Assala After Her Concert in Damascus: “I Am a Product of Egypt’s Upbringing and Culture”

Al-Taj News – After an absence of 15 years, Syrian singer Assala Nasri, known for her positions opposing the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad, held a concert last Thursday attended by thousands of her fans at Al-Fayhaa Sports Hall in Damascus.

Assala expressed her indescribable joy at returning to her homeland, stressing that the success of the concert was made possible through the efforts of a large group of her fans and supporters, led by her husband and brother.

She also said during a phone interview with media personality Amr Adeeb on the “Al-Hekaya” program, broadcast on MBC Egypt on Saturday evening: “I am of Egyptian upbringing and made in Egypt. May God preserve Egypt and all the Egyptian people.” She stressed that “she lived in Egypt as if it were her own country, Syria.”

She also thanked Bahrain for granting her citizenship.

Thousands of “Sola’s” fans swayed to her songs on Thursday night, singing along to lyrics and melodies they had memorized and loved, while tears overcame a number of attendees. Assala performed songs from her new album, “The Syrian Album,” which includes 14 songs from local heritage associated with several Syrian governorates, in addition to a song in Kurdish.

The project brought back musical styles and dialects from Damascus, Aleppo, Hauran, As-Suwayda, the coast, the Jazira, the Badia, and other Syrian regions, in a work Assala described as a celebration of the country’s cultural and social diversity.

The album has acquired particular symbolic significance in a country that is still attempting to overcome divisions left by years of conflict.