Day: December 29, 2023

Damascus: The Ministry of Tourism revealed that more than two million foreigners visited Syria during the current year, which means an increase of 20 percent compared to the previous year.

There were 1,750,000 visitors from Arab countries and 250,000 from other foreign nationalities, particularly Russia, Pakistan, Iran and India, the ministry indicated in its annual report.

The Ministry is satisfied with these figures taking into account the many challenges, in particular the war in Gaza and the Israeli attacks that put the international airports in Damascus and Aleppo out of service.

The ministry also revealed that state-owned hotels achieved a 120 percent increase in profits, and that there is growing Arab interest in bilateral tourism cooperation with Syria.

The Ministry announced that this year licenses were granted to 62 tourist facilities in accordance with law 23, of which 52 with a capacity of six thousand chairs and 556 beds.

The ministry clarified that the number of students for the 2022-2023 a
cademic year in schools, hotel institutes and the tourism and hotel training center amounted to 5,500 students.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus: Foreign and Expatriates Ministry denounced the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory and affirmed that they reflect an inherent tendency of the Zionist leaders to follow approach of killing and destruction that they practice relentlessly with the goal of killing thousands of Palestinians.

The Israeli occupation authorities again defy the world public opinion, UN resolutions and the calls of most members of the Security Council not to expand the existing aggression against the Palestinian people by launching two new air attacks on Syrian territory, the ministry addressed two letters to the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Security Council on Friday.

‘The new aggressions against Syrian territory and the ongoing threats against Lebanon and other Arab countries in the region reveal the true goals of the Zionist entity, which seeks to expand in the region at the expense of Arab rights in Palestine and other occupied territories’, the Foreign Ministry stated.

Syria updated the Security Co
uncil on the Zionist attacks with the sole purpose of alerting the international community of the consequences of the continued Israeli attacks, the ministry clarified.

Syria once again called on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities in the implementation of what is stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations and international humanitarian law, the ministry said.

‘The Security Council and the countries that cover Israeli aggression must learn from the experiences of the people when they make their decisions to defend their sovereignty, their rights and the lives of their citizens,’ the Ministry concluded.

During the last 24 hours, the Israeli enemy carried out two air attacks against some points in the southern region and the vicinity of Damascus.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Baghdad: The Iraqi resistance targeted the US occupation forces present in Conoco oil field in the countryside of Deir Ezzor with a missile barrage.

‘In response to the crimes committed by the enemy against Palestinian people in Gaza, the Iraqi fighters targeted the American occupation base in Conoco oil field with missile barrage,’ the Resistance said in a statement.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus: Army air defense forces repelled on Thursday evening an Israeli aggression that targeted some sites in southern region and downed a number of the hostile missiles.

‘Around 11:05 p.m. Thursday, the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points in the southern region’, a military source said in a statement.

The source added that the air defense forces confronted the aggression’s missiles and shot down most of them, and the losses were limited to materials.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus: Al-Assad National Library has restored its valubale manuscript entitled ‘Kitab al-Fawa’id fi ‘Ilm al-Bahr wa al-Qawa’id’ (Collection of Manuscripts of Benefits in the Science of the Sea and Rules And the abbreviation container in the origins of marine science and Arajiz) written by Ahmed bin Majid as-Saady after four years of being loaned by the brotherly Sultanate of Oman.

The manuscript of the Arabian sailor, bin Majid, has been loaned to the Omani side since 2019 at their request to be recovered and displayed in the National Museum of Oman. It is a unique manuscript, and the period of its loaning to Oman was extended so that the largest possible number of visitors and Omani citizens can view it.

‘Al-Assad National Library concluded its activities for this year with the return of this rare manuscript dating back to the 16th century CE’, the Director General of the Al-Assad Library, Fadi Ghanem, said in a statement to SANA.

Notably, this manuscript is considered the oldest one of Ahmad bin Majid
in the world and contains a collection of Arajiz (poems) in marine science. It is a testament to the enduring legacy of this remarkable figure.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus: Throughout the year 2023, most Syrian governorates witnessed heritage cultural events shedding light on the intangible cultural elements that characterize local communities in an attempt to preserve them.

At the same time, there was an exceptional presence of Syrian cultural elements recorded on the national lists, including ‘silk cocoons or silk breeding’, ‘Crafting and playing the Oud’, ‘Practices and craftsmanship associated with the Damascene rose in Al-Mrah’, ‘Shadow Theater,’ and ‘Traditional Syrian glassblowing’, which herald the steps of recovery in this field after the war Syria has witnessed which affected its components and cultural elements.

The most notable event was the Inscribing Traditional Syrian glassblowing in 2023 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding during the eighteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that took place at the Cresta Mowana Resort in Kasane, Republic of Bots
wana from Tuesday 5 to Friday 8 December 2023.

Traditional glassblowing in Damascus is the artisanal craft of creating glass objects using pieces of waste glass. To create an object, pieces of glass are placed inside a handmade brick oven to melt. The craftsman twists the molten glass around a hollow metal rod. He then blows into the rod to inflate the glass, using metal tongs to mould it into the desired shape, such as a cup, vase, lamp or ornament. Powdered dyes are used to colour the glass while it is still melted or to decorate the objects once they have cooled and hardened. Cultural symbols, such as the hand of Fatima, are often painted or engraved on the glass.

Damascene glassblowing is characterized by the white, blue, green and crimson colours used, as well as the painted gold motifs. In the past, the practice remained within specific families, with the father passing on the secrets of the craft to his children. Today, the related knowledge and skills are passed down informally through hands-on prac
tice and instruction in workshops. A source of livelihood for artisans, Damascene glassblowing contributes to a sense of continuity and belonging. It is also associated with social, spiritual and historical spaces and with the practices that take place therein.

Teams from Culture Ministry and the Syrian Trust for Development, with the participation of craftsmen in traditional glassblowing, worked to monitor inspect this Syrian cultural element, describe the challenges facing it, and document it and prepared the special file that was submitted to UNESCO, which worked to evaluate and approve the national preservation plan for it, which aims to revive the craft and developing it as one of the Syrian creative industries.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency