The urgency of restoring Syria’s textile industry goes beyond economic revival; it is about preserving irreplaceable connections to the nation’s cultural soul and ensuring that the knowledge, stories, and social practices embedded in textile creation continue to exist for future generations.
Largely unnoticed in the West until recently, Syria played an important role in shaping European architecture through a remarkable 12thcentury cultural exchange between Islamic builders and Knights Templar. The Islamic impulse contributed significantly to the Gothic architecture of Western Europe, starting in the 12th century. It later made its influence felt in India through the distinctive Mughal style of architecture displayed in the Taj Mahal (1648) and also influenced figures like Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
The Home that Was Our Country is a deeply insightful and engaging memoir that interweaves the textures of Syrian history, during the time of the author’s great-grandfather, with her personal experience of Syria in the years following the Arab Spring. Born in the US, she decided to move to Damascus in 2011 when hopes of freedom filled the air, to reclaim the apartment of her grandmother that was lost to the family during the first Assad regime.
In Syria, where the culture has traditionally revolved around sharing food, gracious hosting and generosity have always been highly valued. Meals are seen as occasions for familial and communal closeness. The content of the cuisine was historically influenced by Syria’s unique geography. Lying at the crossroads of trade in the ancient world, interactions with neighbouring countries—along with those as distant as China and Rome—continuously fed into what became the national cuisine.
To understand any nation, especially one whose origins date back many thousands of years, we need to know something about the forces that shaped it. A positive outcome of the long history of trade, turmoil, and constant population shifts is that ancient Aram/Syria became a true melting pot, laying the foundations for a pluralistic civilization. Syria is one of the most multicultural nations in the Middle East, if not the world.
