Daily Excerpt: Syrian Folktales (M. Imady) - A Brief Overview of Syia

 



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.

 

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Read more posts about Muna and her books HERE. 


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