Lyrical activities embody the heritage of Raqqa
Raqqa – North-Press Agency
Ahmad Al-Hassan
A singing artistic event “Heritage activities” was held at the archaeological site of Heraqla 7km west of the city of Raqqa on Monday, in order to introduce the heritage and the monuments of the city.
The event which was organized by “Raqqa Heritage Revival” band of the Culture and Antiquities Committee of Raqqa Civil Council, includes six “heritage episodes”, which are held in the archaeological sites in the city of Raqqa to link the heritage with the city’s monuments.
The head of “Raqqa Heritage Revival” band, Abdul Ghafoor al-Khalaf told North-Press that the aim of the event is to “give a glimpse of the city’s heritage and its ancient and historical roots into the world”.
“The archaeological sites have been adopted as a place for these events because of the relevance of the people of Raqqa to their history”, al-Khalaf added.
Al-Khalaf pointed out that the Islamic State (ISIS) fought the art and artists, noting that after the liberation, “Raqqa Heritage Band” was formed.
He also pointed out that the band was named in this name to follow the former Raqqa Heritage Band of the Cultural Center in Raqqa before the start of the Syrian crisis, which dates back to the year of 1969.
In turn, Malak al-Yateem who is a member of the band, explained that his aim in participating in this event is to revive the heritage of the city, saying: “During the days of ISIS rule over Raqqa, art disappeared, but after the liberation, it has returned, so I was the first to join this event to convey a message to the world about the special art of my city”.
Regarding the selection of the archaeological sites as a place for the event, Yasser al-Muhrab who is the head of the Office of Antiquities and Museums in Raqqa Civil Council said: “The archaeological sites have been chosen as a place to hold these events because of the links of the heritage with the monuments of the city, they are two parts which cannot be separated from each other”, noting that “the city of Raqqa is the richest Syrian city regarding the archaeological sites”.
Al-Muhrab added that “the band has held several events in the sites of Qaser al-Banat and Bab Baghdad in addition to the site of Heraqla”, noting that coordination is being done for holding similar events in the castle of Jaaber and Tal al-Ramad during the upcoming period.
“Raqqa Heritage Revival” band began its first traditional episode on the 1st of this month at Bab Baghdad and the archaeological site of Qaser al-Banat, and will be held every Thursday in an archaeological site in Raqqa, the event will run until the 15th of the next month.