3/16/2005

Beit Baroudi

This is where Fakhri Al-Baroudi lived. His house, which is one of the most beautiful in Al-Qanawat neighborhood, is currently being renovated by students of the Damascus University Faculty of Architecture. Al-Baroudi (1887-1966), as well as being a journalist, a politician and an army officer, was known in Syria as the "leader of youth" because he supported and sponsored many youth groups, including boy scouts and several musical bands. He is the author of the famous patriotic song "Bilad Al-'Ourb Awatani" (The Land of Arabs is My Homeland). Today, unfortunately, the words he wrote sound more like a bad joke:

The land of Arabs is my homeland
From Damascus to Baghdad
And from Najd to Yemen
To Egypt and Tatwan*

For no border separates us
And no religion divides us.
Our mother tongue unites us
With Ghassan and Adnan**

* Tatwan is a city in Morocco. ** Ghassan and Adnan are names of ancient Arab tribes. Click here to download the song and here to read the lyrics in Arabic.

7 comments:

x said...

I clearly remeber this song. I think it was part of our curriculum at some point

Anonymous said...

It really is so sad...in today's current situation the this song could not be further from the truth.

Anonymous said...

It really is so sad...in today's current situation this song could not be further from the truth.

Anonymous said...

I love your picyures...I like to be able to just see Syria's streets like if am there! Thanks! It is a shame how old dirty and ready to fall all the beautiful eastern bildings are in Damascus. When I am in this city I feel like I m getting o air, all the new buildings are ugly and look the same...Even offices for doctors or lawyers are int the same gray brown ugly buildings that look like rectangular boxes. The governement should save Damascus appeareance by buildins as many eastern arabic beautiful buildings as possible..And the rich pepole should build their huge villas in eastern stile..

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see the results of the renovation. Ayman, please can you post some photos of the inside of the house when its finished?

Anonymous 4:26, You raised a very interesting question. If you think about it, our grandfathers's houses were mansions. why don't the rich build their villas in traditional style? then maybe we could have a modern traditional suburb.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful house :)
I think it's a great initiative by the students to renovate this house.
I too would love to see how it ends up like when they're done.

As for the song, I remember it from school too. We learned it by heart and I think some students would sing it every year at the end of the school year ceremony.

It's sad that a song with such a great meaning as this no longer has a place in the split arab world of today. A big shame.

Anonymous said...

I am proued to say I knew the man in person ,he was a vived man and still is a vived part of damscus history .