tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post5729851059308988872..comments2023-06-16T06:27:31.555-07:00Comments on qunfuz: Cultural Capitalqunfuzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07381648516025592849noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-25241960547793489342008-05-03T14:27:00.000-07:002008-05-03T14:27:00.000-07:00I have had the good fortune to visit your beautifu...I have had the good fortune to visit your beautiful country twice in the past year and i have well and truly fallen in love with it, escpecially Damascus. It is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the most extraordinary cities in the world. You guys are lucky to proudly call yourself Damascenes and with good reason.<BR/><BR/>May i also add a touch of criticism? and only because i love the place so much. I just found it heartbreaking that people (not just in Damascus but Syria generally) seem to have a total disregard for the environment. I have driven through the most pristine countryside and was shocked to see piles of rubbish everywhere. Also the bureaucracy can be a bit suffocating. But hey, these things are not unique to Syria, but your heritage certainly is. I will be coming back!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-36976282040054753792008-04-26T04:23:00.000-07:002008-04-26T04:23:00.000-07:00i just would like to truly thank you for your resp...i just would like to truly thank you for your response. you've always been an inspiration for me to write, and to reconsider.<BR/>i will be posting the link of my response here once it's done.<BR/>best,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-12619081735253822422008-04-26T00:01:00.000-07:002008-04-26T00:01:00.000-07:00We all forget that!You don't need to justify your ...We all forget that!<BR/><BR/>You don't need to justify your authenticity to me. It's beautiful regardless of the writer's origins. It shows a clear knowledge of Damascus, and passion of the writer. And that's all that should matter. Not where you are sitting when you write it.<BR/><BR/>More more more like this Qunfuz, and I'll be a very happy man!sasahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02342230868589612986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-3351261417837097812008-04-25T23:57:00.000-07:002008-04-25T23:57:00.000-07:00I forgot to mention my Syrian wife - a much better...I forgot to mention my Syrian wife - a much better claim to authenticity!qunfuzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07381648516025592849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-48910383758742488132008-04-25T23:52:00.000-07:002008-04-25T23:52:00.000-07:00Sasa has been kind enough to republish this post a...Sasa has been kind enough to republish this post at his http://www.saroujah.blogspot.com<BR/>Razan has left a comment there saying that I romanticise Syria in this post, which is true. Here's my response:<BR/><BR/>Sasa - Thanks for linking to my blog. It seems you've brought your readers with you. <BR/><BR/>I'm sorry that I've upset Razan. I see her point, but don't see why I've upset her so much. I wrote a post in January called "Visiting Syria" which gives a much more critical account of my recent visit to the country. Here, as others have pointed out, I've written something directed at foreign tourists (although my readers so far seem to be Syrians!). I was recently reading an article about Syria in the travel section of the Daily Telegraph (UK) which also romanticised the place. The article was followed by comments by Syrian expats complaining that the country was a dictatorship and so it was a crime to write nice things about it (so you see, Razan, there are different kinds of expats). I must say I disagree with this. 90% of the media coverage of Syria in the West (and the Arab world!) is negative. Nobody thinks Syria is prosperous or democratic. It isn't necessary to bang this home. But Westerners have no problem visiting Egypt or Israel on holiday, countries with problems as great or greater than Syria.<BR/><BR/>There is also the issue of writers not being duty-bound to follow a 'correct' line. You'll find on my blog that sometimes I attack Islamists and sometimes I defend them (not Wahhabi-nihilists); sometimes I praise Hamas and sometimes criticise the organisation, same with the Syrian regime, and so on.<BR/><BR/>As for authenticity, I don't claim any. I happen to have a Syrian father. I also pontificate about Iraq, Palestine, the US, Egypt, without having any 'authentic' ties to these places.qunfuzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07381648516025592849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-60770735971719783992008-04-24T18:54:00.000-07:002008-04-24T18:54:00.000-07:00I like this post... can't wait until I get there t...I like this post... can't wait until I get there this summer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-75944868228668443922008-04-24T03:54:00.000-07:002008-04-24T03:54:00.000-07:00God I miss home...apart from Abu Fares we are all ...God I miss home...apart from Abu Fares we are all expats, but that doesn't make us an iota less Syrian than someone who is living there. Home is where the heart is, hope to meet you all there one day<BR/><BR/>:)Maysaloonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06826378383173206624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-59481259955825405372008-04-24T03:31:00.000-07:002008-04-24T03:31:00.000-07:00A jewel is easy to find in a bag of pebbles. That'...A jewel is easy to find in a bag of pebbles. That's my first time here, it won't be my last, it's that easy.<BR/>Great writing Qunfuz.Abufareshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05528721595411746558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-5334868051661785402008-04-24T03:07:00.000-07:002008-04-24T03:07:00.000-07:00true.lovely written.true.<BR/><BR/>lovely written.مترجم سوريhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14891500987490712802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-73657917910148348662008-04-23T21:21:00.000-07:002008-04-23T21:21:00.000-07:00A wonderful piece, absolutely brilliant.This is th...A wonderful piece, absolutely brilliant.<BR/><BR/>This is the first time I come here. Thanx to sasa.<BR/><BR/><BR/>On a side note, Noam Chomsky is not coming. He was not approved on by a certain security apparatus.Yazanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01774113380444289294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-55503150120250791942008-04-23T18:05:00.000-07:002008-04-23T18:05:00.000-07:00Qunfuz,Agree with Sasa, this is brilliant.Qunfuz,<BR/><BR/>Agree with Sasa, this is brilliant.Rabi Tawil (AKA Abu Kareem)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01852076137303801731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33889889.post-7108502016877773042008-04-23T07:13:00.000-07:002008-04-23T07:13:00.000-07:00Beautiful beautiful beautiful. I have honestly nev...Beautiful beautiful beautiful. I have honestly never seen Sham written about so perfectly. Please get this published.<BR/><BR/>This paragraph was the one which won me:<BR/><BR/>"Damascus certainly deserves cultural capital status more than some cities that have held the title in previous years. After Beirut and Cairo, Damascus has the best bookshops in the Arab world. Syria has always boasted an impressive range of poets and musicians, and produces TV dramas which are of much higher quality than the Egyptian competition. Its taxi drivers can recite classical and contemporary poetry. Its pop singers sing Nizar Qabbani, the most influential and best loved modern Arab poet. Damascus is a city in which your host is likely to serenade you with his lute after dinner. And it is, as the tourism ministry likes to repeat, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world."<BR/><BR/>(And I particularly like the London reference!)sasahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02342230868589612986noreply@blogger.com