Day: December 30, 2023

Damascus, Syria’s tangible cultural heritage witnessed many important events during 2023, though it was affected at the beginning of the year by the 6th February earthquake which hit many archaeological sites in some provinces.

The most notable event of the year was President Bashar al-Assad’s awarding of the Syrian Order of Merit of the excellent degree to the Italian archaeologist Paolo Mattei who has discovered Ebla.

Najah Al-Attar, Vice-President of the Republic, awarded the Order of Merit to Mr. Mattei in appreciation of his important achievements in archaeological exploration in the Kingdom of Ebla throughout 59 years of archaeological and research work.

On February 6, a devastating earthquake struck many Syrian provinces that affected some archaeological sites in Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Tartous.

The Antiquities and Museums Directorate issued reports assessing the extent of the damage inflicted on those sites.

on February 19th, Damascus city came under an Israeli aggression that caused major damage
to the Technical Institute of Applied Arts and the Intermediate Institute of Antiquities and Museums in the Damascus Citadel.

On April 13, the Czech National Museum in Prague organized an exhibition of Syrian antiquities which displayed artifacts that were damaged during the terrorist war on Syria, as most of these pieces date back to the Bronze Age from the period extending between 1500 and 2500 BC.

With Syria’s participation, the Council for the Protection of the Asian Cultural Heritage was inaugurated in China on April 24th with the aim of cooperating to protect the archaeological cultural heritage and supporting efforts to recover and combat the smuggling of monuments.

On July 24, the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, in cooperation with the Russian Volunteer Expeditionary Corps, began the first phase of a project to restore the façade of the ancient Palmyra Theater, which was destroyed as a result of attacks by the terrorist organization ‘Daesh’ before it was defeated.

30 July, the National Mus
eum of Aleppo opened an exhibition titled ‘History of Islamic coins’, organized by the Antiquities and Museums Directorate, and included 19 paintings of the most prominent coins used during the historical Islamic period in Syria and Aleppo in particular.

On August 4th, (The Oath of Cyriacus) film won the first prize at the 19th Annual Archaeological Film Festival which was held in the Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park in Italy.

On September 14 and in cooperation with the National Museum in the Sultanate of Oman, Syria recovered artifacts that had been smuggled abroad, where they were found in the British Museum in the United Kingdom.

During 2023, many foreign tourist groups visited the city of Busra al-Sham, inspecting its archaeological and urban landmarks.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus, Temperatures remain higher than average by 2 to 4 degrees as the country is affected by high air pressure in all layers of the atmosphere.

Meteorology Department expected in its Saturday bulletin this that the weather is generally clear and partly cloudy, and at night it is generally cold,warning of frost occurring on mountain highlands and fog forming in most areas and the wind is variable and light.

Tomorrow, the weather will be generally fair to partly cloudy, turning to cloudy at times in the southern and southeastern regions, with a weak chance of scattered showers in these areas.

Temperatures in some Syrian major cities are in Damascus 15/09, Aleppo 19/02 and Lattakia 23/11.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Occupied Jerusalem, The Israeli occupation forces continue their aggression against Gaza Strip for the 85th day in a row, by land, sea and air, committing bloody massacres and horrific crimes against the Palestinians amid a catastrophic humanitarian situation that the people of the Strip are experiencing as a result of the siege and the prevention of aid access.

Palestinian media reported that the Israeli occupation aircraft bombed various parts of Gaza Strip, targeting residential communities, facilities and streets, which led to the death of a number of Palestinians and the injury of others.

A number of Palestinians, most of them children, were also injured as a result of the occupation aircraft targeting a house in the Al-Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The center and south of Khan Yunis have witnessed violent and continuous artillery shelling since the early morning, as a number of Palestinians were martyred and others were injured in the occupation aircraft’s bomb
ardment of the Zawaida area in the central Gaza Strip.

Journalist Jabr Abu Hadros and a number of his family members were also martyred and others were injured when the occupation aircraft bombed his house in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced yesterday that the number of victims of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the stricken Gaza Strip had risen to 21,507 martyrs and 55,915 wounded.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Bratislava, Slovak political analyst Eduard Chmelár criticized the silence of Western politicians regarding the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza Strip.

Chmelár posted on X platform that those politicians did not condemn the Israeli massacres in Gaza, even by words.

He described Israeli and Western perceptions about the liquidation of the resistance as a big illusion, stressing that the Palestinian resistance is a result and response to the aggressive practices and violence committed since the establishment of the Zionist entity.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus, The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform announced in its report for 2023 that nearly 517 thousand hectares of wheat were grown in safe areas, achieving a production of one million and 93 thousand tons.

Some 449 thousand hectares of barley were also cultivated, and a production of some 409 thousand tons was achieved, while the areas planted with sweet corn increased significantly, reaching some 79 thousand hectares and an estimated production of 561 thousand tons.

Likewise, some 7,175 hectares of cotton were planted, producing 15,000 tons.

On the other hand, the total number of greenhouses reached about 192,286, of which 178,593 are in the production phase of different vegetables, greens and bananas.

This year about 380,604 tons of olives were produced, and about 195,650 tons of grapes, 216,181 tons of apples and 841,255 tons of citrus fruits.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus, Israeli aggression launched an aerial act of aggression targeting a number of points in south of Aleppo city, causing material damage.

Military source said in a statement to SANA that at about 17:20 p.m. on Saturday, the Israeli enemy launched an aggression from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Lattakia, targeting some points south of Aleppo city.

The source added that the aggression caused material damage.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency