Damascus bids farewell to veteran writer Siham Tergeman
LONDON: The veteran Syrian writer and journalist Siham Tergeman died on July 26 at the age of 91, leaving a legacy of literary works for a nostalgic generation pining for the old courtyard houses and narrow alleyways of old Damascus, as well as a record for younger Syrians who do not know the history of the Old City.
Best known for her acclaimed literary memoir “Ya Mal Al-Sham,” (Daughter of Damascus) Tergeman was born in the Damascus’ Amarah neighborhood in what is known today as the Old City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Damascus University and began a career as a journalist and television presenter.
Tergeman’s other works include the novel “Jabal Al-Shaikh Fi Baiti” (Mount Hermon in My House), which serves as a detailed account of the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, and “Risalah Ila Attayar Al-Israeli Allathi Qatala Zawji” (A Letter to the Israeli Fighter Pilot Who Killed My Husband).
“‘Ya Mal Al-Sham’ holds a significant place in the history of Damascus literature, as it emerged in 1978, when many people had forgotten about the Old City,” Damascus-based historian and writer Sami Moubayed told Arab News.
“Old Damascus was a shadow of its former self,” he continued. “The state allocated very little of its budget to the Old City, and this was long before it was rediscovered by tourists, investors, and locals who came to frequent it in the 1990s after the mushrooming of restaurants, cafes, and boutique hotels.”
“Ya Mal Al-Sham” is an endearing book that captured many hearts, including those of people who had never inhabited the historic quarters of Damascus. It chronicles the smallest details of life in traditional Damascene homes, and became known as a literary gem that resonated with many Syrian families and takes readers on a heartwarming journey.
“Her book was not an academic study but what you can describe as a labor of love,” said Moubayed, a former visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center.
He added: “Siham spoke about the splendor and majesty of Damascus, about its ways of life and little secrets, passed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. It came from the heart, based on her memory and what she had heard from her parents and grandparents.”
Moubayed believes the book “did justice not only to Old Damascus, but to Damascene society as a whole and to new Damascus as well.” He noted that the residential parts of the ancient city had been “abandoned for a more-modern life in the new neighborhoods that emerged under the French Mandate starting in the early 1920s.”
Turkiye-based writer Marwah Morhly told Arab News: “Not only did Siham Tergeman create a literary mosaic of Damascus with all its charming details, but she was one of the first to witness the ancient city’s transformation when concrete buildings rose as intruders into its identity.”
She continued: “Tergeman, in her iconic book ‘Ya Mal El Sham,’ takes you on a journey to her Damascus, as she knew and loved it, and as she wanted everyone else to experience it.”
Tergeman’s ethnographic memoir was translated into English in 1994 by American anthropologist Andrea Rugh, but it remains primarily cherished by Damascene people, many of whom have read the book several times throughout their lives.
Former English teacher Bana K., who grew up in Abu Rummaneh, an upscale neighborhood that emerged in Damascus’ modern quarters in the 1960s, said that although she had read the book in both languages, the Arabic version from Tergeman’s pen “felt closer to my heart.”
She told Arab News: “I read this book four times, and every time I felt as though I was living Siham’s full experience — touching the white limestone of Damascene homes, breathing in the warm scent of coffee, and hearing the water gurgle and splash in the carved stone fountain.”
Several Syrian Facebook pages published tributes to Tergeman following her death, mourning yet another loss for Syrian culture and heritage, and sharing photos of the departed writer and quoting her celebrated memoir.
