HIBAPRESS
The night that witnessed the Al-Faihaa Hall in the heart of Damascus, stretching the hours of the night until it reached the magic of dawn, was not just a musical concert falling under the agenda of artistic events; rather, it was the embodiment of a historic moment and a pivotal emotional milestone that thousands of Syrians eagerly awaited.
In this first appearance of the singer Assala Nasri on the land of her homeland after a forced absence of nearly fifteen years, public emotions converged with official celebration that crowned her career with a tribute befitting her artistic stature on both the Syrian and Arab stages.
Under the hashtag "The Return of Assala," Syrian state television broadcast the concert's events live, allowing her soulful performances to reach every Syrian and Arab home. The singer chose to inaugurate this symbolic return with the song "Syria is Paradise"—whose lyrics were penned by Batool Zeidan and Yara Ahmed, and its melody composed by Ali Hassoun—to serve as an introduction filled with longing and loyalty, before ascending on her artistic journey through two musical sets, each lasting approximately two hours, moving between the masterpieces of her archive that have accompanied the memory of generations.
In a moment of exceptional confession where emotion overflowed, Assala addressed her audience in a sincere tone, close to a gentle amazement, expressing her astonishment at the reality of standing once again among her people, a dream she had clung to throughout the years of absence, wishing that this meeting would mark the beginning of a new phase where all Syrians move towards "healing."
She affirmed that the paths of recovery, although their trajectories may vary and differ among people, remain incomplete without the enthusiasm of art and the sublimity of music, and the elevation of their value in restoring the human spirit.
