Events & Festivals in Syria

Writers from Beirut, Cairo, and Tehran fill Fairground City with ink-stained fingers and mint tea. Panels on Arabic sci-fi develop beside stalls selling hand-pressed poetry chapbooks.

Every last Sunday, vendors spread faded kilims, brass coffee pots, and Ottoman-era coins on blue tarpaulins. The air smells of old paper and cedar mothballs.

Runners race along the Barada River past blooming jacarandas. Drummers on Martyrs' Bridge keep pace while spectators wave orange blossom branches that perfume the morning air.

Military parades roll past Sabaa Bahrat Square while red, white, and black flags flutter above crowds munching on pistachio-stuffed pastries handed out by cheerful volunteers.

After sunset, Old City alleys transform into lantern-lit bazaars selling apricot leather, tamarind juice, and sizzling qatayef. Storytellers recite ancient tales beside bubbling copper vats of lentil soup.

After dawn prayers at Umayyad Mosque, families stream into Marjeh Square where caramel-coated peanuts sizzle and children swing on horse-drawn carriages beneath strings of fairy lights.

Schoolchildren in pressed uniforms wave flags in Umayyad Square while brass bands play under fluttering confetti that tastes faintly of paper and rose water sprayed from passing cars.

In the Valley of the Christians, pickers at dawn fill burlap sacks with Damascus roses. Steam distilleries hiss, releasing clouds of sweet oil that cling to skin and hair all day.

Farmers wheel crimson crates into the Citadel courtyard for tastings of sour cherry juice, mahlab ice cream, and sticky jam cooked in copper cauldrons over open fires.

Sea breeze carries oud riffs across the Corniche as local indie bands share the stage with classical quartets. Salt spray mixes with the smell of grilled sardines from nearby food carts.

Candle-bearing faithful walk from Sayyidat al-Niyah Church to the Lady of the Valley shrine. Rosewater is sprinkled over the crowd, mixing with frankincense smoke that rises in thick coils.

Narrow wooden boats slice through green water beneath the groaning norias. Spectators line stone bridges, cheering as paddles flash silver in the sun and spray cools hot skin.

Projections flicker against the golden columns of the ancient colonnade while the desert wind carries the scent of cardamom coffee. Films span Syrian drama to Gulf sci-fi shorts.

Stone ramparts echo with saxophone riffs as the moon rises over the battered skyline. Between sets, spiced lentil soup warms hands while the cool night air smells of burnt wood.

Crates of green and black olives glisten beside presses oozing golden oil. Visitors dip warm flatbread into fresh batches while smoke from burning olive pits drifts across the orchard.

Old Damascus glows beneath thousands of colored bulbs laced above the narrow lanes of the Christian Quarter. Choirs sing in Aramaic while the scent of mulled wine and grilled chestnuts drifts from wooden stalls.