ABDALLAH BITAR
In Syria, even after an endless war, we merge with history itself, every grain of sand is a luminous letter in the eternal book of humanity. From its soil emanates the quintessence of cultures. On its land were born and brought together the greatest civilizations. It is here that man made discoveries, the benefits of which all humanity continues to reap. Since ancient times, Syria has acquired strategic importance thanks to its exceptional location at the meeting point of three continents. It is the link between the Mediterranean world and the Indian Ocean, and between the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Nile.
On its lands, passed the silk road that came from the borders of China until reaching the ports of the Mediterranean, this sea which witnessed the glory of the Syrian navigators there thousands of years. Its pioneers had turned it into a Syrian lake on which their ships sailed with wide white sails.
There is no civilization known by men throughout the ages that has not left such vivid testimonies all over the country: in the plains, in the deserts, on the tops of the mountains... Here there are palaces, mosques and churches. There, impregnable fortresses and exceptional buildings whose arches, columns, sculptures and decorations are striking for their originality. Syria is said to be the largest of the world’s small countries.
If you go through the Syrian lands, climbing mountains, descending slopes towards valleys and plains, then will begin an endless symphony of colors and diversities. You will be carried from wheat and cotton fields to vineyards and olive groves, oases of palm and pomegranate trees, meadows of laurels and poppies, gardens of apricot, peach and apple trees, towards pine forests, of thyme and linden trees that climb the slopes up to the purple peaks of the mountains, towards the coast where the fine and pure sands dialogue for miles with the turquoise of the sea and its white foam, towards the golden spaces of the desert which, in spring, are covered with cheerful blooms.
You will be able to see everything that man has invented over the centuries for tilling and irrigation of soils. Here, these are the trees of ancient times, there, modern tractors. Here, the large wooden wheels that turn and turn and for centuries have raised water to the thirsty earth, and there, canals, sprinklers and everywhere dams that increase the cultivable areas and transform them into corners of paradise where fruits abound.
As for the peasant women, their costumes are neither less bright nor less "embroidered" than the land on which they live. These are only colors, decorations, flowers and pleasures of the eye, they almost merge with the landscape on which they move and then, puzzled, you no longer know where the costume of the young peasant girl ends and where her field begins. By the flowers, by the colors, by the decorations... both are identical!
It is this variety of colors and shapes that add to the land of Syria, as to a wonderful garment, beauty, and to its people, hospitality, authenticity. The characteristic of this country is indeed unity in diversity and diversity in unity. All this, the show of the National Folk Ensemble "Abdallah Bitar" will tell you.
