2008 Arab Capital of Culture
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The 2008 Arab Capital of Culture was chosen to be Damascus, Syria. The
Arab Capital of Culture The Arab Capital of Culture is an initiative taken by the Arab League under the UNESCO Cultural Capitals Program to promote and celebrate Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab region. Cultural capitals Map See also * * ...
is an initiative undertaken by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, under the ''Cultural Capitals Program'', to promote and celebrate
Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...
and encourage cooperation in the
Arab region The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
. The preparation for the festivity began in February 2007 with the establishing of the Administrative Committee for “Damascus Arab Capital of Culture" by a presidential decree.


Events

The festival's events included:


January

* ''Naseeb'', a musical concert by
Abed Azrie Abed Azrie or Abed Azrié ( ar, عابد عازرية) (born 1945 in Aleppo) is a French-Syrian singer and composer, who performs Classical music in a variety of languages, including Arabic, English, French, German, Spanish, and other. He describe ...
.


February

* ''Sah al-Nom'', a musical by the Lebanese legendary diva
Fairouz Nouhad Wadie' Haddad ( ar, نهاد وديع حداد, ; born November 21, 1934), known as Fairuz ( ar, فيروز, ; also spelled Fairouz, Feyrouz or Fayrouz), is a Lebanese singer. She is considered by many as one of the leading vocalists a ...
. * ''Doxbox: Festival of Documentary Film'', the first Documentary film festival in the middle east. * Opera of Carmen, by Georges Bizet. * An
oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...
concert by Anouar Brahem.


March

* A musical concert by the Orchestra of Mari. * ''Bahok'', a dance performance by Akram Khan. * ''House of Cinema'', a celebration of Arab cinema. * ''World Poetry Day'', a series of poetry workshops in celebration of the World Poetry Day.


April

* A musical concert by Italian opera orchestra
I Solisti Veneti I Solisti Veneti is an Italian chamber orchestra founded in Padua in 1959 by Claudio Scimone.Azm Palace Al-Azem Palace ( ar, قصر العظم) is a palace in Damascus, Syria, built in 1749. Located north of Al-Buzuriyah Souq in the Ancient City of Damascus, the palace was built in 1749 to be the private residence for As'ad Pasha al-Azem, the gove ...
.


June

* ''The Return of Ali Bey'', a street theatre and music performance about Ali Bey al-Abbasi. * ''Just Flamenco'', a
Flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
performance by Spanish bailora Isabel Bayon. * ''In Tribute to World Refugee Day'', a concert by Naseer Shamma.


July

* ''World Music Nights'', a series of concerts by groups from different parts of the world, with focus on ethnic music. The concerts included Dhafer Youssef,
Pink Martini Pink Martini is an American band that was founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members call it a little orchestra that crosses several styles, such as classical, latin, traditional pop, and jazz. The co-lead vo ...
,
Faudel Faudel Belloua ( ar, فُضيل بيلوى; born June 6, 1978) is a French raï singer and actor of Algerian descent. He released studio albums, notably '' Baïda'', '' Samra'', ''Un Autre Soleil'' and ''Mundial Corrida'' and the live album '' ...
,
Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist, some of whose work was in musicology focused on the music of indigenous South African people ...
, Angelique Kidjo, Lena Chamamyan and
Tinariwen Tinariwen ( Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's gu ...
. * ''Classical Music Nights'', a series of classical music concerts in tribute to Solhi al-Wadi. * ''The Falcon: Abdulrahman al-Dakhel'', a dance show by the Syrian dance group Inana about Abd ar-Rahman I, the first Umayyad Caliphate in Spain. *
Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...
performing at the Roman theatre of Bosra.


August

* A series of concerts by the Lebanese musician
Ziad Rahbani Ziad Rahbani ( ar, زياد الرحباني, born 1956) is a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He is the son of Fairouz, one of Lebanon and the Arab world's most famous singers, and Assi Rahbani, one of the fou ...
at the
Citadel of Damascus The Citadel of Damascus ( ar, قلعة دمشق, Qalʿat Dimašq) is a large medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria. It is part of the Ancient City of Damascus, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The loc ...
. It was the first time Rahbani performs in Syria. * The ''Festival of Oak of Mallajeh'', the 12th edition of this annual cultural festival was held under the patronage of Arab Capital of Culture festival.


September

* ''Spiritual Music Days'', a series of concerts by a number of traditional and spiritual musical groups. * ''Memory Club hosts Colette Khoury'', an event and talk by the Syrian writer.


October

* ''Zenobia'', an opera by Luca Antonio Predieri about the
Zenobia Septimia Zenobia ( Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city ...
, the Syrian queen of
Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...
. * A series of concerts by Lebanese artist
Julia Boutros Julia Boutros ( ar, جوليا بطرس; born April 1, 1968) is a Lebanese singer rose to prominence in the 1980s with a series of songs like "Ghabet Shams El Haq" and "Wein el Malayeen". She is also the sister of Ziad Boutros and the wife of t ...
at the Citadel of Damascus. * ''An Orient of Palaces: Claude Shaeffer and the Royal Palace of
Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...
'', an exhibition at the
National Museum of Damascus The National Museum of Damascus ( ar, الْمَتْحَفُ الْوَطَنِيُّ بِدِمَشْقَ) is a museum in the heart of Damascus, Syria. As the country's national museum as well as its largest, this museum covers the entire range ...
.


November

* ''World Ceramics: Masterpieces from the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
'', an exhibition. * Damascus International Film Festival, in its 16th edition was held under the patronage of the festival. * ''Contract'', a dance performance by the ''Myosotis Dance Theatre Group''.


December

* An adaption of ''
A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...
'' directed by Ghassan Massoud. * ''Aramel on the Bicycle'', a play by
Jawad al-Assadi Jawad al-Assadi is an Iraqi theater director, playwright, theater researcher and poet. Al-Assadi was born on January 12, 1947, in Karbala. While still a child, he moved with his parents to Baghdad. Here he went to the art academy until 1976. In th ...
. * ''And we also love life... a tribute to
Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish ( ar, محمود درويش, Maḥmūd Darwīsh, 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. He won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine ...
'', a series of concerts by Lebanese musician
Marcel Khalife Marcel Khalifé ( ar, مرسيل خليفة; born 10 June 1950 in Amchit) is a Palestinian- Lebanese musical composer, singer, and oud player. Biography In 1983, Paredon Records (later acquired by Smithsonian Folkways) released ''Promises ...
. The tour included in addition to Damascus concerts in the cities of Latakia, Homs and Aleppo.


References


External links


Official Website of Damascus Arab Capital of Culture 2008
{{Damascus Arab Capital Of Culture, 2008 Arab Capital of Culture Arab culture Events in Damascus Festivals in Syria 21st century in Damascus