as valu-able assets.” In addition, young Syrians face the humiliating prospect of being paid at least a third less in salary than young foreigners with the same quali-fications. It seems to me they feel be-trayed by the education system and are desperately looking to the outside for opportunities instead of harnessing their energies on a national level.

Moritz Flick, a German student com-menting on July Issue’s article enti-tled “Minding the Education Gap”

August 20104

Food for thoughtFood for thought

Sabah Fakhri, to actresses like Muna Wasif and actors like Duraid Lahham and Rafiq Sibaii. These figures mas-tered the show business game far bet-ter than their colleagues. They main-tained an excellent relationship with the media, are well acquainted with the rising generation of artists who now dominate the scene—and most importantly, remained close to the people. They refused to become se-cluded with the advancement of age, refused to stop singing or acting, and simply put: refused to step down.

The late Nihad Quali received the Order of Merit, Excellence Class, in February 2008, 15 years after his passing in 1993. Pioneers like Ab-dul Latif Fathi, one of the founders of Syrian theatre, also received post-mortem honors from the Syrian gov-ernment. More recently a collector’s stamp was issued by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, carrying their photographs.

After a three-hour conversation on the history of the Syrian art scene, Tayseer al-Saidi looked up at me and said “I made people laugh for 40 years. I danced, I sang, and I told jokes about their day-to-day life but now, I live day-by-day, waiting to die. Old age is such a repulsive aspect of life. I hate it yet I miss my friends and I miss my wife…”

Tayseer al-Saidi, or Saber as the Syr-ians knew him for years, and so many others of his generation deserve the honors of Sabah Fakhri, Duraid Lah-ham, and Rafiq Sibaii. They deserve to be honored in their final hour, and to die in dignity as founding fathers of the Syrian art scene.

Long life, good health, Saber! Social security for Syria's treasuresI recently returned from a visit to the home of Tayseer al-Saadi, Syria’s lon-gest living comedian, one of the pio-neers of Syrian theater and radio, who I visited at his home in Dummar with my friend, Sami Arnaaout. Once a co-median—always a comedian Saadi, at 93, still made us laugh from the bot-tom of our hearts. He still had a re-markable ability to act, tell jokes, make funny faces and remember events with meticulous detail, dating back to the early 1930s. In the 1950s, during the pre-TV era, he had rocketed to fame with a brilliant 350 part radio show called Saber & Sabriya, performed with his wife, also an actress. By the time TV started in 1960, Saadi was al-ready a household name in Syria and he continued to act until retirement in 1992 after performing in the memo-rable social drama, Ayyam Shamiya.

The Tayseer al-Saadi of 2010 is a very, very angry man, strangely enough, in excellent health. His pen-sion from his career as an actor cur-

rently stands at 6,000 SP ($127 USD), barely enough to buy him medicine. For years he used to live in the posh Abu Rummaneh district—an apart-ment rented for peanuts back in the 1940s, when real estate was cheap in Damascus. He was recently evicted when landlords were allowed to up-grade their rent or get rid of tenants who had overstayed their welcome. His suitcases were bundled up—along with priceless movie posters, records, and photographs of the entire Syrian art scene—and thrown on the side-walk.

Tayseer’s story is not uncommon for several veterans of the Syrian screen. A

year ago, another comedian—famous from the 1970s onwards—called Yas-sin Bakoush, appeared on Syrian TV in a very rare interview, literarily asking to be cast in a role, pleading in fact, because he had no money. According to a friend who works in a private TV station, Bakoush—famous for the role of Yassino the waiter—asked for 5,000 SP ($106 USD) for a cameo appearance eulogizing his lifelong friend (both in life and on screen), Naji Jaber. Abu Antar (Naji’s stage name for three de-cades) lived for many years in very dif-ficult financial conditions until private production companies ‘remembered him’ and hired the aging actor for lead roles in 30-episode epics, towards the final years of his life. By then it was too late; Naji Jaber died from cancer in March 2009 at the age of 69.

Their stories reminds us of pathet-ic TV commercials performed in the 1990s by veterans like Mohammad Tarajki (famous for the role of the night guard Abu Zaki) and Samia al-

Jazairi, for the sake of extra cash. Long before that, Syria’s giant comedian Nihad Quali—who was incapacitated from work after suffering an accident in 1976—had to write cartoon stories for the Lebanese children magazine Samer, in order to continue making a proper living.

To understand the influence and magnitude of these men, it is safe to compare them to Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, and The Marx Broth-ers. The picture of the “founding fa-thers” of theatre and cinema, however, is not all grim. There are pioneers who are treated with red carpets wherever they go, ranging from Syria’s tenor

August 2010 7

AppetizersLocal News Chat Room Say Again Google This Milestones

Inside:Today’s agreement with Accor Group is in line with Cham Holding's strategy to develop the Syrian hos-

pitality sector and to boost the local economy – Nabil Kuzbari, Chairman of

Cham Holding

On July 17, American Voices, a Hous-ton-based NGO, launched a one-week free performing arts training for young Syrians, “the Youth Excellence on Stage (YES) Academy.”

Around 200 Syrian students bene-fited from the Academy, which culmi-nated in two free, public performances on July 24-25 at Dummar Theater. The concerts were performed by faculty and students featuring jazz, hip hop, classical music, vocals, and Broadway.

The YES Academy also facilitated gifts of over 3,000 American music books and educational materials do-nated to Syrian institutions includ-ing the Higher Institute of Music and Dramatic Arts and the Assad National Library.

CULTUREBastille Day at the Damascus CitadelJuly 14th saw the Damascus Citadel sparkle to life with the unforgetta-bly nostalgic voices and songs of the French Guard saluting their Ambas-sador and hailing their most ancient independence.

Multitudes of people swarmed the inner courtyard to be greeted by an array of dance performances and a fu-sion of cuisine, attracting the youngest to free hotdog and candyfloss stands while offering opportunities to win VIP trips to boutique destinations in return for small stage acts and quizes.

Throughout the hustle and bustle there was a sense of the historic in-terweaving of two cultures, proud Syr-ians and proud Frenchmen celebrating side-by-side.

Syrian's young singer Anas Fakhry performed while a Syrian acrobat was

show-piecing his Cirque-du-Soleil styled moves added to the compli-menting attitudes which have become second nature to the young genera-tion.

Bastille Day is the French national holiday which is celebrated on July 14th each year.

In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale (The National Celebration).

It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anni-versary of the storming of the Bastille on 14th July, 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the up-rising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

American Voices trains young Syrians

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August 20108

AppetizersAppetizers

Ford Middle East last month recognized two projects in Syria aimed towards a better environment, as part of the annual Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants programme. The environmental projects are among this year's six winners from the region who shared a total of $100,000 USD.The region's only private sector ini-tiative of its kind, in its 11th con-secutive year, the Ford Grants have granted nearly $1 million USD since 2000 to more than 110 grass-root environmental initiatives, generating real impact among local communi-ties in the GCC and Levant countries. In Syria, 19 projects have seen sup-port from the Ford Grants with near-ly $100,000 USD granted to date.

DEVELOPEMENT

Recognition of Excellence in Civic Achievement“The Development and contribution of the NGO Sector Project Group” of The Syria Oxford Leadership Development Program, presented their project entitled ‘Recognition of Excellence in Civic Achievement’ on July 5th at Rida Said Hall in Damascus University.‘Recognition of Excellence in Civic Achievement’ aims to recognize and commemorate the young ambitious leaders in Syria for their efforts in pushing forward within various sectors of their occupations, mainly though business, media, and NGOs.The objective of the Syria Oxford Lead-ership Development Program is to de-velop Syria’s next generation of lead-ers. The program creates and inspires a cadre of high potential change leaders who possess the necessary mindsets, techniques and skills to help advance the strategic transformation of Syria.

NEWS TRACK

ENVIRONMENT

Ford Grants support environmental efforts in Syria

The EU Quality ProgramThe EU–funded Quality Program has held a national seminar entitled "Con-sumer Protection, Policies and Strate-gies in Syria" on July 20th, under the patronage of the Minister of Economy and Trade, in cooperation with the ministries concerned, consumer pro-tection associations, Federation of Syr-ian Chambers of Industry and Federa-tion of Syrian Chamber of Commerce.The seminar was organized within the framework of strengthening consumer protection associations and competent authorities in the ministries.

Environmental Media TrainingThe Netherlands Institute for Aca-demic Studies in Damascus and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Damas-cus have announced a five-day Envi-ronmental Media Training from Sep-tember 22th to 26th, for 10-15 Syrian print journalists, photographers and film makers, with its framework for a multimedia initiative for water and en-vironmental issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The course aims to improve par-ticipants’ reporting skills and un-derstanding of environmental issues.Applications should be submitted to joshka@sapiensproductions.com

National Health Planning Methods certificatesForty Three officials from six minis-tries and commissions were awarded certificates in National Health Plan-ning Methods, on July 15th, by Dr. Rida Said, Minister of Health, and an official representative of the European Union Delegation to Syria. The award ceremony was held at the closing session of a two-week work-shop on National Health Planning Methods, held between the 4th-15th of July.

Launching the UNDAF Process in the Syrian Arab Republic The preparation process of the second UN Development Assistance Develop-ment Framework (UNDAF 2012-2016) for Syria was officially launched last month. Dr Amer Husni Lutfi, Head of the State Planning Commission, Milad Attiyeh, Head of International Depart-ment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rep-resentatives from Ministries, the do-nor community, civil society and the private sector attended the opening session of the UNDAF Induction Work-shop organized by the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Syria.

Bena Properties, the real estate development and investment arm of Cham Hold-ing and the largest Syrian private real estate company, have recently signed a management agreement with Accor Group. The agreement appoints Accor Group to manage two hotels at Bena Properties’ mixed-used development, Taj Halab.Bena Properties held a ceremony at Khan Assad Pacha in Damascus, in the presence of representatives from Cham Holding, Bena Properties and Accor Group as well as a prestigious gathering of the country’s officials and dignitaries. Regional and international investors and chief editors of local and regional media also attended the ceremony announcing the agreement.Nabil Kuzbari, Chairman of Cham Holding said, “Today’s agreement with Accor Group is in line with Cham Holding's strategy to develop the Syrian hospitality sector and to play a vital role in boosting the local economy.”

REAL ESTATE

Bena Properties signs agreement with Accor Group

August 2010 9

NEWS TRACK

Bulgarian Cultural Center in SyriaEarly July saw the opening of the Bul-garian Cultural Center by Tishreen square in Malki. The attendees includ-ed members of the Bulgarian Embassy and prominent figures from local dip-lomats to major Syrian businessmen conducting trade with Bulgaria or con-sidering so.This new Cultural Center will envelop the Bulgarian School, the Bulgarian Club, the Syrian Bulgarian Friendship Association, the Association of Bul-garian Women, the Cultural Section overlooked by the Bulgarian Embassy, the Syrian Bulgarian Business Council (SBBC), and the Bulgarian Consulting Information Bureau.

SEBC Business Incubator Gradu-ates 37 New CompaniesUnder the patronage of Lamia Murei Assi, Minister of Economy and Trade, Syrian Enterprise and Business Cen-tre (SEBC)/SME Support Programme (SSP) held a graduation ceremony for 37 new national graduated companies at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus last June. EU Delegation Media Relations workshopJuly 13th marked the ending of the Media Relations workshop held by the EU Delegation to Syria for their spon-sored projects, at Prince Abd Al Qader Al Jazaeri Palace, in Dummar.The EU Delegation to Syria organized this event to bring together some of its interesting projects funded by the EU in Syria and journalists, aiming to introduce to the media the people working on the projects, for a better understanding and assessment of the communication means between the two.

New Andalus style environmen-tal garden in Aleppo.SEA and FUNCI has signed an agree-ment in order to work together in the development of the new Andalus-style environmental garden in Al Hadiqa Al Ammeh in Aleppo. The City Council of Aleppo has donat-ed 1,600 square meters for the Islamic Culture Foundation in this public park, which dates from the times of the French Protectorate, to create a garden of Andalusi inspiration in its land-scaping and botanic aspects, fitting in harmoniously with its surroundings.

Every Friday until August 6th, Music on the Road will be bringing a new creation combining visu-al arts (video, photography, live illustration and digital arts) and music (jazz, rock, electronic, ex-perimental) and presenting it to the Syrian public. Among the activities of Music on the Road the "Vi-sual Journey," a summer program sponsored by the EchoSada Association and Damascus Governorate, presented an array of visual, dance, and music ele-ments converging to tell a unique yet abstract story based on the urban ‘street’ setting that serves as the actual backdrop of the performance.

CULTURE

Music on the Road

The Emirates Private Development and Investment company has announced its first project in Syria, Cordoba Complex. The company teamed up with the larg-est engineering consultants worldwide, Halcrow, to ensure the project meets the highest international standards. Construction at the Cordoba com-plex began past April and should be completed in October 2011. Lo-cated in the Al Saboura area, Cor-doba Complex is easily reached from the centre of Damascus through two highways, the Damascus-Beirut highway, and Dimas. The project shoulders Yafoor valley close to the Pharaohs Village restaurant.

REAL ESTATE

EPD Introduces Cordoba Complex

LUxURY

Audi Syria hand in hand with JCIEager to support the Syrian community and to supply the Syrian market with a competent work force, Audi Syria has officially announced its participation in STEP “Students Towards Experience in Profession”, a project run for the first time by Junior Chamber International Damascus, Syria. Audi Syria, repre-sented by Karkour Trading Company, will be opening its doors to a number of students from the University of Damas-cus, with different majors, to do intern-ships this summer.STEP aims at in-tegrating the Syr-ian youth into the working market by preparing them to meet the demands & qualifications of the modern corpora-tion; this would be achieved by teaching them how to be more efficient at work. Hence, this project targets university students who wish to train in reputable specialized companies, and focuses on backing up their academic knowledge with real-life experience.

August 201010

AppetizersAppetizers

NEWS FLASH

Byblos Bank: François Bassil, Chair-man and General Manager of Byblos Bank Group, and Jassim Al Mannai, Chief Executive Officer of Arab Trade Financing Program (ATFP), have signed new lines of credit agreements be-tween Byblos Bank Syria and ATFP.

Egyptian TV: Egyptian TV buys broad-cast rights to the popular Syrian drama Bab al-Hara next Ramadan, ending an Egyptian boycott of Syrian art that has lasted for over 30 years.

Artifacts: By presidential decree, Syria agrees to lend 23 ancient artifacts to the Musee de l'Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, to be displayed in France from October 2010 to March 2014..

Archeology: Syrian researchers have completed transcribing eight Phoeni-cian chants (3,500 years old) found at Ugarit, described as the oldest piece of music ever written down. Ugarit, cradle of the first alphabet will now become where music as we know it was first created.

Art: Under the patronage of the Min-istry of Culture, Tajalliyat Art Gallery launched it second Pecha Kucha night on July 13, an event held annualy to shed light on and reward pioneers of contemporary modern art in Syria; such as : Graphic design, web design, and animation.

Jerusalem: The international campaign for supporting al-Aqsa Mosque "Take Initiative … al-Aqsa in Danger" kicked off at al-Assad National Library late June, coinciding with the 41st anniver-sary of the burning of al-Aqsa Mosque.The campaign aims to mobilize Arabs and Muslims to contribute to the pro-tection of al-Aqsa mosque.

British Embassy: In co-operation with the Ministry of Environment, the Brit-ish Embassy screened the British docu-mentary 'The Age of Stupid' at al-Kindi Cinema, on July 1st, as part of celebra-tions for "World Environment Day."

Education: President Assad instructs universities to apply subsidized tuition rates to children of Syrian mothers and non-Syrian fathers, treating them as Syrian citizens with the right to an af-fordable education.

AUTOS

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, a leading mobile phone provider, has announced the commercial availability of the Samsung Wave (Model: S8500) in local

markets, at the Mobile World Congress 2010. The Wave is the first smartphone based on Samsung’s new, open smartphone

platform, bada.The availability of the Samsung bada SDK (Software

Development Kit) will ensure that consumers can experience a steady stream of new ap-

plications that support bada platfrom. The beta version of the SDK was re-cently made available to applications developers, and the complete bada SDK 1.0.0 is available for download at www.bada.com.

The Samsung Wave is also an attractive device with a seamless, streamlined body

that has no parting or harsh lines.

GADGETS

Samsung Wave first Bada smartphone

DeWitt is honored to announce their selection as a 2010 Best of the Best award recipient by Robb Report magazine for the ‘Academia Répétition Minutes Tour-billon GMT Antipode.’This award marks the begin-ning of a new era for DeWitt with another step forward in the pursuit of excellence in watchmaking creativity.The goal of being Best of the Best extends not only to the actual watches, but is evident in every aspect of the Company business, with DeWitt building a Best of the Best distribution network all over the world.

LUxURY

DeWitt watches chosen best of the best

Bahi Motors brings automotive sustainability to Syria Bahi Motors is activating phase two of BMW Group Middle East‘s Efficient Dy-namics strategy in the region with the launch of the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 model, which integrates the latest electric and petrol engine technologies to further reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Commenting on the arrival of the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 in Syria, Bassel Chehabi, Managing Director of Bahi Motors said, “The BMW Group is one of the world's most successful auto-motive manufacturers and the most sustainable automotive company in the world today. We are happy to help extend this commitment into Syria with the arrival of the unique BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid, which we antici-pate to be a success among our discerning customers here in Syria.”

August 201014

Syrian expat ventures into Hollywood after decades of medical achievements

Say again...CHAT ROOM

AppetizersAppetizers

Kabour: All of us were victims on 9-11

Ameer Kabour M.D., Director of the National Arab American Medical As-sociation, Chief of Cardiology and President at the Mercy St. Vincent Hospital, is one of the most respected specialists in his field in the US. Lately though, he has taken a special inter-est in the movie production industry, founding 3K Pictures LLC. Forward sat down for more on that, from the Syr-ian expatriate visiting home this sum-mer.

What is the reason behind your re-cent venture into the movie indus-try?

This is partly related to the post shock of 9/11. We’re trying to show that we are the victims as are the Americans, and that we have nothing to do with what happened.

We’re trying to change the media perspective, where Arabs are always portrayed as terrorists, or gullible rich Sheikhs in Hollywood; we’re trying to show the west our true nature.

What movies have you released to date?

We have a short film out; it is called “Raised Alone” and currently, we’re producing a movie called “Why Me?” The cast includes actors from dif-

ferent countries, from Arab, Indian, Pakistani to American and even Jew-ish; we’re using the ensemble because the story targets almost every fraction of the US populace. We’re considering making two versions for the movie; using the Mustafa Akkad legacy.

Having been a doctor all your life, where do you find yourself more? In the clinic or in the studio?

In the clinic of course, it is my educa-tion, love and passion; while produc-tion is just a hobby I had which started from my days in medical school.

I started the production company out of passion for ideas and expres-sions. Expressions of what we are and what we’re against.

So do you consider 3K Pictures LLC to be your greatest achievement?

The thing I’m most proud of is the idea of mobile heart cathartic labs, which previously operated exclusively in hospitals. But through the assis-tance of lawyers in Washington we were able to negotiate with the gov-ernment to allow it, and so we started the first mobile independent cathartic lab in the US in Ohio. It was my proud-est achievement and it boomed.

From any of your several ongoing projects, do any of them target Syria?

Yes. We’re currently planning a Syr-ian heart centre and a nursing school to be administered around the clock by American certified cardiologists, based on research and statistics pro-duced by a major American company.

Scientific research is so important and unfortunately we don’t have any of that in Syria; someone has to start this initiative. Especially that Syria is under sanctions and no research pro-duced in the US could be transferred here.

In conclusion, what do you advise those who want take initiative to ef-fect change?

If you have a passion you should pursue it. Put the fear aside and take chances in order to succeed. Many people fail though they have a good idea, a good education and a sound business plan, because they are always fearful of loss and failure.

Someday the genocidal state of Israel will be put in its place, in the proper place and hopefully a real dem-ocratic state will be born. But it has become the murderous arm of the Yankee Empire, who can doubt it, which threatens all of us. Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, at a joint press conference with President Assad in Ca-racas

We will continue to build upon common denominators between our countries, demand restoration of the Golan Heights to Syria, and call for lifting the siege off Gaza.Raul Castro, the president of Cuba, after meeting President Assad

We thank Syria’s permanent defense and support of Argentina's claim to the Malvinas Islands, just as we support the return of the Golan Heights to Syria. Cristina Kirchner, the presi-dent of Argentina, during a dinner hosted in honor of the Syrian President in Buenos Ar-ies

Blockades do not contribute to peace. The incident with the humani-tarian fleet which was attacked in international waters showed that it's long overdue that the blockade of Gaza is lifted.Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speak-ing about the May 31st Flotilla raid in a joint statement with President Assad

We have talked about negotiations re-garding the EU-Syria Associa-tion Agreement. I have conveyed to His Excellency the impor-tance of signing this agreement from the political point of view because Syria is an important country for the EU. José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, after meet-ing President Assad in Madrid

To learn more about heroism of Syrian residents of the occupied Golan Heights and how they defied the IDF, go to:

Majdal Shams hostilities + Occupied Golan

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August 201016

Cover storyCover story

The two facesof Ramadan

By Lauren Williams

In the face of multiple changes, Forward has taken to the streets to see what Ramadan means to Syrians in 2010 and learned, once again, that if there is one thing you can’t do in Syria, it is to generalize.

What does Ramadan mean to you? Is it a month of contemplation and prayer, a chance to be closer to God, to exer-cise compassion and share in human suffering? Or is it a social occasion? A time to gorge on sumptuous Syrian cuisine, catch up on the latest televi-sion series’ and get some much needed rest?

Mohammad, 19, works in his father’s retail business and like many people his age, is looking forward to long sleep-ins and long parties while busi-ness is slow. “It’s just like a holiday,” he said. He said he and his friends, “Do whatever we would do anyway–except go to work. Girls today, they don’t want to cook. So we go out and eat in restaurants. It’s a sociable time.”

For many people Ramadan means one thing: food.

Quiet days give way to a carnival at-mosphere on Ramadan nights as Syr-ians and visitors take to the streets for Iftar—the sunset fast-breaking meal—celebrating at restaurants and Rama-dan tents dotted across their city. Cel-ebrations continue through the night, with Iftar filtering into all-night indul-gence, right up to pre-dawn Sahour—traditionally a light breakfast eaten ahead of first prayers. Restaurants are the big winners during Ramadan.

Manar Marawi, the general manager of Haratna Restaurant in Damascus’ Old City said the restaurant is booked out weeks in advance. Until 2007, Marawi only opened after 4pm during Ramadan. But this year, like many res-taurants catering to a growing tourism market, he will open from 12pm to ca-ter to lunch crowds. And, like others, he said he will serve alcohol during the

day. “Four years ago, I would never, but now it’s ok. We have to accommodate the tourists. ”Other restaurant owners compete by including entertainment in their Iftar packages.

In religiously-mixed areas like Bab Touma, Christians look forward to joining in celebrations alongside their Muslim friends. Abir, 28, is a Christian social worker. She said she enjoys the atmosphere more now than when she first arrived in Damascus four years ago. She believes Damascenes have be-come more tolerant of differing tradi-tions during the holiday. “Four years ago I made the mistake of eating in the street. I was in a Christian area but still an old man threw walnuts at me.”

While she avoids eating in front of fasting colleagues out of respect, she said, “I think it’s OK if you’re chew-ing gum or drinking something in the street in most places now,” she said. “We really enjoy going to the tents and eating in hotels.” And like many Syr-ians, Abir said she can’t wait to watch the new television series’ released dur-ing Ramadan.

Some new traditions are even emerg-ing, borrowing elements from other religious holidays.

In a growing trend typically re-served for Eid, Diana, 20, exchanges small gifts of food and trinkets with friends during Ramadan. Even prayers are more social during Ramadan, with men and women attending the morn-ing prayer—usually performed alone at home—in groups at the mosque after sharing Sahour. Traditional Iftar meals, typically shared over intimate family reunions, are slowly declining as fami-lies battle economic challenges and in-

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flation pare back on home invitations.Lower income earners say the price

of food had increased by up to 15% to 25% during Ramadan last year, strain-ing their ability to extend invitations. Sama’a, 36, in Jaramanah, said her family could simply not afford to host 20 to 30 people as in previous years. “It costs us around 10,000 SP. That’s a whole month’s salary.’’

The owner of Asadieh Arabic Sweets, Ahmad Asadieh, said while Ramadan remained the most profitable time of the year for the company, he had no-ticed a decrease in the large orders of traditional sweets—Namoura, creamy Nahesh and Nawasia. “People will al-ways like to break their fast with sweets, but they are spending less than before,” he said.

Overcoming temptation; and changeBut while traditionalists may lament

a creeping commercial Ramadan, many young people say it has provided an opportunity to reassess their personal connection with God and Islam. Am-jad, a 24-year-old graphic designer from Mezzeh, said growing foreign influences and a desire to “fit in” had distracted him over the years. Amjad identified himself as a “modern guy” who “slept with girls, drank alcohol and went to parties.” But after years “away’’ from God, he will fast this year and is even preparing to take Umrah—the voluntary pilgrimage to Mecca—for the first time this year.

Amjad said he felt pressure to con-form to new ideals. “Syria is develop-ing and cultural things are changing, we are being invaded by the media and by other cultures,” he said. “Suddenly everything is open. The relationships between people are different. I didn’t believe in God or Islam for a long time. I was drifting ... influenced by the idea that you should have a girlfriend, go to parties. I was tempted.”

“There was conflict. I knew what was right, I understood it logically, but I didn’t have the willpower and the strength to keep track of these things. There are so many more temptations.” Importantly, Amjad said the realiza-tion needed to come from within and said straying from his religion was partly a rebellion.

“It’s not something that I have just been told through my dad or through school. I am reading the Koran myself and understanding why we do this,

August 2010 19

The hot Ramadan seasonThe timing of the start of the holy month of Ramadan is based on the first crescent moon of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when the an-gel Gabriel revealed the first verses of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. The date advances by about ten days each year.

This year, Ramadan fasting will be-gin on August 11th, coinciding with peak summer heat.

Hunger and thirst during fasting is always difficult, requiring fasters to exercise patience and diplomacy as tempers fray.

But as temperatures sear to over 45 degrees Celsius, fasters must take ex-tra precautions to abstain.

NGO advisor Osama said while in previous years he has continued to work and fast through Ramadan, this year he will take more time off.

“I always try to limit my exertions during Ramadan, because you aren’t eating, not drinking water, you are low on energy anyway. But this year, with the heat, I will stop working for most of the month,” he said.

“It’s a longer day and you need water if you’re on the move.”

Traditional thirst quenchers include Tamar Hindi—a date-based sugary drink, and Amarreddine—a light apri-cot juice, sipped between fasts.

Abdel Al-Khourdy said fasting in the heat is more difficult, but ultimately, the challenge is a religious duty.

“It is so hard in the heat, when you’re hungry, with the traffic, every-one is screaming, you can’t get a cab. To cut all the temptations including the temptation to lash out, to control your emotions and find a way to mod-erate your rage, that’s what Ramadan is about,” he said.

Equally, he said it is difficult to avoid looking at girls wearing less clothing in summer heat. “The girls should help the guys not to look, with what they wear,” he said.

rather than being told what to do. This year I want it to be different. I am going to do the Umrah. I will try to observe every element of the fast. I’m going to try to be a good Muslim.”

Osama, a technical advisor with an NGO in Damascus, said despite wit-nessing massive societal changes and a definite shift away from tradition in Syria, the spirit of Ramadan stays the same on a personal level.

“It can definitely be more of a social month. There’s no school, so it’s time to sleep all day and then spend time with friends all night at parties and restaurants—but Ramadan is meant to be about suffering," he told Forward. Living in Sharqi Tijara, he said while it was once unthinkable that someone should be seen eating or smoking in the street, it is now quite common.

“Once upon a time, you would be made to feel very bad, but now peo-ple keep their opinion to themselves. I can’t decide whether it is freedom or a lack of respect.” But overall, he said, he feels the changes are bad.

“I can’t see the benefit in treating Ramadan as a social occasion.”

He will spend Ramadan observing the Tarawih prayers, reading the Koran in quiet contemplation and remember-ing others through charity. Rather than a big Iftar, he said he and his family extend invitations to those they know who need it, keeping the meal modest and discreet.

“If you really want to observe the spirit of Ramadan, forget the restau-rants and invite those you know can’t afford it into your home.”

Marketing professional Bana, 28, has a similar perspective, describing her personal understanding of Ramadan as a reaction to the increasing com-mercial aspect of the month.

“I realized it is all about the food. Ra-madan is supposed to be about char-ity, about helping the poor and sharing their suffering. It’s become a circus for food and an excuse to be lazy. What kind of suffering is that?”

Ironically, she said she now feels a closer connection to God by not par-ticipating in what she feels are cor-rupted versions of the traditions.

“I don’t want it to be like this, so I feel like the only way to reject the commercialization is by not accepting the invitations and not participating at all. God exists all year and doesn’t need decoration. God exists when you

really challenge yourself without com-promising your dignity,” she said.

Muayad, a 24-year-old graphic de-signer, will fast this year for the first time in six years.

“Fasting is cleansing to the body which is cleansing to the soul. I’m not going to have a big Iftar or anything like that. That’s not the point.”.

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The many Ramadan traditions

In Syria, each Ramadan season brings with it a host of traditions touching everything from food to the social life. Children wake eagerly in the still-dark morning to wait for the Mseherati, the traditional herald who drums the neighborhood awake for Suhur, the pre-dawn meal before fasting begins. And as the day grows hotter, so does anticipation of Iftar, the evening meal that ends the fast.

Meanwhile, from the simplest village kitchen to the chef’s domain at the Four Seasons Hotel, cooks are work-ing to prepare special Ramadan dishes and drinks that expand the normal Syrian dinner to a banquet.

Special breads, sweets, and mezze, or side dishes, are added to the usual

spread. To share the feast, families make a point to gather together, and it's de rigeur to call all your friends with good wishes for the season—or, at least to send them a congratulatory SMS!

Nor does the spirit of generosity

stop with next of kin. While it is pos-sible to give Zakat, or charity, at any time of year, many people choose to give during Ramadan, both because it is thought to accrue extra blessings, and because the season lends itself on reflection on how it feels to do with-out.

Religion also becomes more commu-nal in this time, with even people who do not always pray becoming more observant, and many people praying both the required daily prayers and ex-tra Ramadan prayers, called Teraweeh, which must be prayed in the company of others. The pinnacle of this focus is Leilet al-Qudr, or the Night of Fate, which falls on the twenty-seventh day of Ramadan. People flock to mosques

to pray through the entire night.While it is exhausting, it is also full

of joy and cheer, and perhaps this is the secret to the transformation Ra-madan effects; where changes in daily habits can transform an ordinary day into a festive circle of joy..

By Jennifer Mackenzie

Mseherati walking down the streets of the Old City with his drum to remind people of Suhur

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In Ramadan Muslims spend more time reading Quran in reverence of this Holy month

People bring home Tamar Hindi and Ara-sus to share with their families at Iftar

Ramadan decorations are not exclusive to houses only

21August 2010

August 2010 23

FORWARD

World Entrepreneurs Business CEOs Political Leaders Innovators Trendsetters

GuestInside:

I don’t believe cities should be like Venice and not grow or change at all. It is important to intervene in

a contemporary way– PAGE 24

Zaha HadidInternationally acclaimed Iraqi architect speaks to Forward about what it means to be Number One.

Let’s start off with the purpose of your last visit to Damascus, the LET IT BE JEWELRY exhibition held by Sayegh at Art Gallery in June 2006. Can you tell us more about the proj-ect, which transforms artists, archi-tects, and sculptors, into jewelry de-signers?

I have designed the Skein Sleeve for the exhibition. It is a multifaceted jewellery piece that is designed to entwine an arm inside the stretched and pulled latticework of filigree. The delicate complexity of the geometry is emphasized by the polished white gold that makes up the meshwork

and the adorning white diamonds that flow down the piece like water droplets. The piece will be an excel-lent demonstration of the skills of the Damascean craftsman.

Moving on to Zaha Hadid Architects, which employees 250 people, trained under your watchful eye in London. What are the secrets of success that you are channeling to a rising gen-eration of architects? Would you describe yourself as an “intellectual dictator” that tries to influence style and performance—with the Zaha Hadid hallmark, or do you encourage experimentation?

A lot of the people that work in our office have been taught by us. Maybe the model of the master making a sketch of an idea and having others take it from there is applicable to my early career, but now credit is due to the people who work in the office with me who contribute to the discourse and bring something to the table. Their ambition to improve the proj-ect’s impact on society is encouraged. You never know what can come out of the students and workers in the office when they’re given opportunity. They may be scared at first—not of me, of course—but they just need to be given confidence to do their best—with a degree of freedom. I think that’s why people like to work in our office—their only obligation is to work hard and do their best. They feel they’re part of the process, and of the progress we make, and not just doing the detailing of some part of a building. You need to let people grow, and it’s exciting to see them and their work mature, contrib-uting to the development of a project.

In 2008, you ranked number 69 on the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Do you agree to that, and if so, how has ‘power’ changed you?

Perhaps it was my flamboyance that gave me such determination to suc-ceed, but I have always been extremely

By Sami Moubayed

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determined. Now I've achieved the success, but it’s always been a very long struggle. In the early days we were all workaholics—spending all night working, this required incred-ible focus and ambition. I don’t take the acclaim terribly seriously, I’m very grateful for it, but it doesnt af-fect my life. People have always been very kind and nice to me when they approach me; they say good things to me. It’s just exciting that people know about architects. Twenty-five years ago, they didn’t. I believe that when there are good moments, you have to recognize and enjoy them. One always has to look at things in a positive way. But there is a downside: a lot of travel-ling, and I do get tired of the constant movement.

You were recently granted an Honor-ary Degree from the American Uni-versity of Beirut (AUB). Apart from that, are you still well connected to AUB, and if so, are you involved in any of the new projects that are un-derway to revamp the AUB campus?

We are building the Issam Fares In-

stitute for Public Policy and Interna-tional Affairs at AUB. Its designed not only to attract students and academics but also to draw local, regional and in-ternational researchers, thinkers and policy-makers. I strongly believe these institutes, which offer opportunities

for discussion and discourse, are vital as a forum for the exchange of ideas.

In 2004, you were the first female re-cipient—and first Arab—of thePritzker Architecture Prize, which is the Nobel Prize for Architecture.Can you tell us about that?

The winning of the Pritzker Prize represents the full recognition of what started 20 years ago as risky projec-tions of possible future architecture. Whether the honor of winning the Pritzker Prize was the exception to the rule of male domination in architec-ture is yet to be seen.

On to Iraq, your native homeland that is going through difficult times and political turbulence. Do you visit frequently and do you plan to get involved, one way or another, with national reconstruction once the oc-cupation ends?

I had a very nice childhood in Iraq. In the sixties, Iraq was a new republic looking to achieve a new identity by the sorts of buildings that were com-missioned and the environment being

created. At the time, in Iraq there was an unbroken belief in progress and a great sense of optimism.

I would be very happy to help with the reconstruction. It’s a very difficult situation. Iraq is an occupied coun-try. I hope that soon there will be a

place for people like me to contribute. Work is needed not only for individual buildings, but for urban planning and major infrastructure as well.

Syrian architects seem to be in a di-lemma, preserving what is old, whileadding a touch of modernity. If you were a decision-maker on the fate of Damascene architecture, what legis-lation would you take?

I can’t really talk about political de-cisions as I’m not privy to the specific points, but to lose the history would be a shame. It’s a very thin line be-tween saying to people that ‘every-thing must be preserved’ and yet one also believes in new things. I don’t be-lieve cities should be like Venice and not grow or change at all. It is im-portant to intervene in a contempo-rary way - but you must do it in a very precise manner.

As mentioned above, you are known as the Queen of Architecture andhave forcefully dominated the scene and profession. What made Zaha Hadid the woman she is today?

My parents gave me the confidence to do all these things. When I was a child I travelled every summer with my parents, and my father made sure I went to every important building and museum in each city. I remem-ber going as a child to see Cordoba -I was seven years old- and that was the most stunning space. Of course there are lots of other truly great spaces but this mosque left a really tremendous impact on me. It’s very dark inside, but then there is the white marble in-side the space. I remember visiting the spiralling Malwiya, the minaret of the ninth-century Great Mosque of Sa-marra in Iraq. It is a thousand years older than some of the modernist buildings that resemble it.

We also used to take along picnics for trips to the ruins of Samarra, in the Garden of Eden, where the Tigris and Euphrates meet in southern Iraq, you stand there and there is timeless-ness. You see the rivers and trees and you know that 10,000 years ago it was like that.

My personal experience is that of being totally displaced. I am an Arab, but I have not lived there for some time, so in that sense I am maybe not a typical Arab. I am Iraqi. I live in London. I don’t really have a par-ticular place, and I think those in my situation really have to re-invent your world..

Hadid’s Skein Sleeve Bracelet on display in Damascus in 2009

SINTRA JUBILÉ / HIGH-TECH CERAMICS / WWW.RADO.COM

BLASTING DESIGN BY RADO

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BusinessBanking Insurance Finance Microfinance Entrepreneurship

Inside:Aleppo Chamber of Commerce issued 432 certifi-

cates of origin for products exported to Turkey in the first half of 2009, while in the first six months

of 2010 it issued 892– Mohammad Nahhas, Informa-

tion Center Officer - Aleppo Chamber of Commerce

Syria and Turkey: Strengthening tiesBy Stephen Starr

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A recent history of Syrian-Turkish relationsWhen Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an audience attending a Syrian-Turkish Business Council meeting in April 2008 of how if trade relations between Turkey and Syria should reach their potential, the two countries would “be able to extract milk even from the male goat.” Everybody laughed. Over two years on however, the trad-ers, businessmen, and shopkeepers of north Syria and southeast Turkey are those who are grinning.

Last year the two countries signed 50 protocols to grow ties in areas ranging from energy to transport to tourism to cement. The Turkish side of Bab Al-Hawa, the main artery link-ing Europe and the Middle East region, has been revamped to facilitate grow-ing traffic flows—luxury ice-cream flooding south, Arab tourists heading north.

Syrian businessmen, particularly those based in Gaziantep, were to a significant degree responsible for the abolishment of visa requirements brought into law last September. Visits by President Assad and Prime Minis-ter Erdogan to their respective capital cities have increased several fold over the last number of months. Around the time of the Flotilla attack on May 31st, President Assad had been in An-kara twice in a two-week period for conferences and to launch business commitments. The Turkish govern-ment has offered Syria $6.3 million USD to support 42 projects being car-ried out as part of a burgeoning re-gional cooperation program between the two countries.

Anyone with a television knows the extent of influence Turkish melodra-mas now hold over Syria, and much of the wider region. Dubbed into Syr-ian Arabic from the Turkish, the an-tics of Noor, Mirna, Khalil, and Lamis have previously been standard gossip points in households across the coun-try. The value of these shows may still be slight in terms of cold hard cash, but their popularity creates a grow-ing awareness of Turkish society and culture: In 2008 and 2009 hundreds of Syrian couples spend part of their honeymoons visiting the houses in Is-tanbul popularized by the characters Mohannad and Noor.

BusinessBusiness

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In the early evening, in the neighbor-hood of Azzazeen, the street is filled with police, and neighborhood ven-dors rush to move produce from side-walks and into their shops. Violating businesses were fined and huge piles of produce were hauled away. Accord-ing to local vendors, these raids oc-cur once a month, if not more, and are even more frequent in other neighbor-hoods.

Throughout Damascus, police and produce vendors are in a constant state of friction. Shops selling produce on the sidewalks and street vendors without appropriate licenses are fined; fruits and vegetables are confiscated. One shop owner, with 40 years expe-rience, compares it to a never ending game of cat and mouse.

Everyday in Damascus large quanti-ties of fruits and vegetables are con-fiscated and vendors lose their daily investment. Officially, the confiscated products are given to a charity. Ven-dors question whether the products actually reach the charities, but police are confident that all confiscations are documented and delivered.

In the old Souq al-Hal, police and vendors interact on a daily basis, with regular police patrols of the area. When vendors do not cooperate, police issue fines to shops, confiscate pro-duce from street vendors and arrests occur every few days. Fines range from 1,000 to 3,000 SP for shops. Po-lice say that arrests only occur when vendors do not cooperate, and indi-viduals can be held in police custody for up to 24 hours. According to one policeman, repeat offenders are sen-tenced to up to three months in jail.

Many women come from outside Damascus to sell one or two baskets of vegetables in the city. Female street vendors are common in Souq al-Hal,

as men are more likely to have con-flicts with the police. One female ven-dor, a ten-year veteran of the souq, says that she would prefer not to sell illegally on the pavement, "but wher-ever you are the police come, and it is better than begging."

Street vendors admit that the mar-ket causes severe congestion, and police admit that vendors are simply trying to survive. Police continue the patrols because as one policemen re-marks, "Vendors will slowly encroach until they fill the entire street." Ven-dors agree that this true, but the com-petition is tough.

One vendor, who has been arrested several times, suggested that the city authorities create more appropri-ate places for small street vendors to sell their products. The small vendors would also like to see the government offer more affordable licenses, which would allow them to more easily com-ply with the law. Licenses can be as much as 50,000 SP a season for some products sold in particular locations.

Back in Azzazeen, one fruit vendor says that he is nervous about the next police raid. He does not have a shop and sells from the side of the road. This last raid cost him approximately 1,500 SP in confiscated fruits, mostly strawberries and oranges. If he does not have a license for each and every product, then his entire inventory may be confiscated.

One melon seller with a horse and cart had his weights and balance con-fiscated 15 days ago, a penalty for op-erating without a license. He knows that his cart could be confiscated one day, but remarks, "I worry, but I have to work."

While street vendors face confisca-tion, shops selling on the sidewalks are often fined. One shopkeeper re-

The game of cat and mouse between police and vendorsBy Ryan Gerety and Rassa Qass Yousef

Fruit & vegetable sellersunder pressure

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ported that when police fine for every meter of sidewalk in-fringement, he pays as much as 4,000 SP. Other times, he is ei-ther fined 200 SP or his produce is confiscated. The shopkeeper prefers the police to confiscate his produce, worrying that his shop will be closed if he receives too many tickets.

After three tickets in a 12 month period, a business will be shut down for several days, ac-cording to shop owners. A large corner produce shop was closed for 15 days six months ago after receiving three tickets averaging 3,000 SP each.

A nearby pickle shop has been forced to close twice in the last five years. The closure cost the shopkeeper approximately 5,000 SP in lost business in addition to the payment of the fine. The owner says that the fines are fair, and thinks of the fine as rent payment for the sidewalk space. Still, he would prefer to have a sidewalk license, so as to avoid risk of closure.

For most vendors, the business generated by selling on the side-walks is worth the risk. Vendors say that as long as other vendors are selling on the sidewalk, they will be forced to compete by do-ing the same. Others say that it is more comfortable for women in this traditional neighborhood to buy produce on the sidewalk and not inside the shops. Also, vendors admit that they are able to maintain a larger inventory using the extra square meters provided by the sidewalk.

Many vendors would like a li-cense to sell on the sidewalk. But, this is unlikely to happen according to the neighborhood Mokhtar, who told Forward, "Sidewalks are not private prop-erty. They are your right, my right, everyone's right." Neither police nor vendors see a way to resolve the ongoing tensions.

Produce vendors are the back-bone of Syrian neighborhoods, providing fruits and vegetables to families throughout the coun-try. Despite the obstacles, they will continue to struggle for a better life in whatever way they can..

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Integration of culturein local developmentOn June 27th, Rawafed, the Cultural Project for The Syria Trust for De-velopment and the Danish Institute in Damascus launched a forum on “The Integration of Culture in Local Development” which focused on the important role of culture in interna-tional development efforts.

Held at the Danish Institute, the fo-rum comprised five sessions over two days, bringing together researchers,

national and international experts, policy-makers and representatives from NGOs and international orga-nizations to discuss the importance of cultural considerations in local development planning. Experts also presented a range of experiences and models on local, regional and global levels, specifically case studies that have successfully integrated culture in the development planning process.

By highlighting and exploring these experiences, the forum aimed to help participants reach a better concep-tual and practical understanding of cultural integration in local and re-gional development plans, and reach suggestions on possible mechanisms

that may be applicable to Syria. In detail, the forum also discussed

ways in which cultural resources can be invested to create industries and job opportunities through projects that contribute to the development of the local community, and at the same time preserve and promote the re-gion’s cultural identity and heritage.

The forum also responded to the emerging global trends for adopting

a participatory approach in cultural planning, to empower communities (individuals and groups) to play a key role in selecting and creating cultural projects that improve their quality of life.

Based on these approaches, Rawa-fed began an initiative to map and define cultural assets and resources in the region of Wadi Al-Nadara in 2009. Research on this project was implemented by Rawafed, and spon-sored by the Delegation of the Eu-ropean Union to Syria, the Danish Institute in Damascus and L’Institut Français du Proche-Oreint. A phase report of this initiative was presented at the forum..

Interactive theatrein public schools Rawafed, The Cultural Project of The Syria Trust for Development, and The Ministry of Education showcased a performance for Interactive Theatre in Public Schools. Entitled “Sketches,” the performance took place on July 18th in the Nabil Younis School, and was followed by a graduation ceremony for students who participated in the project during its pilot year. This event comes as part of a series of perfor-mances showcasing the participants’ work. Another performance, “The Lit-tle Prince,” also took place on July 21st in Zaki Al-Arsuzi.

Launched in 2009, The Interac-tive Theatre in Public Schools initia-tive (ITPS) is designed to reinforce in-novative and socially aware learning methods in public schools by using existing theatre facilities. This learn-ing approach, implemented by trained professionals and experts, stimulates students’ academic performance while enhancing their artistic appreciation and raising their self-esteem.

More than 300 students in seven schools and approximately 25 trainers from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts or employees of the Directorate of School Theatre have participated in the project so far. During Interac-tive Theatre sessions, trainers imple-mented dramatic play and theatrical games which encouraged participants to articulate their thoughts and feel-ings effectively, as well as listen and respond to their peers. These skills development workshops culminated in 12 experimental performances with the children, based on their topics of interest. In this process, trainers over-saw and guided pupils who were re-sponsible for developing all aspects of the performance, including script, sound, lighting and decoration..

In Syria we trustIn Syria we trust

August 2010 35

Music Syrian Drama Exhibitions Fashion

CultureInside:

By clinging to our culture we’re simply killing it, by denying it development and evolution we’re

singing its obituary.– Asaad Arabi, Contemporary Artist

A glimpse on the Art Market Hala Khayat, Junior Specialist for Contemporary Middle Eastern & Iranian Art of Christie’s Auction house, Dubai, gave a special seminar at Rafia Gallery on the global and regional art market last June 30th.During 2003-08, the international fi-nancial world flourished, and econo-mists were considering investing their newfound financial galore in new sec-tors. Many took special interest in arts; contemporary and impressionist art specifically.

This novel investment caused the art scene to commercially expand, notice-ably, to around 30–40 billion USD, the highest it has ever reached. However, it all came to an end; where after the global economic crisis many artworks’ prices declined, by high rates, some reaching 50%, while controversially,

some other artworks prices hiked. The Middle East and North Africa

(MENA) art scene is the latest to be eyed internationally. The trend for emerg-ing markets started with Latin America, then Russia and China, and now the MENA.

Sotheby’s started selling Arabic art-works in 2001 and fared well, then in 2006 they opened their gallery in Dubai following Christie’s in 2005. Their tar-get profit was only 30 million USD for three years at the start, but they reached more than a 100 million USD in the second year. And now, not only

does the UAE boast the presence of Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the most im-portant art auction houses in the world but also, Abu Dhabi is currently creat-ing an island dedicated to arts, which will be featuring Guggenheim and The Louvre, the two most esteemed art mu-seums on the planet.

Where is it heading?This interest in contemporary Arab

and Iranian art is reaching tremendous proportions both regionally and in-ternationally, but unfortunately art is going through many channels that are components of the art market weaken-ing it focally.

Many trends sprouted from the com-mercial success of art, and galleries and art investors were frowned upon as the instruments of art’s decline, yet many forgot that their presence helped cre-ate the market, and help move it. They might harm, yet they create the move-ment needed for art to flourish.

The art market nowadays is financial, and many banks are investing in it such as CITIBANK and Deutsche Bank, but this doesn’t mean that the value of art-ists should be valued by money.

Other than auction houses—who account of two thirds of the art reve-nues—galleries, art fares, museums and governments are responsible for mov-ing the art scene; especially museums, which are considered to be the alpha player in the market because they have high morals and they tend to move the market, yet even they are getting into the market.

The MENA now has a market, it needs to supplement it with real art, true art-ists. It should capitalize on the pres-ence of auction houses and galler-ies, and catch up with other emerging markets such as the Chinese and Latin American; until now, video arts, instal-lation and paper arts aren’t present, nor even considered to be arts. Until all that is done, we cannot call our art scene a real one; a culture of arts is needed..

August 201036

Culture

Jazz lives in Syria

When his trio breaks into another song, with Cyril Regamey's drumming rolling off the walls and mixing with counter-patter from bassist Marco Muller, it's easy to see why both crowd and band are charmed. The musicians accelerate against each other until their melodies seem to be sprinting. Then, just as quickly, the drumming slows to a sashay through shallow, quiet ripples from the piano.

"It's somehow an exchange with the public," Muller says of the trio's per-formances, "to give some energy with music."

"We play very energetically—that's how we are, and how we play together, to try to send something to the peo-ple," Regamey adds.

And the energy flows both ways. "We know the tunes we'll play," Muller explains. "But not what will happen," Perrenoud chimes in.

"Because we play improvised mu-sic, we'll be in a different mood here,"

continues Muller. "We'll play differ-ently in Damascus."

"The group sound is also very im-portant in jazz," explains Jolanda Vu-jasinovic, the band's manager. "Every group or musician tries hard to find this sound. And what I like [about this trio] is that they really play together. They look at one another and smile to-gether; they're really friends, and this shows in the music."

"The main thing is fun. Just fun," Muller agrees.

"Fun and fire," quips Perrenoud, and everyone laughs. Under the laughter, their music is a blend of many influ-ences, from rock and roll to Bach cho-rals. And, the trio says, this re-work-ing of other genres has fueled jazz from its beginnings.

"Basically, [early jazz musicians] took pop songs from the forties and improvised on them; you can do it with any kind of music," Muller explains.

"You can take a popular Syrian song,"

Perrenoud continues, "and people here can play it in their own way. Jazz to-day doesn't just have to do with the American tradition; it can be original Syrian jazz, like we now have Euro-pean jazz which is very different from the American."

And because of this fluidity, Vuja-sinovic says, "music is a nice bridge between East and West, and a nice way to communicate between reli-

gions and cultures." The trio experi-enced this when they gave a workshop at the Higher Institute of Music. "The students were very open to learn," she says.

And the exchange was mutual. "People here are very easy to meet, and in two days we've taken in a lot and exchanged a lot of ideas," Perre-noud exclaims. Happily surprised by, "the warm welcome from the [Syrian] people," he reflects, "it's always a very good experience to meet other cul-tures and people. To have our own

By Staff Writer

"This is our first time in Syria," Swiss jazz pianist Marc Perrenoud announces to the crowd. "Our first time in this beautiful Citadel of Damascus. And we don't want to go back to Switzerland!"

Culture

August 2010 37

view about other countries. Sometimes the view we have from the news is one thing, and then you have your own experience, and it's completely differ-ent."

Vujasinovic agrees. "I think people here are very open to different re-ligions—and I think other countries could learn a little from Syria," she concludes. Perhaps cross-cultural ex-change operates on the same principle as good jazz: by warm improvisation. Whether the harmony is musical or cultural, as Perrenoud puts it, "you make your own.".Syrian Jazz SceneOn July 10, as the Syrian Jazz Orches-tra sent bright notes echoing from the walls of the Citadel into the warm night air, Damascus celebrated several mu-sical triumphs. One was the brilliant and diverse performances organized by "Jazz Lives In Syria 2010."

Organized by the Syrian Trust For Development, with help from the Min-istry of Culture and the Higher In-stitute of Music, this year's festival brought top performers from Europe, the US and the Middle East to Damas-cus (at the Citadel, the Danish Insti-tute, and al-Jahez, al-Manshia and al-Mazzeh Parks), Aleppo, and Jableh, where crowds of listeners—of all ages and backgrounds—cheered and ap-plauded.

But underlying these festivities is another, deeper achievement: since the festival's inauguration six years ago, more than eight new jazz bands have sprung up in Syria. This fulfills another goal of the festival—"to pave the way towards a solid Syrian jazz musical movement," as its mission statement puts it, and to develop, "training and teaching skills for the jazz commu-nity."

This summer's successes were crowned by the release of a CD by the Syrian Jazz Orchestra, with tracks that include over 50 musicians from the US to Iran, and many countries in be-tween. Meanwhile, the Syrian orches-tra continued that very live tradition of collaboration as Lara Bello from Spain, MSV Brechet from Germany, and the Marc Perrenoud Trio from Switerland joined them to jam onstage. It was, as one thrilled listener put it, "a great way to experience the mixing of cultures."

The young Syrianmusic movementBy Moritz Flick

“Everyday is a fight,” which upon looking at the lack of accessible musi-cal infrastructure for budding artists in Syria makes Lena Chamamyan’s words ring true and clear. Though, the Syrian music movement is step-ping up its ambitious drive toward a greater voice and resonance.

Yet sitting in the Danish Institute

listening to the vociferous Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset and his Sonic Codex Quartet after another night of Jazz festivities in the Old City, it is evident that diversity and enthusiasm is spreading. Aarset also played at the Syrian Jazz Festival two years ago with a Tunisian band and expressed the notable increase in popularity and responsiveness of the country as a whole.

Leading a workshop at the Damas-cus Fine School for Music Aarset is

actively involved in the intercultural exchange pioneered in Syria through the current festival and speaks highly of “the breeding confidence within the community of musicians.” A bright spark has been lit amongst a forward-looking mass of imaginative talent.

Karim Khwanda, one of Syria’s fore-most entrepreneurs and responsible

for the much anticipated arrival of the Gorillaz at Damascus’ Citadel last month, is quick to respond to Lena’s assessment. Although he would like to see more governmental support for local companies to foster home-grown talent, it is vital that the lure of singers like Lena, who challenge the stagnation, instill a sense of healthy tension between the old and the new. “Music didn’t end with Um Kalthoum” he says, adding that the intergenera-tional fan-base of Lena which upholds

August 201038

the traditional flavour of Arabic cul-ture is complimented by up-and-coming oriental rap artists like Wasam Khodur and Eslam Jawad, who have themselves been in dialogue with Brit-ish underground influences.

The flipside to this move towards openness is inevitably the pierc-ing criticism they have received from within their own countries for bring-ing to light the experiences of the es-tranged but determined youth.

However, the blooming movement

goes deeper than such ostentatious stunts as the Gorillaz concert. Firstly this becomes clear after the organiz-ers’ open admittance that it will be a non-profit event which materialized due to the fascination towards Syria felt by their lead member, Damon Al-barn, when he came here in 2008 to record part of their new album Plastic Beach with the Syrian Symphony Or-chestra. This time he descended upon the Citadel with an entourage of 93 musicians including 80 sound techni-cians and 13 rap vocalists as well as the core members of the band.

Moreover, upon closer examination of the Syrian music scene we see that the likes of Hannibal Saad, a local au-thority concerning the development of Syrian music, are busy introduc-

ing exciting opportunities for musi-cians and enthusiasts alike. Speaking about the 2010 Syrian Jazz Festival which he organized he stressed that the emphasis was on “diversity and to be bold in selecting the bands and getting the contemporary artists” which was mirrored by the fervent at-mosphere and the range of ages and faces at the concerts. Saad’s ambition to build on this year’s success by vow-ing that “next time its going to be big-ger with more Syrian bands and more

shows in Syrian cities” reflects Lena’s views that “music shouldnt’ be lim-ited geographically,” which explains her commitment to sharing her mu-sic to an ever-expanding group of people seen in her various tours throughout the Arab world. Al-though she admits that the toughest test for her and other grass-roots musicians lies in gaining respect from the wider musical community in Europe and America, she relates that it is essential to her “to keep the music Arabic”.

This embrace of indigenous cul-ture and pride in a distinct musi-cal heritage, what Karim Khwanda describes as an “emotional decision based on a sense of love towards one’s own identity”, is exactly what

has contributed to the blossoming creative atmosphere within Syria. The reaction to the cultural penetra-tion of the West hasn’t gone exclu-sively one way but has instigated a deep and wealthy reassessment of the musician’s own roots. Only last year Saad staged the 1st Internation-al Symposium for Oriental Music in Damascus. By uniting the often for-gotten and unheard voices which do so much to reveal the true expres-sion of nations and blending these

to form an exchange of ideas, like in the many musical workshops, Saad has helped to sow the seed for a healthy, aware and appreciative new generation of artists.

Doubtlessly the image and com-plexion of music within Syria has been subject to an ever-opening fu-sion of styles. Having said that, the all-important “patriotic feel” which Karim Khwanda describes with such enthusiasm is an urge to creative in-fluences throughout all fields to re-spond to this wave of optimism with even more energy, strength and vi-tality so that the struggles Lena re-vealed as having to “fight by herself” continue in their depiction of music as a mirror to life, but find a louder voice among the wider public..

CultureCulture

August 201040

Sufi chantsA Sufi, a thinker, and an artist; Asaad Arabi commands all at the tip of his brush, drawing sounds with his lines, reaching ‘high notes’ with his colors, all in his quest to combine the senses.

Forward sat down with Arabi to dis-perse the clouds of his misunder-stood works, in order to gauge a more nuanced understanding of his latest collection, dedicated to Um Kalthoum.

Why Um Kalthoum?Many people considered Um Kal-

thoum to be the best Oriental and Arabic artist. She is a cultural figure, she influenced the whole world; she even made western music ‘repent’ to intuitional Sufi; repent to the true path of music.

She combined all the religious and Sufi music inspirations turning them to an existential human experience, and that had all the best musicians and composers give her their tunes; she was the only artist to manage to get all the geniuses of her era behind her.

She is the key reminder of the va-lidity of a chance to live a true ex-istential life. She was dubbed ‘The Princess of the Fine Era’ because her age cannot be brought about again.

What is so special about her music?The build up. The basic build up of

Um Kalthoum’s music is akin to that of the Hindus and Buddhists state of trance; it is a nirvana of music inside a mundane world. Like drowning and sinking in music for hours.

And how do you express that with your brush?

Using colors, they are the ‘highest notes’ in the painting. They way the colors are changing and transition-ing, and the way they grab your at-tention forcing your focus away from a segment of the canvas to another.

How do you express audio with vi-suals? How to draw a sound?

The two are intricately linked, and any observer of Um Kalthoum will notice that; where visually she used to rely on her hands and body move-ments swayed by her music, and ob-structing those would weaken her vocal performance.

I’ve been studying and conduct-ing my own research on the visual and audio correlation for nine years now, which is mostly reflected and expressed in Sufi Islam, and I’ve reached the conclusion that their re-lation stems from their unity in the heart [intuition]—the unity of the senses.

You can get the audio from any visual. In drawing you symbolize the difference of intonations using empty and filled spaces, and lines struggling with colors leading the viewer’s focus to different contrasts.

How does intuition come into play when viewing your works?

Intuition reflects our current ex-istential lives, the state of being, knowing, and controlling your life. Living life, and not just passing by, is a high existential intuition, and can only be connected to if experi-enced.

This applies to music and arts as well. As I wouldn’t want viewers just to regard the visual aspects of my works, I want people to connect and live the colors and margins, to be stirred by their conveyed meanings.

Why solely express sound through your art, why not another medium?

Ibn Khaldoon once said, “When a virtuous city corrupts, the first as-pect to plunge is its architecture, followed by its music;” the first to decay after housing is music, which shows its importance in the expres-sions of a complete collective con-

By Hamzeh Abu-Fakher

CultureCulture

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sciousness of a culture.So Um Kalthoum’s era signified

a rise in society and culture, which was also proven through the eco-nomics and politics of that era, while currently longing for that era we compare the past to our current times, to find that all aspects of our civilization have taken a downfall, including our music, which isn’t only commercial, but adheres to certain aspects of our roots in a misguided way. By clinging to our culture we’re simply killing it, by denying it devel-opment and evolution we’re singing its obituary.

How does that affect your tech-nique, as being habited and schooled differently?

I’m more guided by intuition now, resigning the old notions of strict guidelines of drawing, especially after an accident befell me and my family a few years ago. Now I’m more spontaneous in drawing—spontane-ity guided by intuition—helping me reflect more depths of my character on the canvas..Masked BodiesAsaad Arabi’s previous collection, Masked Bodies, depicted nude char-acters in an architectural arrange-ment, within margins left on the four sides; a tradition of miniatures in Arab Islamic manuscripts.His collection received regional re-ligiosly-fuelled disdain, within the current hostile trend against figu-rative painting, including the few artworks remaining of thousands of Arabic and Islamic miniatures and illuminated manuscripts.Leaders of these hostilities seem to forget that the art revolution which occurred in the 1960s was a result of the openness and permissive-ness of society at the time, which employed six male and female nude models in the painting studios at the Faculty of Fine Art in Damascus University, and that has led to the mastery of anatomy by most artists of that era.The catalogues of ‘Masked Bodies’ is still available in Ayyam Gallery for those who have fallen victim to the media black-out.

August 201042

Apple had been secretly busy develop-ing this new gadget and introducing new features to their already critically acclaimed iPhone series, as well as a new operating system; making it easier to use, and more vital than ever. The new features include:

Face TimePeople have been dreaming about vid-

eo calling for decades; iPhone 4 makes it a reality. With just a tap, you can have an iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 video call over Wi-Fi.

iPhone 4 has two cameras: One on the front, and one on the back. FaceTime lets you switch back and forth between them at any time during a video call with a single tap.

Retina DisplayThe Retina display on iPhone 4 is the

sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolu-tion phone screen ever, with four times the pixel count of previous iPhone mod-els. In fact, the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distin-guish individual pixels. Which makes text amazingly crisp and images stunningly sharp.

Multi-taskingiPhone 4 introduces a whole new way

of multi-tasking. Enabling users to run third-party apps—and switch between them instantly—without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery.

HD Video Recording and EditingUsers are able shoot their own movies

in high definition, and capture impressive video even in low-light settings, thanks to the advanced backside illumination sensor and built-in LED light. Then edit the content right on iPhone 4 using the new iMovie app—with Apple-designed themes, titles, and transitions. .

TechnologyTechnology

Highlight of the month

Adobe creative suite 5 hits the market

The new iPhone 4Syria to share bandwidth capacity with neighborsAccording to Nazem Bahsas, Gen-eral Director of Syria Telecom, Syria will be exchanging internet capaci-ties with Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, setting a regional broadband connection established through a land cable, in which Syria linked with Turkey earlier this year, while the link with Jordan is near completion.

The network will have

a bandwidth ca-pacity of 200

Gigabits; with Sau-di Arabia’s share at

50%, Turkey’s at 30%, and Syria and Jordan

each at 10%; with pros-pects for Iran and Iraq join-

ing the network in the future."The connection is very ef-

ficient for the countries involved because a land cable is cheaper to establish, less prone to breakdowns, and easier to repair than submarine cables," Bahsas said. Syria has been tending to its Information Technol-ogy sector lately, and more recent-ly, it has signed a Construction and Maintenance Agreement with five of the region's leading operators to build a regional Cable Network; a multi-terabit cable system stretch-ing from the United Arab Emirates through Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria into Europe, to provide robust

bandwidth connectivity for its grow-ing broadband community..

Adobe CS5 delivers a comprehensive toolset for designing media, with new exciting enhancements that include new ways to create interactive content, breakthrough performance, and inte-gration with new Adobe CS Live online

services to boost productivity. From the designing end, the suite in-

cludes new design tools and ground-breaking ways to extend creative reach using many comprehensive offerings, such as the new Adobe Flash Catalyst, which enables you to design sophis-ticated interactive content and create functional interfaces without writing code; and many new tools added to existing household names, such as the new perspective tools and Bristle Brush in Illustrator CS5; and the Mixer Brush and 3D extrusions in Photoshop CS5.

CS5 also helps you work faster with high-res images and HD videos through its performance enhancements. You get to work up to ten times faster with very large images in Photoshop and more fluidly on HD projects in After Effects and Premiere Pro thanks to native 64-bit support. The new GPU-acceleration quickens work in Photoshop, while the new Adobe Mercury Playback Engine speeds up effects processing and ren-dering in Premiere Pro..

August 201044

Start-upsStart-ups

Medium ME: Syria’s portal to E-CommerceA senior at Mamoon University’s Communications Engineering Faculty, Salim Akil has long focused his efforts on e-commerce businesses relying solely on his knowledge and ambition which led him to his success with searchinsyria.com and Medium ME LLC.

A senior in Ma’moon University’s Com-munications Technology Engineering Faculty, Salim Akil has long focused his efforts on e-commerce businesses relying solely on his knowledge and ambition which led him to his success with searchinsyria.com and Medium ME LLC.

Akil shares with Forward his experi-ence and expands on the activities of his businesses throughout this inter-view in his HQ within the SEBC Busi-ness Incubator.

The idea for searchinsyria.com first came about when the Junior Cham-ber International (JCI-Syria) made The Best Business Plan competition, which led Akil to search for projects in or-der to participate. He stumbled upon a friend, Tony Nassour, who had an idea

for a website that wasn’t executed well, so they convened and brainstormed the idea.

“We started working on searchin-syria.com in 2007 when E-Marketing was yet a remote concept in Syria, and we succeeded in our exclusive B2B ap-proach which today has managed to increase the numbers of its enlisters to over 3,300; the process being that en-listers would send us their info instead of researching ourselves.”

After the success of searchinsyria.com, Akil decided upon a private ven-ture; Medium ME, which is currently his main company, offering internet services in the fields of business and communication technology; such as e-marketing and facilitation of electronic commerce, by enabling companies to

sell online through their websites with electronic payment methods such as credit cards and such.

“E-content is weak in the Middle East; we need to invest in this field, for the purpose of increasing business flow for local companies. We need to raise awareness to the importance of marketing as well; selling and market-ing online is cheaper than advertising.”

After searchinsyria.com and Medium ME, Akil is planning a searchinmena.com, planning to gain strategic part-nerships in additions to the ones he already has, believing that partner-ships add to the overall experience of the management of any project, to overcome any obstacles that might be faced.

“Sponsorships and partnerships are necessary for startups as they se-cure liquidity and connections. With searchinmena.com, we already have partners from the Gulf and planning on finding more.”

Currently, Medium ME is working with Kompass.com—an international B2B search engine—for the purpose of promoting Syrian companies in Eu-rope.

Asked about the effects of ventur-ing into many businesses at a young age Akil answered, “I’ve gained experi-ence in how to get to companies and institutions so that I could learn and help the people who work with me. But most importantly I learnt about my-self, matured and developed socially. I started looking differently at the world, and recently I’ve started caring about helping startups, developing the community, and backing up youth who have ideas in need of support, as I went through the same experience.”

Before ending, Akil stressed on one thing: “You have to be patient when venturing into any business. Many websites start and fail to continue, despite the large amounts of capital investments, expecting fast and easy profit. They failed to realize that com-panies need time to mature, develop and become profitable.”.

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Why LG LX9500 Full LED 3D TV is unique?

As the world's first Full LED 3D TV, the LX9500 uses an innovative back-light structure to deliver its remarkable picture. Illuminated by panels of LEDs directly behind the screen, the Full LED display provides images of exceptional brightness and clarity. With TruMo-tion 400Hz reducing image cross-talk and a picture further enriched by a

10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, the LX9500's mesmerizing 3D trans-

ports viewers right to the heart of the action without any headaches or diz-

ziness as in the theatre.

Can you describe the experience with LG LX9500 Full LED 3D TV?

LX9500 offers a 3D experience like no other, where instead of just watch-ing scenes, you can actually be part of them. The on-screen world liter-ally comes to life with imagery you can reach out and touch, and depth that’s unmistakably real—all from the com-fort of your living room couch.

Do viewers need to wear glasses to enjoy 3D effects?

Yes. Without glasses, the picture will look blurred. The TVs rapidly alternate two images—one for each eye.

Viewing content in 3D on your TV LG LX9500 requires the use of active shutter glasses (model AG-S100), which add depth to an im-age by blocking one lens then the other in sync with the screen’s refresh rate. The LX9500 is also the only 3D TV with dual IR-emitting sensors, which send signals syncing the lenses with the TV. Having dual sensors ensures a wider and longer viewing angle for the TV’s 3D pictures, creating a spectacu-lar home theater experience for the whole family.

The glasses are comfort-able enough to wear for an extended period of time and recharge via USB for up to 40 hours of uninterrupted viewing pleasure.

Can I Watch Regular High Definition 2D on a 3D TV?

Yes, 3D TVs will have the ability to display stan-

dard high definition 2D images, just as all HDTVs do now.

Arrival of the world’s first full LED 3D TV

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What is 3D TV?It is important for one to have an

understanding of what is actually the 3D TV. Although 3D is a technological achievement, it’s actually just imitat-ing reality. To see what we mean, close your left eye only, then just your right eye, always leaving the other open. Do this fast and you’ll notice that each eye has a distinct viewing angle; When com-bined (both eyes open), they create depth—three d i m e n s i o n a l depth.

Must 3D TV owners always wear 3D glasses?

3D glasses will only need to be worn when watching 3D content. 2D content does not require 3D glasses.

What LG models and sizes are avail-able in the Market?

LG INFINIA 3D TV (LX9500 & LX6500) with an active shutter glasses are avail-able in 47 and 55 inch versions.

What content is available in 3D?True 3D content is filmed in 3D espe-

cially for the 3D TV experience. There are many movies and video games al-ready available which have been shot or created just for 3D, and plans for 3D TV channels are well under way. You'll see more and more 3D movies on Blu-ray, and most of the movies scheduled to come out on 3D Blu-ray are kids and family movies.

What Do I Need In My Home Theater To Watch 3D?

You need four things to be able to watch 3D at home on a TV: 1. A 3D-enabled television, all 3D-enabled televisions will be able to work with the 3D standards now approved for Blu-ray and over-the-air, cable, and satellite transmission. 2. A 3D-enabled Blu-ray disc player, HD-cable, or HD-satellite box.3. 3D Content (Blu-ray discs, cable, and/or sat-ellite programs).4. 3D shutter glasses

LX9500 (Specifications)• FULL LED Slim with Spot Control• Full HD 1080p• (10,000,000:1) Dynamic Contrast Ratio• TruMotion 400Hz• THX• ISF Certification• Picture Wizard II• BORDERLESSTM Design• Ultra Slim Depth & Narrow Bezel• Crystal Gradation with Varying Light (Facet)• Invisible Speaker (10W + 10W)• Infinite Sound• Clear Voice II• NetCast• Video Call• Wireless AV Link• Bluetooth• DLNA• USB 2.0 (HD DivX, MP3, Jpeg play)• HDMI SIMPLINK• Intelligent Sensor• Smart Energy Saving Plus

Paul ChoiLG Electronics Lebanon GM & Levant TV GM

August 201046

Looking ForwardLooking Forward

Can you tell us about your back-ground?

I was born in London in 1979, and I spent ten years in London, ten in Damascus and ten in California.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Eco-nomic Development and a minor in philosophy from Berkeley, and got my JD and MBA from the Univer-sity of San Franscisco's law school in 2007, after which I came back to Syria to work with the family busi-ness.

How did you find Syria upon your return?

Every time I leave the country and

Face of the Future: Ali KhwandaThirty-one years old and currently holding the position of Economic Advisor for Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Abdullah Dardari, while additionally running with his brothers the Khwanda Investment Group; Ali Khwanda shares with Forward his experiences and the road which led him to his current role.

come back I feel and see the differ-ence, even through the little things; like five years ago we didn’t have any cafes or e-commerce businesses.

The country is thirsty for every-thing, it just needs people to start taking initiatives to develop and in-vest in the country. You’re not en-tering a market that’s saturated and there is virtually no competition.

The best way I can describe what is going on in Syria right now is like an elevator door opening on the first floor. We’re still on the ground floor, and there’s a chance for people to get on before it starts ascending, and that is an opportunity that peo-

ple should take advantage of.

What do you think are the main obstacles in the implementation of new projects?

People have a lot of nice ideas, but a lot of people lack the mechanisms of implementing that. I studied for ten years to understand the ideas and know how to implement them.

Other than that, people have not satisfied many of their basic needs like a job and a house, when they are given that then they could start de-veloping; I feel really lucky for being provided with those.

What are your project's main goals?Our family business’ fundamen-

tal goal is focusing on the economic development of Syria; each project should include the developmental aspect. We try to provide jobs for the local population and move the coun-try forward, by investing in trans-portation, banking and investment.

We also support a lot of the cultur-al events and arts, as well as support The Syria Trust for Development. Sponsoring the country culturally is more effective than sponsoring it economically, where through culture you create and foster a generation that will not repeat the mistakes of the old one.

What do you consider your greatest achievement in Syria to be?

I haven’t had any real achieve-ments yet, but I think I’m being pre-pared for that. I’ve only been back for three years, so right now I’m get-ting myself into my job, to establish myself in my career first.

What do you advise expats plan-ning on returning and investing in Syria?

Come back with a plan, don’t come back thinking that things will be giv-en to you on a plate. No one will do it for you, you have to do it yourself. And most important is staying posi-tive because it effects how people see you and how you react in tough environments..

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» Gorillaz rocking the Citadel!» What can't you live without-love or money?» 'Give us a Clue'» Forward Shabab @ the Jazz Fest» The Niqab ban» New Introductory path for studentsInsi

de...

Universities Music Made in Syria Cool Students Cool Instructors Movies

THE CREATIVE PLATFORM OF YOUNG SYRIANS

FORWARD SHABABAre you a pro photo enthusiast? Publish

your photos with Forward Shabab

Inside:The problem is that the majority of women wearing the niqab are forced to wear it by their families, who make them face two choices: to wear the niqab to go to college or

not to go at all. – PAGE 51

Are you a professional and talented photographer?Would you like to see your professional photo in Forward Magazine (and on Forward Shabab’s cover)? Send us your high-resolution photos with a photo-caption at forwardshabab@haykal.com. The photos can be of any topic you desire, granted that the photo is pro.

Alaa Eldin Al-Hajjar aged 20, is a landscape, wedding and ADs photographer. He contributed this photo, taken earlier this summer, of the Port of Tartous at sunset to Forward Shabab.

Photo details: Model: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS. Shutter Speed: 30 sec. Exposure: Aperture Priority. F-Stop: 10. ISO Speed: 100.

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August 201048

The biggest western act and the only British band to ever to play in SyriaGorillaz: Rocking the Citadel

By Moritz FlickPhotography by Carole al-Farah

Gorillaz, one of the most mysterious and appealing musical phenomena of the last decade, arrived for one extraordinary night in the floodlit Citadel of Damascus. The assortment of talent was exposed from the very start as spectacular video animations were complimented by some of pop music's biggest stars alongside the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music.

The July 25th gig heralded the first performance of an internation-ally renowned Western band in Syria and offered the diverse crowd an in-troduction to their new album "Plas-tic Beach" as well as crowd-pleasing classic songs such as “Clint East-wood” and “Feel Good Inc.”. Featured artists included, Damon Albarn, Bob-

by Womack, De La Soul, Mick Jones, Kano, Paul Simonon, Bootie Brown, Bashy and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music. The show also included video animation, artwork and film by Jamie Hewlett.

Gorillaz are a British virtual band created in 1998 by comic-book art-ist Jamie Hewlett—best known for his work on Tank Girl—and Damon Al-barn of Britpop band Blur. Composed

of four animated band members named 2D (lead vocalist, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar and occasional vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion), the band's music is a blend of musi-cal influences such as dub, hip hop, alternative rock, electronic and pop. Albarn, the only constant contribu-

tor, has assembled an eclectic fusion of talent both old and new which he labels “a musical microcosm.”

Despite their unique virtual nature, Gorillaz have participated in as many, if not more, activities than a real band would. Having been on a world tour as well as releasing albums and singles and making acceptance speeches at award shows, they have shown their commitment to communicating their artistic message. The combination of determined artists and the utilization of a vast array of modern media have all played their part in bringing Goril-laz to life.

Plastic Beach, the third album from Gorillaz released in March 2010, fea-tures Syrian musicians from the Na-tional Orchestra for Arabic Music. The music for the track “White Flag” was recorded in Damascus and also fea-tured British grime stars Kano and Bashy. The National Orchestra for Arabic Music recently performed with Gorillaz at London's Roundhouse and at their headline performance at Glastonbury.

Elizabeth White, Director of the British Council in Syria said, "This is going to be the event of the summer. Gorillaz is the first Western band on this scale ever to play in Damascus. And what's remarkable about this concert is that Gorillaz are here be-cause of the collaboration with Is-sam Rafea and other Syrian musicians from the National Orchestra for Ara-bic Music—and now they'll be playing in the land where some of this music was conceived.”.

FORWARD SHABAB

August 201050

What can't you live without-love or money?

I do believe that it is hard if not impossible to live without either, but if I were to make this difficult decision and choose which one I think I can manage to live without, that would be love. Yes, we seem to have been able to live and exist without love. It is a chain that holds us all together but in the past decades we hu-mans have worked hard in order to destroy it, to break free from each other. While we have all been blinded by love, its magic and its won-ders, the importance of money in our lives has been increasing. Get it and you’ll be satisfied, get loads of it and you will fulfill your hearts greatest desires, this seems to have become the motto these days.

Money has become that golden key that almost everyone would sacrifice all what they have in order to lay hands on it. For some of us, this key is right below the surface of the ground. For others, it is deeper down and it re-quires smart digging to reach it. Along the way and with all this digging, some people have be-come so obsessed with money, their insanity has caused them to lose their minds.

Money can buy you a lot of things, such as comfort, luxury, and in some cases love. It has been doing miracles and granting dreams. There seems to be nothing that money can’t buy you. Therefore, I feel as though we are all on this track field, running as fast as we could,

competing against one another, our minds fo-cused on reaching the finish line. It is he who gets the money, he who reaches the line first.

You see pictures of all these famous people, the “money makers“ as I’d like to call them fill-ing up the pages of magazines on a daily basis and it gets you thinking, they have money and it has done them good, but are they happy? Are they living the life of their dreams? Money bought them luxury, comfort, fans and fame, so can we now assume that they are happy, perfect beings? I do believe not, for most of them are on these pages because they have gotten in trouble or were caught doing some-thing bizarre.

With money come a lot of worries, feelings of fear, guilt and a whole lot of responsibilities. Use it wisely but never for a single second think that it is going to make you invincible, out of reach, happy. As Spike Milligan once said, “Money can’t buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.”

Money can't buy happiness, but it can add to it.

Money can't buy happiness, but it can en-sure it.

Money can't buy happiness, but it can open up the ability to be happy.

Money can add to happiness, but it cannot create it..

By Rana Chaar

FORWARD SHABAB'Give us a Clue'

In early May, a group of 30 young students from Malta, Syria, and Norway met in Steinkjer, Norway, for a week using art, theatre, and mu-sic to share their cultures and understand their related similarities.

This program was set up to bring together different groups of young people from differ-ent backgrounds, providing them with an op-portunity to meet, discuss and confront vari-ous themes, while learning about each other's countries and cultures.

The ten young participants from Syria were selected from Al-Wataniah School and Hus-sam Breemo’s carol group, and were headed by Ola Saif, head of visa services and cultural exchange at the Norwegian Embassy.

The mixed groups worked for a week to prepare their final presentation, utilizing art, music, and food for a more in-depth cultural experience..Forward Shabab@ the Jazz Fest

Bashar Shehadeh, of Forward Shabab, was present with a team of young inspiring writers at the Jazz Fest supervising the Haykal Media stand to spread the new Forward Youth offers and SMS news-feed services..

August 2010 51

The Niqab ban

Earlier this month, unconfirmed me-dia reports said that the Minister of Higher Education ordered Syrian uni-versities and educational institutes to ban women wearing niqab from uni-versity campuses.

This decision came after reports confirmed the transfer of about 1,200 teachers wearing niqab from their school positions in the Minis-try of Education to office jobs in the Ministry of Local Administration. The minister reportedly said that he took this decision to maintain the “objec-tive, secular methodology” of Syria’s schools, and added, "the students are our children and we will not expose them to this kind of radicalism."

The reaction of Syrians to this deci-sion varied from one group to anoth-er: some religious people were criti-cal, saying it is un-Islamic to ban the face veil while others said it is a vio-lation of personal freedom believing that people are free to wear whatever they want. Yet the problem is that the majority of women wearing the niqab are forced to wear it by their families, who make them face two choices: to wear the niqab to go to college or not

to go at all. Many civil right activists believe

that this decision should be imple-mented after taking several steps to change the mentality of society via education and media, and that this decision is only a limited solution to the problem of radicalism in our uni-versities. Moreover, they also believe that this decision applies more pres-sure on women wearing the niqab, as they are forced to wear it by their parents to go to college, and now they must choose between education and adherence to their parents' com-mands.

As a student at Damascus Univer-sity I really think the niqab is unac-ceptable at colleges because it's not only a symbol of radicalism but it also creates a defect in the educational process, especially in examination rooms, because it's easier to cheat wearing the niqab since it is hard for observers to confirm the identities of the women wearing it. And person-ally, I can't deal with people whose faces I can't see as communication requires facial expressions as an ac-companiment..

By Mayar Mnini

New Introductorypath for students

By Mayar Mnini & Moritz Flick

The Ministry of Higher Education re-cently decided to add admission tests to the faculties of media, literature and in the sectors of Arabic, English and French. This was aimed at improving the methods of evaluating student's suitability to their chosen courses. In addition, the new measures give uni-versities the chance to discover and foster the more talented students while simultaneously having the negative ef-fect of turning away many students who, at such a young age, may not be entirely sure of which career path they wish to undertake.

This seemingly harsh choice may be to accommodate the declining resourc-es and growing student numbers which universities in Syria are suffering from. The dominating opinion in Syria is that this decision came to replace the old mechanism of the Baccalaureate test.

The problem lies in the fact that this test is a misleading guideline as it permits students to embark on career paths and courses for which they may not have a passion. Moreover, this new regulation failed to include important faculties such as political science, med-icine and economics. This can have the detrimental effect of burdening these sectors with unmotivated employees and weakening the vocational process in general, because the benefits of a doctor's salary outweigh the commit-ment required to pass the admissions test in a field like media.

It is evident that the new admission tests have done little to change the in-centives for young students to work in a field they enjoy and still attract them to the higher paid jobs such as in medicine. Nonetheless, it seems that the current tests might be precursors to a more widely encompassing policy which would see admission tests in all fields and help solve the problems of the untrained and incompetent new graduates in our workforce..

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August 2010 53

FORWARD

AdvisorPlaces to go Damascene Things Leisure Forward Organizer Companies

Inside:The arts/poetry workshop in addition to theater launched this year aiming to find new means of approaching po-etry. A seminar will be given on the

relation of plastics arts to poetry. – PAGE 54

Khan Asaad PashaOttoman architectural gem brought back to life

Built of alternating courses of allur-ing basalt and limestone, Khan Asaad Pasha has been described as one of the finest khans of Damascus and the most ambitious work of architecture in the city.

Situated along Souq Al-Buzuriyah, Khan Asaad Pasha-the largest khan in the Old City-was built and named after Asaad Pasha al-Azem -the governor of Damascus- in 1751. From the moment of its conception throughout the Ot-toman era, the Khan hosted caravans coming from Baghdad, Mosul, Aleppo, Beirut and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Its architecture follows a typical Ot-toman khan layout with two floors giv-ing onto a central courtyard, housing 80 rooms distributed on two levels around the courtyard, adorned with an array of arches and 20 windows shining light upon the fountain, which marks the center of the Khan, with a monumental portal allowing access to and from the souk.

It was being used as a storage space in the heart of a busy commercial area by a large number of shop-keepers till the early 1990s. However, this use was found incompatible with and det-rimental to its many qualities and the Syrian Department of Museums and Antiquities decided to count it as a heritage site.

No longer used for commercial pur-poses, Khan Asaad Pasha now serves as a tourist’s site, and additionally hosts many art exhibitions throughout the year, especially after it was restored by the Aga Khan Network, which took on the reconstruction of certain structural members, such as the four central pil-lars of the courtyard, and the domes.

The latest exhibition to decorate the Khan’s walls is the Venezuelan Mod-ern Plastic Arts exhibition, showcasing drawings by Venezuelan artists Ivan Dario Hernandez and Benetto Mesiss, in celebrations of Venezuela's National Day..

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August 201054

ForwardOrganizer...PALESTINIAN CULTURAL CENTRE

MUSTAPHA ALI GALLERY

Syrian sculptor continues to lead the art

boom in Old Damascus and all SyriaThe Mustapha Ali Gallery and Foundation continues activism for the cause of art. Ev-ery month the gallery carries out a host of events. To find out more what the gallery has instore for you in July:Address: al-Ameen district, Tal al-Hajarra St., house number 86.Email: m-ali@scs-net.org

Ammar al-Beik – A New InstallationAyyam Gallery Damascus presents "Col-ored Earth…Black Chainsaw" (2010), a new installation by photographer/film-maker Ammar al-Beik. Young artist al-Beik, along with Tammam Azzam will of-fer work that explores the push and pull of cityscapes, underscoring the juxtaposi-tion of urban sprawls against natural ele-ments and the hidden spaces that lie in between.Exhibition: (Colored Earth… Black Chain Saw) Date: Ongoing until August 5th, 10am– 8pmTel: 011-6131088

Jerusalem our home….in every home 21st May - 21st August The Palestinian Centre for Culture and Arts invites you to participate and con-tribute to the campaign that would be built entitled 'Jerusalem our home...in ev-ery home' on the passage of 62 years since the occupation of the Palestinian territo-ries by the Israelies.Yarmouk camp, by the southern gate of the Palestinian Sports City.

The 4th Round of The Oak Cultural Festival25th July - 6th AugustOrganized by the companions of the Poet Muhammad Omran RIP in Al-Malaha vil-alge in Tartous.The arts/poetry workshop in addition to theater launched this year aiming to find new means of approaching poetry. On the 4th of August a seminar will be given on the relation of plastics arts to poetry by many poets and artists. Participants will span from over the Arab countries.Email: rashaomran@msn.comTel: +963 955 797 751

AL-MALAHA VILLAGE

AYYAM GALLERY

Marcil KhalifehMarcil Khalifeh will perform on August 7th and 8th Location: Damascus CitadelTime: 7th @ 9 pm and 8th @ 11 pm.You can get your tickets from the follow-ing places:Damascus: The Old Fairgrounds Theater.Homs: Al-Safir hotel.Aleppo: Poster café.Latakia: Nay Art Café (souq al safan)

DAMASCUS CITADEL

Imad SabriImad Sabri's paintings at Nay Art Café LattakiaEnds on August 14th at 10pmLocation: Latakia – Souq Al- Safan

NAY ART CAFé

August 201056

It makes me feel quite old today to re-alize that I made my first visit to Syria 40 years ago! It was the spring of 1970, and I was doing the ‘gap half-year’ that students entering Oxford and Cam-bridge Universities were ‘subjected’ to. A one-month visit the next spring to where my elder sister, Mary, and her husband were living and work-ing in Beirut, saw me travel with them around most of Lebanon—and also to Damascus and Palmyra.

Palmyra was amazing. We stayed somewhere near the vast complex of necropolises and woke in the wee hours to go and see the sun rise over them. Damascus was also amazing, but in a different way. I had never seen anything like Souq al-Hammidieh be-fore—and I still love wondering around it, today. But you still had a strong sense that this was a country at war.

Four years later I had finished my studies at Oxford and was eager to proceed with my plan of becoming a writer by taking the well-trodden path of starting out as a foreign correspon-dent. I arrived in Beirut in August 1974 and had just started getting my foot in the door of the journalism commu-nity there when the civil war started in April 1975. I have to confess that wars can be very good indeed for the ca-reers of journalists—those who aren’t killed or wounded in them.

As for me, by the time I was 23 I was getting bylined articles onto the front pages of the London Sunday Times and the Christian Science Monitor, an ex-cellent daily newspaper published out of Boston, Massachusetts. I also met and married a Lebanese man. We pret-ty quickly had two children, Tarek and Leila. Though the marriage lasted only

The last wordThe last word

A journalist’s eye over the Middle EastBy Helena Cobban

a few years, I found the experience of living through a civil war as part of the society that was being torn apart by it to be a very important one. My husband was—still is—a Greek Catho-lic (Melkite). He had relatives living on both sides of the ‘Green Line’ that di-vided Beirut so cruelly in those years. He also had relatives in their home town of Marjayoun in south Leba-non, which was under Israeli occupa-tion from 1978 through 2000—and in Zahleh and Damascus, as well.

I stayed in Beirut, rising to become Mideast correspondent for the Chris-tian Science Monitor and traveling to many other Arab countries in that role. By 1981, however, the stress of living in Beirut had become too much, and my marriage was falling apart. I took the children back to England for a while, then got an offer from Harvard University to go to their Center For In-ternational Affairs and write a book about the PLO.

In my career as a researcher and writer, I have published two books on Syria’s still deeply conflicted rela-tionship with Israel. The second was a study of the intriguing negotiations the two governments carried out be-tween 1991 and 1996. That was a pe-riod when considerable progress was made toward defining what the whole region can look like once Israel’s occu-pation of the Golan is ended and there is real peace among all the parties. Thus far, however, every single Israeli government since 1996 has stepped back from the brink of committing to a complete end of the occupation of Golan.

I’ve been writing an English-lan-guage blog called Just World News for more than seven years now. Through my blogging I have come into con-tact with numerous other bloggers and writers who, like me, are willing to challenge the tight grip that pro-Zionist discourse suppression organi-zations have been able to maintain on most of the US mainstream media.

Phil Weiss, a prominent blogger, and others, have even developed a whole theory about the relationship of ‘pro-gressive’ Americans to the Palestine Question. They note that for many years now, the vast majority of Ameri-

cans who were progressives on every other political issue—sometimes, even quite radically so—would be notably un-progressive on Palestine. Phil calls them PEP’s—‘Progressive Except for Palestine.’ But now, we are all noticing that increasing numbers of progres-sives in the US have started to include Palestine among the issues regarding which they seek justice. We call these folks PIP’s—‘Progressive Including Pal-estine.’

It is very clear to me that in recent years, and especially since the assault that Israel unleashed against Gaza’s people in December 2008, there has been a huge increase in the number of PEPs who have become PIPs—and this is the case particularly among younger Americans, including younger Jewish Americans.

I am still concerned about Syria, though—and especially at this point, about the difficult doldrums in which US-Syrian relations still seem to be mired. I am now part of a new initia-tive led by the Carter Center and Search for Common Ground, which is aiming to improve the relationship between our countries. I came to Damascus in early June in connection with this project. My hope is that through it, we can find a way to normalize relations between our countries. Yes, of course there are several tough problems to be sorted out between the two countries. But that is precisely what diplomacy is for, and what diplomats should be doing. The present impasse does not serve the true interests of the Ameri-can people at all well.

So on this occasion, as on every visit to Damascus, I took a couple of hours to wander around the Old City. I was glad to see that despite the many changes the whole city has seen in the past 40 years, most of the Old City re-mains charmingly, if sometimes cha-otically, the same..Helena Cobban is a veteran writer, research-er, and program organizer on global affairs. She was a regular contributor to The Christian Science Monitor and The Sunday Times of London and since 2003 has published Just World News, a lively blog on international issues in addition to authoring eight books on world politics, the US, and the Middle East.