Excerpt from Syrian Folktales by Muna Imady
A
Brief Overview of Syria
The Syrian Arab
Republic occupies an area
of 185,000 square km. and has a population of more than 18 million. It borders Turkey
to the north, Iraq to the
east, Jordan and Palestine to the south and Lebanon
and the Mediterranean to the west. Syria
also lies along major trade routes linking Africa, Asia and Europe.
Since the dawn of
civilization, Syria
has been a meeting place and a crossroads, where different people, cultures and
world empires met. Syrian soil has
witnessed the oldest civilizations on the globe dating back to the fourth
millennium B.C., including Mari, Ebla and Ugarit where one the
world’s first alphabets was discovered.
Syria’s chief agricultural
products are cotton, wheat, barley, different fruits and vegetables, meat,
milk and milk products. Important industrial
products include textiles, fertilizer, petroleum products, cement, glass,
processed foods, marble, petroleum and phosphates.
The Syrian Arab
Republic consists of
fourteen administrative units known as governorates (Muhafazat). Every
governorate in Syria
has its own folklore traditions passed down from generation to generation. These include stories, sayings, riddles,
recipes for tasty local dishes and embroidery patterns and the cut of
traditional dresses. I feel it is
important to record these tales, traditions, peddlers’ chants and recipes before
they are completely forgotten. It would
be a sad loss if Syria
forgets its rich oral traditions and regional dishes. As I take you through Syria and its
different governorates, I hope what I present here will charm you and give you
a small idea of the variety of Syrian traditional culture.
CONTEST WINNER
WILD RIVER REVIEW, "A DAMSCENE STORY"
Read more posts about Muna and her books HERE.
Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter
Follow MSI Press on Twitter, Face Book, and Instagram.
Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?
Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book
in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book?
Contact editor@msipress.com.
Want an author-signed copy of this book?
Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25)
and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.
Comments
Post a Comment