Old Damascus opens its doors for evening of music http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=musicNews&storyID=2006-06-16T021503Z_01_L15595687_RTRIDST_0_MUSIC-SYRIA-DC.XML
Thu Jun 15, 2006
DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) - Syria opened its public buildings in the old city of Damascus on Thursday for a series of free musical concerts modeled after France's annual Fete de la Musique.
French fanfare funk band Le Gros Tube marched in front of the Umayyad Mosque, and Cuban duet Enrique and Yeni sang a tribute to Che Guevara at a bath house next to the tomb of Baibars, a 13th-century Mamluk ruler who defeated the Crusaders and the Mongols.
Other bands and singers, from classical music to jazz, performed elsewhere in the old city, a U.N. world heritage site steeped in culture and history.
Fete de La Musique, or the Festival of Music, is a French idea that started in the 1980s as a mass celebration of music. It is gradually spreading to other countries, including Syria, which was under French occupation for more than two decades until 1946.
"Fete de la Musique is the best export of France, and it's great to see Damascus embrace it without regard to politics," said French engineer Jacques Montlucon.
The festival has been held before in Syria, but this year was the first in which public buildings were opened up.
France will hold its annual music festival next week, but the concerts in Damascus were staged early to take place over the weekend, when most Syrians go out.
Reuters/VNU
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