SILK ROAD FESTIVAL (SYRIA),
September
The Silk Road Festival highlights the historical importance of several
Syrian cities as the former centers of the ancient world. The festival is
roaming, and takes place in Palmyra, Damascus, and Aleppo. Each city
is center stage of the festival for three days, where visitors may see art
exhibitions, musical performances and other activities relating to the
ancient silk trade. The Silk Road’s art exhibitions showcase Syria’s rich
artistic history while simultaneously incorporating some contemporary
pieces, highlighting both modern and ancient Syria. The festival’s of-
ferings also include sporting events and competitions, enabling visitors
to truly get a taste of Syrian culture.
FREIKAH FESTIVAL (FREIKAH, LEBANON),
ART
September
The Freikah Festival takes place in the secluded town of Freikah near
Mount Lebanon—a true hideaway. The festival itself is inside a former
COMES
(and two hundred year old) silk factory, and is hosted by Freikah’s
School of Theatre. While the festival had been prominent within
Lebanon before the Civil War, the war had led to the cancellation of the
festival until now. The Freikah Film Festival fi nally returned after over
ALIVE
30 years of dormancy, and provides an excellent setting for the exhibi-
tion of Lebanese cinema, theatre, and visual arts. Freikah’s School of
Theatre is home to many of Lebanon’s young artistic visionaries, and
their talent shines through during the Freikah Festival; works by stu-
dents blend modern and traditional style (with a general emphasis on
the modern), highlighting Lebanon’s extremely diverse culture.
BAALBECK INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
(LEBANON),
July-August
The Baalbeck International Festival is back again, celebrating the en-
during importance of arts in a dramatic setting—the ancient Roman
ruins of Baalbeck are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Over 40,000
people attend the festival each summer, which shows the festival’s pow-
erful draw—who could blame them, when acts such as Ella Fitzgerald
have performed at Baalbeck in the past. Notable French singer Johnny
Halliday is performing at this year’s festival, in addition to jazz pianist
Ahmad Jamal and violinist Fabio Biondi. The 40,000 attendees arrive
from all across the world, and the global draw refl ects the quality of the
festival; musical acts at Baalbeck are hard to beat. Of special note is
the usual performance by the Royal Ballet with Nureyev and Fonteyn,
which delivers as the best ballet act in the region.
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