People who love to hear the sound of music is now forced to hear the blows of the cannon, and the whirring of bullets as Syria is now hit by a war that have devastating effects on all people. I belong to a family that love to hear music as Aleppo where I lived, is said to be the place where every home has at least one musical instrument, and from this fact you can understand the harmony that was present in Aleppo.
All the destruction that is happening in Syria would definitely affect the musical traditions. For every country, traditions do have a value as assets. All the assets of Syria have been destroyed by the indignation and violence. Aleppo is my home, but I left it almost a year back. Whenever there is an attack or shelling in Syria, I always rush to the phone and try to contact my loved one, my children, and my mother to ensure that they are fine.
I was unable to attend the wedding of my son because I failed to get to my country. My son told me that he had to keep the music so loud that they could not hear the sound of gunfire. I belong to a family that has always loved music, like my grandfather who has always been a keen listener of music. Omar Al-Batsh and Sabri Moudallal are those singers that are immensely popular to this day.
Syria is one of those places in which music is not limited to men only. A woman in Syria is equally encouraged to love music in families like my grandfather who forced all of his seven daughters to learn music. I was writing a novel “A State of Passion” which was about “Banat Ishreh” who are women that have an intense relationship with other women, and at the gatherings this kind of women sing a song for a woman sitting right to her. These kinds of songs are called “Ataba” which means Songs of lament.
This kind of songs is so immensely popular in Aleppo that men – in Aleppo – never bothered by the fact that their women were known as “Banat Ishreh”. The example that I have quoted is sufficient to explain how popular “Banat Ishreh” are, but as time passed there is a change in traditions and Banat Ishreh are largely withdrawn from the lives of the Syrian people. Now, women don’t have gatherings in which they can sing songs.
I do have a chance to meet two of Banat Ishreh. After I got an appointment, I went to their place where both women lived, and I found the traditional Arab culture in this house, where they lived. After meeting these women, I realized that there are lots of people who are following the Syrian culture.
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