Syria is a PR disaster thanks to some of the world’s worst foreign policy. Years of meddling and aggressive action has landed it a permanent spot on the rogue nation list. Among other things it has contributed to the continuing decline of its neighbour, Lebanon, through occupation and later with assassinations and sabotage. Syria has also embarked on numerous poorly organized and ultimately unsuccessful military campaigns against another neighbour, Israel. It hypocritically carries out a proxy war against Israel through Hezbollah, an organization that it would never allow to flourish as a political force within its own borders. Plus it has almost undeniably been involved in the international black market for uranium production with such bright lights as North Korea. The list goes on and on…

Domestically, however, it’s another story. Yes, it’s still a dictatorship with little room for organized dissent. But Syria is no Cuba: people can do as they please provided they don’t threaten the Ba’ath, and compared to the majority of its neighbours the country is a model for religious and ethnic tolerance. Don’t believe me? Think for a second about Jordan and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and then go talk to a Syrian Palestinian about their better life there. Head over to Lebanon and see the inter-community violence that doesn’t exist a few dozen kilometres down the road in Syria. Check-out women’s rights in Iran and Saudi Arabia and then see scarf-free girls chatting with friends, both men and women, at Damascus cafés.. in public.

Yes, Syria is quite poor and its incredible ability to make enemies and spend so much on the military isn’t helping that, but in general people are doing ok. It is probably the safest place I’ve ever visited and people are noticeably more relaxed, friendly and open than those I’ve met in surrounding countries. While everyone is talking about rising food and oil prices, they’re certainly not alone in that complaint.. and all in all pretty much everyone we met seemed largely content, if not disappointed that their country has such a bad rep. There is none of that feeling of tension or misery that I’ve encountered in so many other, supposedly democratic and non-rogue states.

I’m not defending despotism here, but I am trying to shatter the common belief amongst Westerners that Syria must be a horrible place to live. It’s not. In fact, if I was a student again and studying Arabic I’d happily spend a year there studying.. as many others do. It’s a favourite destination for Arab tourists and, increasingly, bus loads of Italians, Germans and French pensioner adventure-seekers.

When I left Damascus to visit Beirut for a few days I was reminded of the first time I visited Abidjan from Dakar. Abidjan, with its skyscrapers, nice roads and fancy boutiques stands in marked contrast to dusty, poor Dakar, especially the Dakar I first knew six years ago. But underneath all the glitz there was a horrible tension, pure racism in some cases, that spoilt Abidjan for me forever. I couldn’t live there.. and I feel the same about Beirut. For all its gleam and fun and, quite frankly, more sophisticated feel, I’d take Damascus over Beirut any day.

Anyway, I’ve said enough. Go see for yourself and let me know if you disagree. On to some Syrian music..

It was hard at first to find good contemporary Syrian music. As one guy in Hamaa put it, “I won’t tell you because I know you won’t like it.” He went on to say that Syrians are very emotional so the music they like tends to be overly romantic and.. cheesy. (He later told me that his favourite musician was Avril Lavigne.) Another guy in a market in Aleppo told me that his favourite Canadian musician was K.D. Lang because he liked the fact that she was “kind of butch, you know.” Most people inevitably spoke of Egyptian pop stars, plus the ubiquitous Celine Dion and Phil Collins.

Things changed when we arrived in Damascus. Record stores are much more prevalent there and concert posters on the walls of the old city imply the existence of a music scene, however small. There’s even a local distribution network called Majal, a division of Lebanon’s Incognito, that promotes local musicians and sells unpirated copies of their albums in stores around the city.

I left Syria just a few days before the latest round of Majal albums were to arrive at the record stores, but I still picked up a few that I hadn’t seen before. We’ll start with some music from a Majal sampler, The new oriental sounds from Syria. It was released by Incognito in 2007 to promote the “alternative Arabic music scene” in Syria.

The first track is by Hewar, a Syrian jazz project co-founded by the talented clarinetist, Kinan Azmeh. You can find it on his 2006 full-length, 9 Days of Solitude. Hewar, by the way, means “dialogue”.

Next a lovely Syrian classical track by Dima Orsho and Gaswan Zerikly. It reminds me a lot of Dawn Upshaw’s White Moon.

More tomorrow.. when we must also discuss the wonders of Syrian food.

Hewar – Wedding
Gaswan Zerikly – Ma Ihtiyali