Culture and Heritage festival starts in Syria’s Ain Issa
AIN ISSA, Syria (North Press) – Tel Abyad Festival for Culture and Heritage was launched on Wednesday, in the town of Ain Issa north of Raqqa in northern Syria wiith teams from the cities of Raqqa and Kobani participating in the event.
The festival, organized by the Culture Board of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in the town of Ain Issa, continues for two days. It includes musical bands, poetry evenings, and folkloric dances.
A delegation from the AANES, residents of Kobani and IDPs from Tel Abyad participated in the festival.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of Syrian government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
The Culture and Heritage festival supervisor, Zozan Mahmoud, , and the theatrical festival supervisor Hussein Khani, both said that this festival is the third of its kind across the city of Tel Abyad. Residents used to celebrate it before Turkish state takes control of the city.
Mahmoud added to North Press that the aim of the festival is to restore and revive the culture and folklore of the people in the region. The culture that Turkey has tried to wipe out through its control of the city of Tel Abyad.
She pointed out that the festival contributes in protecting and reviving the region’s cultural heritage and increasing residents’ interdependence.
The opening performance of the festival included performances of the Bedouin Dance, songs from the “Fra” band, Raqqa and a band from Kobani Center, poetry evenings, along with performances of horses and camels in the festival square.