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As the tragic events in Syria continue for the 8th month and innocent blood continues to be spilled daily,

all we can do is to call for a return to sanity and for everyone to understand that this is a war with 23 million losers and no winners. The tragic events continue to cast a dark and sad atmosphere that has all but stopped most social and cultural activities in the country leaving us with very few events to cover, that is why we have been focusing more lately on our interviews, features, fashion and lifestyle sections. As always, we have managed to score an exclusive interview with a big-name star to tell us about his or her latest blockbuster and shed the light on some parts of his/her life that used to be unknown for the fans. Our guest for this issue is no other than the charming Evan Rachel Wood, the picture of whom is also featured as our cover story. Evan has starred with Georg Clooney in his latest master piece The Ides of March. The Features section has an interesting article about the rising gold prices and how they are affecting the local traditions in Syria, where gold used to be at the heart of the marriage and proposal rituals. Another article in the same section tackles the overlooked event of CPOD Day, or the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day, it is an important international day that is dedicated to raise the awareness regarding CPOD which is a very common and costly yet anonymous disease. Our female readers will surely love our Lifestyle and Fashion sections. The Lifestyle section has a very cool 7 pages long article about the Top Womens watches for 2011. Not only does the article have a cool and attractive list of watches but it also sheds the light on some of the unknown facts about womens watches. While our Fashion section has a very informative feature about the Fashion Icons Over the Decades, a must-read for all fashion fans and lovers. Our Lifestyle section is also rich with 2 more articles; one tackles the hot issue of Porn Addiction with its symptoms and treatment methods, while the other one gives some very useful tips on what to say and what not to say on you first date. Finally, technology lovers will be amazed by our technology section for this issue which has 2 widely-awaited articles, one that discusses the hot issue of whether you should upgrade from your iPhone 4 to the new iPhone 4s, and another article which has a complete review of one of the most awaited devices of the year: the miraculous Samsung Galaxy Note. All the sections that you love: Culture, Events, Film & TV, Heritage, etc. They are all here, and better than they have ever been. Remember that our upcoming issue will be released on December the 15th, and that we are always ready to receive your valuable feedbacks, suggestions and contributions to:

November - December 2011 Issue No. 79


Published by UNIteD GroUP under decree no:1597 by Syrian government on 3 APR 2005 DamascUs Huda Building - 5 Iskandaria St. East Mazzeh P.O.Box: 1999. tel: +963 11 2060. fax: +963 11 6129401 alePPo tel: +963 21 2000. fax: +963 21 264 1488. UG coUNtry maGazINes maNaGer Carole Bechara commUNIcatIoN maNaGer Haidara Suleiman maNaGING eDItor Basel Aal Bannoud basel.bannoud@awicompany.com eDItorIal coorDINator Reem Zakhour DesIGN maNaGer Alaa Abdullah ProDUctIoN maNaGer Feras Kaissy PHotoGraPHy Principle Photographer Qusai Al Jarrah www.whatsonsyria.com sales maNaGer Wisam Al-Nader sales coorDINator Masa Sidawi sales team Zeid Al Ajlani - Asaad Ebish FINaNce Gihan Abbas Ahmad Mashnoq Abdulqader Asmar reserVatIoN Ayham Ibrahim

basel.bannoud@awicompany.com
Enjoy. Basel

vvv

Features Fashion
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Fashion icons over decades.
Puss in Boots will star Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots and Salma Hayek as Kitty, Puss love interest. Swords will cross and hearts will be broken in this adventure starring one of the most beloved characters of the Shrek universe - Puss In Boots. Its a swashbuckling ride through Pusss early years as he teams with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs....
Director: Chris Miller Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Zach Galianakis.

CONTENTS

Culture 20
22 24

The Other: SAAD YAGANs New Creational Step.

Syrian Traditions Change Gold Prices Rise. World COPD Day 2011: Are You Short of Breath?

Society
26 28 29 30 32
Halloween Night to Aid Children with Cancer. Celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Guinea. Singing Concert by Marwan Mahfouz. Ibn-Alhaytham(HZM) Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd Honors Gynecologists. Celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Mali.

Technology
33 38
Samsung Galaxy Note: A New Breed of Smartphones. iPhone 4S Over iPhone 4 Should We Upgrade or Not?

48 50 52 54

Lifestyle
Movies
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

Four First Date Conversation Rules. Porn Addiction. How to Choose the Perfect Womens Time Piece. The Must Have Ladies Watches for 2011.

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Editor Letter

Interview

08 15 18

Evan Rachel Wood: Do What Makes You Happy, No Matter What?

Heritage & Travel


Sayyida Zainab Shrine Reborn. Rose Water: A Unique and Ancient Syrian Industry.

Created by: Khaldoun Qaddoura

Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson. Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Paul Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault, the wildly attractive Connecticut-born ance of Sanderson. Sanderson is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmens nancial benet, or use them to take the bastards down..
Director: Bruce Robinson Stars: Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart.

The newfound married bliss of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is cut short when a series of betrayals and misfortunes threatens to destroy their world. After their wedding, Bella and Edward travel to Rio de Janeiro for their honeymoon, where they nally consummate their marriage . Bella soon discovers she is pregnant, and during a nearly fatal childbirth, Edward nally fullls her wish to become immortal. But the arrival of their remarkable daughter, Renesmee, sets in motion a perilous chain of events that pits the Cullens and their allies against the Volturi, the fearsome council of vampire leaders, setting the stage for an all-out battle. Director: Bill Condon

Film & TV
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Whats On Movies.

64 Guide

23 26 November. Damascus Arab Tourism Bourse Travel & Tourism Fair Venue: Damascus International Fairground ATB (Arab Tourism Bourse) Travel & Tourism Fair aims at introducing the variety of the Syrian touristic climate and develops the environment of tourism in the region in order to attract as much visitors and tourists as they can to visit the outstanding features of our country. 26 28 November. Damascus Cosmetic Expo Venue: Damascus International Fairground Cosmetic Expo 2011 is going to be a highprofile event showing the most ambitious opportunities in Syria. It is going to be one of the biggest, most comprehensive exhibitions in cosmetic field. The is the sixth edition of the event. Venue: Damascus International Fairground, Damascus, Dimashq, Syria 29 October 30 November. Damascus The Other Exhibition by Saad Yagan Art House Gallery, Mazzeh Jabal; 011 662 8112 30 October- 29 December. Damascus Art Exhibition by Azad Hemee Kamel Gallery, East Mazzeh; 011 611 2965 12 November 31 December. Damascus Art Exhibition by Hilda Hiary entitled Impulses Ayyam Gallery, Western Mazzeh ; 011 613 1088 14 November- 17 December. Damascus Collective Art Exhibition: Syrian Artists Kozah Gallery, Midhat Pacha; 011 541 0900 20 November- 31 December. Damascus Collective Art Exhibition: Autumn Leaves Free Hand Gallery, Jisr Al Abyad; 011 334 7211 15 November. Damascus Developing Womens Skills Lecture by Faten Al-Laham Arab Cultural Centre, Adawi; 011 442 02670 At 6:00 pm 15, 16 and 29November. Damascus Literary and Poetry Evenings Arab Cultural Centre, Mazzeh; 011 661 0678 At 6:00 pm 16 and 23 November. Damascus Literary Critic Evening Arab Cultural Centre, Adawi; 011 442 02670 At 6:00 pm 21 November. Damascus Poetry and Music By Nafas cultural group Arab Cultural Centre, Kafer Souseh; 011 213 8727 At 7:00 pm 29 November. Damascus Zuqaqyate Dimashqya Suad Jarrous (Writer), Ruaida Jarrah (Teller) Arab Cultural Centre, Abu Rummaneh; 011 334 9376 At 6:00 pm

17 November. Damascus The Syrian National Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Missak Baghboudarian In cooperation with the High Institute of Music Dar Al Assad Opera Theatre, Umayyad Square; 011 245 6144 At 8:00 pm 20 November. Damascus Omniart Trio from Italy Massimo Barrale (violin), Ruggiero Mascellino (Accordion), Ferdinando Caruso (Double-Bass) Dar Al Assad Opera Theatre, Umayyad Square; 011 245 6144 At 8:00 pm 22 November. Damascus Classical Music Ali Moraly (violin) and Chaden Al-Yafi (piano) Dar Al Assad Opera Theatre, Umayyad Square; 011 245 6144 At 8:00 pm 24 November. Damascus Oriental Music Arab Cultural Centre, Mazzeh; 011 661 0678 At 6:00 pm 27 November. Damascus Shami Dervishes Group On the occasion of the Hijri New Year Dar Al Assad Opera Theatre, Umayyad Square; 011 245 6144 At 8:00 pm 29 November. Damascus Baroque Music Evgeny Avramenko (harpsichord), Ksenia Avramenko (flute), Mikhail Serov (violin), and Ghyas Zeidieh (cello) Dar Al Assad Opera Theatre, Umayyad Square; 011 245 6144 At 8:00 pm

Interview

Evan Rachel Wood

Oh, Really!! No I am a fan! Why did you think that?

Hi Evan, Thank you for chatting with us. We gather that you are not a fan of Interviews.

Oh! On stage, yeah, I was shy; Im not used to presenting a film alone, usually I join the whole cast, but in one-onone interviews Im OK.

Because we saw you in a lot of serious roles, but after The Ides of March movie premiere in Abu Dhabi Film Festival, we saw a shy young Evan on the stage! In front of 400 peoples!

Very, Its one of the main advantages of my job, to travel and see the world. I havent seen that much of Abu Dhabi because I was working, but hopefully Ill be able to see some more before I leave.

I think its the first time you hit the Middle East, were you exited for this trip?

Incredible, the architecture is amazing, there are as many different buildings styles here as much as there are different nationalities of people. In most of the countries that I visited before people around you are all very similar, here, however, you see people from all countries and cultures.

What was your first impression of Abu Dhabi?

Words by: Khaldoun Qaddoura Photographed by: Jihad Adnan

Its weird, actually although I played shy characters in different movies. Im not shy when I play a character; Im not shy on stage or in front of the camera! But Im playing a character that makes me giggle, which is a little bit weird.

You did a lot of different roles. How did you create these characters?

The person who discovered me was the producer David Geffen, he brought me to join the movie Interview with the Vampire when I was 5 and Tom Cruise was there, he went to my mother and told her that You need to bring your kid to LA, she has got something, and my mom was like Thanks, thanks, but he was like No! Really! He felt that he needs to do something about it, and it worked, I moved to LA and started working.

You were borne a star; you joined the film industry in 1994 when you were only 5 years old. You have played 35 roles up to this moment in several series and movies. Who discovered you and who brought you into this career? How did you make it?

George is wonderful, he really is. He is smart, funny, grateful, and hes making the film he wanted to make, hes one of the biggest film stars in the world, yet he still takes chances, and does the parts he really believes in, thats inspiring.

Lately, Youve played roles in two big hits, The Wrestler with Darren Aronofsky, and The Ides of March which, I believe, will become another hit. How was it to work with George Clooney?

Such a young & beautiful actress, modest and funny, All people around her laugh & smile when she does, she laughed a lot after each question & answer. Shes spreading love and happiness to everyone and asking nothing in return. She loves the challenge in her roles, and always succeeds in choosing & playing them. This includes her latest role in George Clooneys The Ides of March which has been screened in the 5th Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Evan was there, and we were lucky to have this exclusive chat with her.

Ryan is amazing, we had a lot of fun working together, I think we are both similar somehow, and we have similar styles in the way we act. He was always trying to challenge me in my film knowledge, because I have this crazy memory when it comes to movies quotes, so he was always throwing quotes at me to humiliate me, but I dont think that he has ever managed to do so.

We loved watching you & Ryan Gosling together. Any funny stories happened between you two during shooting The Ides of March?

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Interview

Evan Rachel Wood Who knows? It will be wonderful & amazing, Im really proud of the work I did, and proud of the movie The Ides of March in general, so it will be great.

I think it was up to her whether she did it on purpose or not, George and I talked about it, and we wanted to believe that it was an accident. But she shouldnt be in that position in the first place, I think she was in a terrible position and under great stress and was alone, I think that was the main problem, she had nowhere to go. So, it was tragic, she was one of the few honest people in the film.

When I saw Mollys smile in the first chapter of The Ides of March, I saw a confident happy woman, I didnt expect what happened to her at the end! Why did she do that?

I dont know; there is nothing in the horizon yet, it may, hopefully, be a comedy.

What will be your next hit?

You are, now?

I will be, hopefully.

I believe you will be considered in many awards this year, including The Oscars, what do you think of that?

Ive been offered to do so, but it never seemed right. Im such a control freak when it comes to my music and singing, so the timing was not right, and I wanted to take a break from acting and really focus on that to do it right. I havent found the right time yet, but Im getting there.

Back to 2007, you preformed a number on the stage regarding your movie Across the Universe, your voice was amazing by the way, why didnt you try the music industry and produce some albums like a lot of young actresses do?

I love fashion, I love Dolce & Gabbana, but I hate shopping and I dont know why!

Lets move a little to your personal life, how do you describe your relationship with fashion?

I eat anything I want, I hate Junk food, but like a lot people I got to eat it, and my favorite dish is Macaroni with cheese.

Are you a diet person? What do you like to eat? Whats your favorite dish?

Happiness, are you happy?


Yes.

Love?

Every actor loves to play different roles, and waits for the opportunity to do something that he has never done before in his life. I love to do something that is fun and interesting or crazy, even. My favorite role is probably the one in Across the Universe, it has been the most fun I had so far, you just cant top that. I spent a year in NEWYORK singing The Beatles with director Julie Taymor, it was unforgettable.

What roles do you usually like to play? And whats the favorite role you already did?

Love is all you need, love is everything, I think that you are either in fear or in love, and I prefer to be in love.

I think they should be like themselves. They should always listen to their voices and follow their hearts and instincts, do what makes them happy, no matter what. Be who you want to be.

What is your message to the Middle Eastern young actresses who want to be like you?

I Am.

Are you?

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Interview

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magazine

Sayyida Zainab Shrine Reborn

he surroundin g in the village run-down buildings contr of Rawia, abou ast either out of t 10 km south ed vividly with the interior curiosity or to of Damascu of Sayyida pay of Husain (son of the Caliph tribute to Sayyida Zaina s. Like us, travellers have Zainabs Shrine, located the Prophet of /Imam Ali ib n Abi Talib), b, granddaughter of the P come for centuries to this Islam. ro who is revere d as a member phet Muhammad and th site e si of the bayt, th e hallowed fa ster mily of
From a sordid world of poverty we moved into a universe of opulence. Gold, silver and crystal decorations engulfed the entire mausoleum. I had visited this tomb a number of times in the past years, and had thought of it as just another holy site. However, this time it had become a gem of religious architecture. Two new minarets, newly covered with exquisite blue tiles upon which are inscribed the 99 attributes of God, towered skyward. The vast goldleafed dome and doors emitted an aura of eminence.

November - December 2011 Issue No 79

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heritage & travel Inside the shrine, every inch of wall was covered with delicate glazed tiles, made strikingly beautiful by Arabic script. The words of a workman who a few years ago had told me, Come back in a few years when this shrine will become a fitting resting place for Sayyida Zainab, had become a reality. Sayyida Zainab or Sitt Zainab, as she is more commonly known, was one of the prisoners brought back to Damascus after her brother, Husain, was defeated and killed by the Umayyads at Karbala in 680 A.D. However, her ensuing life becomes somewhat confused. Today, three different spots are claimed to house her tomb. Most believe that her true mausoleum is on the outskirts of Damascus. Others claim that she was freed and returned to the city of Medina where she died. A number of historians write that she subsequently left that city to live in Egypt where one of her shrines is to be found. On the other hand, some assert that her rightful burial place is in Sanjar, northern Iraq, where her third shrine is located. Of all these places Damascus is the most likely spot where she died and was entombed. Many of al-Husains companions, brought back to the Umayyad capital after he was killed, are interred in the Damascus cemetery of Bab al-Saghir. Medina is the only other logical burial place since most of the prisoners taken at Karbala were freed and a number returned to that city. However, there is no tomb for Sayyida Zainab in Medina and to be entombed in Egypt or Iraq seems to be rather far-fetched. The first documented evidence that her grave existed in Damascus is from 815 A.D. by Nafsa, wife of Ishaq al-Mutamin - the son of Jafar alSadiq, the latter being the final of the 12 Imams in Shia Islam. Through the centuries, other writers and historians have mentioned this mausoleum as Sayyida Zainabs resting place. Among these were the famous 13th century travellers Ibn Jubair and the 14th century Ibn Battutah. For hundreds of years the shrine was a modest religious site until 1955 when the structure was almost completely rebuilt. The total area of the mausoleum is 15,000 sq m (17,940 sq yd) and it can accommodate up to 5,000 people. Attached to it is a well staffed clinic which serves the medical needs of visitors and a cemetery where pious pilgrims from a number of Islamic countries are buried. In addition, within the vicinity, there is a slaughterhouse where meat is purchased by the devotees and donated to the poor. Means for the upkeep of the shrine and its annexes is generated by income from properties of waqf, donated through the ages by religiously dedicated men and women. The time I first visited the shrine in the early l960s, it was an ordinary religious building consisting of a large courtyard rimmed by lodging places for pilgrims. In the centre was Sayyida Zainabs crypt set in a chain-like cage made from pure silver and topped by crystal chandeliers. Inside was a tomb of ebony decorated with mosaics of ivory and gold strings intertwined with Quranic verses and topped with a gold crown. This time when I entered, it appeared to have exploded into a magnificent structure. Unlike in the past when additions and renovations took place in a haphazard fashion, the new expansion had been done according to plan. In 1988, blueprints were drawn up for renovations and enlargement of the shrine by al-Sayyid Ridha Murtada - a renowned engineer whose family has been the custodian of the shrine for hundreds of years. Besides the two new 54 m (177 ft) high tileencased minarets, the courtyard has been enlarged. The floor has been paved with marble and the walls are totally covered with ceramic tiles, mirrors, and arabesque ornamentations.

Sayyida Zainab Shrine Reborn The committee for supervising the al-Sayyida Zainab project has a number of plans for the future of the shrine. Among these are: building of parks around the shrine; further decoration of the sanctuary; and cooperating in the construction of two deluxe hotels with restaurants, shops and other hotel amenities some of which are already completed. Within the premises of the shrine, there is a plan to have a centre for information and research. It will specialise in the Prophets family: collecting books, manuscripts and periodicals relating to the descendants of the Prophet. The mausoleum with these future projects will make Sayyida Zainab a jewel in the heart of Rawia - in 1940 a village of 250 inhabitants that has grown into a town of 200,000. There is no doubt that the 1,000,000 yearly pilgrims who journey to this holy site will, in the future, live in comfort when visiting Sayyida Zainabs shrine. When they return to their homes and spread word of this masterpiece of Islamic architecture, many more will come to pay tribute to the Prophets granddaughter and at the same time relax in comfortable hotels attached to what has become Syrias most magnificent shrine.

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heritage & travel

Rose Water

Roses form a very important plant species to the locals because they are the main ingredient to the old industry of extracting rose water, an industry that has always been one of the main sources of income for hundreds of rural families.

The ancient and once-flourishing industry of rose syrup has dramatically declined during the last decades due to the fierce competition of cheaper artificial products. Rose syrup industry, also, is suffering from ever-increasing costs after the extinction of many wide rose species as each kilogram of wild roses is costing up to 150 Syrian pounds (USD 3.5).

Housewife Om Yaser, who is a professional maker of rose water, gave us some details about the details of her work: There are many stages for producing rose water. First we clean the petals, then we put them on a thin piece of cloth fastened on top of a deep metal bowl, after that, we put another metal bowl filled with embers on the petals until they become dry. At the end we remove the cloth cover from the deep metal bowl and put the distilled water in a sealed bottle. She pointed out that the remaining dry petals were used as a fragrance by rural women who used to put plates of dry petals inside washed clothes before wearing them. They, also, used roses to produce different types of desserts. Director of Idleb Agriculture Department Dr. Ziad Mulandi said that wild roses are one of the most important species, they have many types with different uses, they blossom between the end of March and the beginning of May.

A Unique and Ancient Syrian Industry

T
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he northern Syrian Governorate of Idleb is famous for its roses and flowers which cover large expanses of bushes and grasslands during the spring endowing the area with a rare mixture of charm and beauty. The city of Idleb and its countryside produce huge amounts of rose water (syrup) and different types of jam that are famous for their medical value.

It is known that wild roses has many medical benefits, they are used for treating respiratory and bowel diseases, while rose jam is used for treating burns, headache and eye infections.

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culture

The Other SAAD YAGANs New Creational Step The artist painted the ancient caf of Aleppo with all its components: people, chairs, tables and walls. He depends on his talent to reveal the ability and the power of the body of the human being: man and woman as well. He paints the details of the body of the human being in different conditions to refer to the various human emotions and the different attitudes of people towards life and existence. We see dreamy faces side by side with sad ones, a group of people hugging each others in different conditions as if the viewer was watching a theatrical show. Even the chairs of the caf are essential parts of this show. The attached bodies, the linked chairs and tables in addition to the other components of the caf are joined together to present a theatrical show accompanied with music played by the colors to attract the attention of the watcher and astonish him. Once again, this distinguished artist reveals his skill in the usage of colors. He uses the hot colors, especially red, and at the same time he uses the relation between the shadow and color. Using the colors of red, black, light and dark blue, all side by side in the same painting and among all the paintings he seems as a musical composer who plays his concert on colors. Each painting seems as a scene from a complete play: the stage is the caf, the actors and actresses are the human bodies and faces and the music is the colors and its harmony. The artist Yagan is one of the pioneers of the Syrian plastic art movement in Syria who has his private style and vision. He was born and lived in Aleppo where he studied at the institute of plastic arts and graduated from it in the year 1964. He held many solo exhibitions and participated in many collective ones in Syria and abroad. He prepared and presented few programs on TV about the plastic art in Syria since the year 1996. He gained many local and international awards for his works.

The artist in this exhibition continues to develop his rich artistic experience. He develops the main aspect of his plastic experience which is the variety in themes and subjects. This is the main line of all his art works since his first exhibition in the year 1965. He used not to limit himself to a theme or to direct his talent in any single direction. Variety was, and is still, the prominent feature of his paintings. The environment of Aleppo, his home city, is the wide source of the subjects of his paintings in this exhibition. This time he focuses on the ancient narrow alleys of Aleppo, the theatre and the old cafes. Doing so, he does not present the environment as a place or a rigid subject but as a lively surrounding with all its people, objects and colors.

Words By: Murhaf Zino

The other is the title of the art exhibition of Syrian plastic artist Saad Yagan which kicked off on the 30th of October at Art House Gallery, Mazzeh Jabal, Damascus. The exhibition will last until 22nd November the current.

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features

Syrian Traditions Change Gold Prices Rise

kyrocketing gold prices and low household income have hit Syrias jewellery industry and the gold market, as the price of gold soars to 2017.32 Syrian Liras per gram. These prices have crippled both retailers and potential buyers.

Syrian Traditions Change S Gold Prices Rise


Marriage in Syria is unaffordable due to the endless list of demands, yet now it is almost an impossible dream for every Syrian because of the expensive price of gold, says Wael, 28, a government employee. As yet, Wael has not found his other half. Should it happen one day, he says he will not dare to ask her parents for her hand in marriage. Why?
magazine

Depending on where you come from in Syria, a marriage cant happen without a decent share of gold for the bride, he explains. If my future fianc agreed to Russian gold, Artificial Gold, her parents wouldnt accept to give her to a man like me who cant afford to buy her a simple gold ring. The generation of Syrians now hoping to tie the knot will face tough times. In addition to low income and the rising cost of living, Syrias youth must still deal with the expenses of tradition. A traditional wedding is accented with gold; lots of gold. Hassan and Susan Najem are newlywed couple. However, Hassan, recently employed by a private chemical company, could not afford to buy his bride a golden ring. Few can afford the cost of a wedding in Syria. Luckily, this story has a happy ending and love proved to be stronger than tradition. He explains how he managed to pull off their wedding day: Susan had borrowed gold pieces from her relatives and she had to wear them in front of the guests for a few hours. She was forced to deceive others to salvage the pride of her prestigious family. Susan told <Whats On> that her experiences stem from a culture still obsessed by the precious metal: I have no problem at all having a wedding without wearing gold jewellery, she continues. My parents were reluctant to agree to the idea of having a wedding without jewellery. I had to lie to all the guests and wear the borrowed gold jewellery to rescue my parents dignity and avoid any social stigma. Bassem al-Nasser, 62, owns a gold shop filled with shining necklaces, earrings and bracelets in Souq al-Harika in Damascus.

Speaking with Whats On, he said that the last five years have been some of the worst in his career because of a lack of Syrians shopping for gold. Syrians are buying just one set of gold for weddings these days instead of two or three like in the past, he explains, The sets are now much lighter in weight than before, and it is very rare now that people buy gold for special occasions like before. As the price of gold has soared, people have felt the pinch across the world. Syrian gold producers have told <Whats On> that the current atmosphere doesnt encourage them to

Gold is not seen as a luxury product in Syria but rather as an integral part of the culture. The rise and fall of its price is, therefore, able to trigger changes in social attitude. This time the changes could never have been imagined before. According to Adnan Attaya, a silver jewellery producer, the production and sale of silver in Syria is booming. Silver is becoming a very popular metal in Syria, he explains. Syrians are switching to silver as a cheaper, alternative to gold. George Sargi, the head of the Blacksmith Syndicate in Damascus, told us that the Syrian market is witnessing a shift in the demand for gold. Sargi attributed the shift to the global financial crisis and the uncertainty of golds future in the world. Gold prices have surged in Syria since the beginning of the financial crisis in America, yet the local market is suffering from low demand, as Syrians are finding new channels to invest in, instead of putting all of their savings into a few bracelets and earrings. Sargi says that the uncertainty of the price of gold means that Syrian producers are reluctant to buy or make gold. Prices could crash unexpectedly, resulting in massive losses for anyone who has invested in the metal Buying gold is now like buying risky shares, he adds. The prices can soar to the moon and you can become rich overnight, but it could also go so low that you may suffer a heart attack.

Cultural Value

pass the profession on to their children. Levon produces and designs golden jewellery. The profession has been passed on to him by his family. Now, however, Levon seriously considers changing his profession due to the above mentioned reasons. Syrias gold market, from Aleppo to Bosra, is experiencing this downturn as a result of the high prices. My neighbor who sells falafel now makes more money than I do, he complains. Potential buyers can afford the current prices, yet people are gambling on gold prices going south in the future. Therefore, they are not buying right now.

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features

World COPD Day 2011

Are You Short of Breath?


W
hether you are a smoker or not, you are probably familiar with the health warning messages written on cigarette or tobacco packets in general such as: Smoking is a leading cause of lung cancer, lung diseases and of heart and arterial diseases. While cancer is the most widely known smoking-related illness, you may be unaware of the myriad other dangers. Lesser known, they are still potentially just as dangerous.

The main cause of this disease is the longterm exposure to lung irritants that damage the lungs airways. This makes tobacco smoking the primary cause of COPD. It is believed that smoking accounts for as much as 90 percent of the risk. Second hand smoke is also a major contributor to the development of the disease. Other secondary causes of the disease include air pollution and the inhalation of chemical fumes or dust from the environment. A genetic rare deficiency that is a known cause of COPD is called Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT). This disorder does however account for a very small percentage of COPD cases.

The causes of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Severe symptoms may include: Having difficulty breathing or talking. Bluish or grayish coloration of lips or fingernails because of a decrease in oxygen levels in blood. Lacking mental alertness. Having fast heartbeats.

Nutritional tips for the prevention and alleviation of COPD complications

COPD can be diagnosed by a spirometry test which measures how deeply a person can breathe and how fast air can move into and out of the lungs. Diagnosis may be also deduced by the physician from the symptoms that one has and by an examination for wheezing using a stethoscope.

Diagnosis

Maintain a healthy body weight: being overweight makes it harder for the heart and lungs to breathe. A lower than recommended body weight will also increase your susceptibility to infection. Drink plenty of fluids: drinking fluids, especially water, helps to keep the mucus thin. This in turn makes it easier for your body to cough it up or render it less irritating. Avoid overeating: overeating makes your stomach become bloated which then makes breathing more labored. Reduce sodium intake: add salt in moderation and avoid foods with high sodium concentrations such as canned foods and other processed foods. Sodium causes your body to retain fluids which can make breathing more difficult. Eat fiber-rich foods: fibers help in digestion which contributes to your overall health and facilitates breathing by preventing bloating. Foods high in fiber include vegetables, legumes, whole grains cereals, rice or pasta and fresh fruits.

World COPD Day

World COPD Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) to improve awareness and care of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) around the world. World COPD Day 2011 will take place on November 16 around the theme Are you short of breath? You may have COPD! Ask your doctor about a simple breathing test called spirometry. To mark the occasion of the World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Day on November 16, we would like to shed some light on the seriousness of COPD and share with you some insights about it and some nutritional tips that may alleviate its symptoms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates in 2007, 210 million people are affected with the disease at present. COPD is currently the

fourth leading cause of death worldwide and is predicted to become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. Statistics gathered by the Syrian Ministry of Health in 2005 show that COPD is already the third leading cause of death in Syria after cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumors.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease mainly refers to the co-existence of chronic

An overview of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

bronchitis and emphysema, which are diseases of the lung. They limit lung airflow that subsequently leads to chronic shortness of breath. Chronic bronchitis is the condition in which the lining of the airways is constantly irritated and inflamed. This causes the lining to thicken and therefore mucus forms and causes breathing difficulty. Meanwhile, emphysema also obstructs the airflow by damaging the walls of the lung air sacs, leading to fewer and larger air sacs. Eventually the amount of gas exchange in the lung is reduced.

Some of the primary symptoms of COPD include: Shortness of breath, especially when exercising Smokers cough or an ongoing cough that produces large amounts of mucus. A wheezing sound when breathing. Chest tightness. With the progression of the disease symptoms tend to gradually worsen over time and become more severe.

The signs and symptoms

The most effective step towards COPD treatment is to quit smoking. While essentially other medical treatments can only ever alleviate symptoms, they can still slow the progress of the disease and increase the patients ability to lead an active life. Unfortunately, a complete cure for COPD is as yet unavailable You can minimize the risk of COPD by not smoking and by avoiding lung irritants, secondhand smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes and dust.

Treatment and Prevention

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) organizes the World COPD Day event annually on November 17 in an attempt to spread awareness and care of COPD around the world. The 2010 theme of the world COPD Day is 2010- The Year of the Lung: Measure your lung health Ask your doctor about a simple breathing test called spirometry.

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Halloween Night to Aid Children with Cancer

Children
with Cancer

Night to Aid

With skeletons hanging from the ceiling, spiders perched on the walls and the usual array of spookily-themed treats, the venue was decked in convincing character. Miniature vampires, witches and fairies were soon drifting around the hall as the younger guests appeared. There were even a couple of bees buzzing around.

Children
with Cancer

Night to Aid

Halloween fund raising evening was held by the Basma Association at the Dedemen Hotel on October 30, marking this haunted date in style while contributing to a very worthwhile cause.
The Basma Association, a charity which supports children with cancer, always seeks to allow children to participate in their events and Halloween was the perfect opportunity to put this mantra into practice. As always, the Basma Association hoped to raise a nonspecified sum in aid of their activities as well as improve on their previous successes. Transforming an abundant reserve of childrens energy into something productive and always striving to put on new and original events, the Halloween night was a great success.

To keep these ghoulish guests amused the Association provided an activity-filled night, with clowns, break-dancer and a DJ. People were also more than happy to contribute a little extra to the good cause by having their picture taking for a fee.

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Celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Guinea Date: 3\10\2011 Place: Consulate of Guinea
On the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Guinea, Mr. Hassan Jawad, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Guinea in Damascus held a reception at the Consulate. The reception was attended by a number of Arab and Foreign ambassadors and diplomats, businessmen and figures of Syrian society.

Singing Concert by Marwan Mahfouz Date: 5\10\2011 Place: Azem Palace


Under the patronage of Minister of Culture, Dr. Riyad Esmat, Directorate of Theatres and Music organized a singing concert for the Lebanese singer Marwan Mahfouz at Azem Palace, attendance spent a great time.

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society

Ibn-Alhaytham(HZM) Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd Honors Gynecologists Date: 10 \10\2011 Place: Barada Club
Under the slogan With You We Learned the Value of Success Ibn-Alhaytham(HZM) Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd Company held a reception to honor gynecologists with the presence of President of Medical Association, Dr. Yousef Asaad and a large number of doctors.

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Celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Mali Date: 22\9\2011 Place: Consulate of Mali
On the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Mali, Ms. Amal Ghazi, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Mali in Damascus held a reception at the Consulate. The reception was attended by a number of Arab and Foreign ambassadors and diplomats, businessmen and figures of Syrian society.

They used to be big, later they became redundant. As soon as smartphones were ready to offer the same features, PDAs were on the way to becoming extinct. With a device like the Samsung Galaxy Note though, one cant help but wonder if theyre making a comeback. Its got a big touchscreen for reading and entering text, with a stylus for jotting down notes and sketches, with powerful hardware that beats most phones in processing power and features. Sounds like a new-age PDA to us. The screen is part of the new HD SuperAMOLED line and boasts the impressive 1280x800 pixel resolution. It uses a PenTile matrix, but with 285ppi you cant really tell. Stretching over a whopping 5.3 inches, it makes browsing those web pages an almost tablet-like experience. The Samsung Galaxy Note shares the Exynos chipset with some of its Galaxy siblings, but its the one with the 1.4GHz dual-core CPUs. Weve already had a look at its performance and we can say its blazing fast.

Samsung Galaxy Note at a glance


Form factor: phone/tablet crossbreed Dimensions: 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm Weight: 178g Display: 16M-color 5.3 Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WXGA resolution (1280 x 800 pixels) OS: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, TouchWiz UI Chipset: 1.4 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, 1GB of RAM, Exynos chipset Camera: 8 MP autofocus camera, 1080p video recording, LED flash, 2 MP front-facing camera Memory: 16/32 GB internal memory, expandable via a microSD card slot Connectivity: quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and quad-band (850/900/1900/2100 MHz) UMTS with 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi direct, Assisted GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB connector Battery: 2,500mAh Misc: S Pen, Gyro sensor, accelerometer sensor for auto rotation, ambient light sensor, Adobe Flash Player 10.3 support, DivX/XviD support, TV-out (adapter required), optional GLONASS, optional NFC.

The Samsung Galaxy Note packs the same camera as the Galaxy S II, giving you 8MP stills and FullHD video recording. If the image quality is on par, the Note should easily beat its tablet competitors in the photography department. One important area is portability - Samsung

have made the device as small as possible (theres hardly any bezel around the screen) but 5.3 is pretty big. Figuring how to carry the Galaxy Note around will be a challenge, but if you find a way you can leave your phone at home - the Note has top of the line droid specs and full phone functionality too.

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title of the article

Design and display


The Samsung Galaxy Note has a 5.3 SuperAMOLED screen of WXGA (1280x800) resolution. Thats 16:10 aspect ratio, which is close enough to the HD aspect (16:9) to fit videos just right but its a bit wider, which comes in use when browsing the web. SuperAMOLED offers great contrast (theoretically infinite), saturated, lively colors and 180-degree viewing angles. Its not a <Plus> model, which means it uses PenTile (2 subpixels instead of 3 per each pixel). But the very high pixel density - 285ppi - puts pixels so near the edge of human vision that you have to stare closely to barely make out the PenTile grid. For comparison, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 display has 196ppi, the Galaxy S II has 217ppi, HTC Sensation XE - 256ppi and the iPhone 4 offers 326ppi.

The rest of the body


The Samsung Galaxy Note uses portrait orientation by default and packs practically the same set of controls as the Galaxy S II. This is a Gingerbread device, not Honeycomb like the Tab 7.7, so thats no surprise. Above the screen you have the proximity and ambient light sensors, along with the 2MP front-facing camera. On the other side of the screen is the hardware Home button plus the capacitive Menu and Back keys on its side. Theres an earpiece on top and a mouthpiece at the bottom, so you can use the Galaxy Note as a phone. Holding it with one hand is not particularly comfortable but well get back to that in a minute. At the bottom, next to the mouthpiece is the standard microUSB port (hooray!), which leaves a quadruple life - its a data and charging port, TV out port too (via MHL) and supports USB On-The-Go. The bottom is also where the S Pen lives, thats what Samsung calls the active stylus of the Galaxy Note. On top of the device, theres just the 3.5mm audio jack and another microphone. We complete our hardware inspection at the back where we find the 8MP 1080pvideo-capturing camera accompanied by an LED flash. The back also houses the single loudspeaker of the Galaxy Note. We have the usual complaint here: the camera lens is not protected from scratches and fingerprint smudges and the loudspeaker gets muffled when you place the Note on a level surface. But most manufacturers seem to ignore such issues more often than not. The back cover is made of finely textured plastic (very similar to that of the Galaxy S II), which is nice to the touch and great at hiding fingerprints. You can see the back of the Note compared to the back of the Galaxy S II and how the two stack up size-wise. Popping the back cover open reveals the 2,500 mAh battery. Samsung are mum on the battery time. Also here is the SIM compartment, next to the microSD card slot, neither of which are hot-swappable as theyre blocked by the battery. How Samsung could put the microSD card slot there on such a huge device is beyond us. They have more than enough room to put the slot in a more convenient location. The Galaxy Note is a monster compared to regular phones - but then again, its not exactly a phone. Its thin (9.7mm), light (you wouldnt guess it weighs 178g) and the rounded edges help ergonomics. But still, one handed use is a problem - your thumb most likely cant reach every point on the screen (certainly not comfortably) and unless you have big hands, you cant easily wrap your fingers around the Note to hold it without fear of dropping. Two-hand thumb typing is absolutely spot on, however. Pocketability is an issue too - you can certainly slip in into your pocket (the thin frame helps a lot here), but a lot of people wont find that solution acceptable. Still, most coat pockets or purses will find enough room for the Galaxy Note, which is worth having around with all that screen real-estate.

You can see the PenTile matrix of the Galaxy Note, but its pixels are closer in size to those of the iPhone 4 than those of the Galaxy S II so the grid look typical of PenTile is practically invisible on the Notes screen. Plus, users will typically hold the bigger screen farther from their eyes, which increases the perceived pixel density further. We mentioned that the theoretical contrast is infinite - thats because black pixels are completely switched off (that is, they give off zero light). In practice, reflections limit that to a finite number, but its usually several thousands, well above any display that uses a backlight. Samsung have gone through a lot of effort to make their SuperAMOLED technology as nonreflective as possible and theyve done a pretty good job of it.

King-size interface
The Samsung Galaxy Note runs Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with TouchWiz on top. Unsurprisingly, the interface looks a lot like that of the Galaxy S II only bigger. The always-visible shortcuts at the bottom of the screen are now five (instead of four) and the main menu grid has been expanded to fit a 5x5 grid of icons (vs. 4x4 in the S II). It all makes sense: the extra space was there and they used it. Other than that, the experience is the same as the phone-based TouchWiz. We wont cover it in detail in this preview. We>ll take a look at the S Pen related apps instead.

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title of the article

S Planner and S Memo


The regular TouchWiz Calendar gave way to the S Planner. It looks and behaves a lot like the vanilla app, but with some adjustments to accommodate the stylus and some general usability improvements. The days of the month fit nicely on the huge screen and they are very easy to hit with the stylus. This will highlight the date and youll see all events for that day in the scrollable area below. The squares for each day are big enough to fit the first word of the title of up to two events. Subsequent events show up as +1, +2, etc. showing up in the upper right corner of the square. When adding an event, you have three options: Quick add (just a quick text note), Add event (which lets you add anything from reminders and memo to photos and locations) and Add task, which handles your To-Do list (you can assign each task a priority, due date, group and so on). The S Planner can seamlessly sync with multiple calendars. The S Memo is very similar to the Memo app were used to seeing in TouchWiz. The difference is that S Memo has extensive support for scribbling down notes and quick sketches using the S Pen. The app opens upon an empty canvas (with a square grid like notepaper) and lets you draw with the S Pen, enter text with the keyboard, add images (which can be scaled for fit) and voice notes . You can choose between a pen, a brush, a pencil and a marker, each of which leaves a slightly different mark. You can adjust the thickness and the color. Other tools that might come in handy are the eraser, Undo and Redo buttons a Lock button to prevent accidental edits and the Favorite button to mark important notes.

Browser is a near tablet- like experience


The two key determining factors for browsing are screen size and resolution and the Samsung Galaxy Note excels at both - with a screen like that, it will put in a lot of hours of web browsing. The UI follows the minimalist ethos of the vanilla Android browser but it has been slightly tweaked to make better use of the screen. The URL bar at the top of the screen is flanked by the Back/Forward buttons on one side and the Tab and Bookmarks buttons on the other. Inside the URL bar itself are the RSS and Refresh buttons. It sounds like its going to get cramped with all these buttons, but theyre all big and easy to hit. The Menu key reveals more options and also makes the URL bar visible (it auto-hides once you start panning around the page). The Samsung Galaxy Note browser renders pages problem-free and its very fast - panning, scrolling, zooming are very smooth. In landscape mode, most pages fit the screen at 100%. 1280 pixels wide is about the size most web designs aim for. Of course, that makes text rather small, but you can always rely on text reflow, which reformats paragraphs of text to fit the screen better. One option we particularly liked is the dedicated screen brightness setting to use in the browser. Thats independent from from the main setting but lets you toggle automatic brightness too. For example, you can keep the general brightness low to save battery but have the browser brightness at high for comfortable viewing. We also tried out Flash and it was smooth sailing all the way. 1080p YouTube videos played smoothly, but youd probably be using 720p most of the time since it fits pixel per pixel on the screen (with a black bar above and below since the Galaxy Notes screen is taller than 720p). Games also ran fine, so touch-optimized Flash games give you an alternative to games from the Market.

Text input - handwriting or QWERTY


With the Samsung Galaxy Note you have two options for text entry the on-screen QWERTY and the handwriting recognition keyboard. If your hands are bigger, you can do the same in landscape. Either way, youre left with plenty of room for the text and the keys are big and very easy to hit. For speedy text input, this might be the fastest option available on the Note. The other option on the Galaxy Note is handwriting recognition using the S Pen. Theres a pen icon on the QWERTY keyboard so you can quickly toggle that mode and the first time you start it, youll be presented with the Gesture guide. In some apps (e.g. the SMS composer) you can just start writing away on the text area. The word suggestions bellow will help you out at first while you get the hang of it. Other apps (like S Memo) present you with a dedicated writing area at the bottom half of the screen. The standard method, QWERTY, is probably our favorite. The Galaxy Note is sized exactly right for holding it with two hands in portrait orientation and typing with both thumbs. Theres actually a third option - Swype - which comes preinstalled with the Samsung Galaxy Note. If youre used to Swype, theres a chance youll be even faster on the big screen. You can enable Swype in the Settings.

First impressions
We have to say our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy Note are very positive. If you can get over the hurdle of figuring out how to carry the device comfortably, youre in for excellent performance, screen and camera. We imagine both business types and power geeks will be interested in the Note and it has something to offer both groups. The easy note taking will appeal more to the suit and tie crowd. The blazing fast Exynos chipset will let power users enjoy every Android app, game and Flash site under the sun. The hardware is pretty great too, we would have enjoyed some metal on the body, but were not sure we want to lose the feeling of lightness either. As powerful as the Samsung Galaxy Note is, and as good a screen it has, it cant compete with the screen real estate of a big tablet. And its not that much more pocketable than a 7 tablet either. Its still the kind of gadget that captures peoples imagination. Its worth keeping an eye on. Perhaps not a device you think youll need. But one youre going to want.

Top- notch 8MP camera with FullHD video capture


Its no surprise that the Samsung Galaxy Note uses the same camera interface as the Galaxy S II it probably uses the same camera module too. The interface is one of the most comfortable ones weve seen - the left column can be customized with your choice of shortcuts, while the right column holds the essentials (still/video switch, shutter key and preview of the last snapped photo). The Galaxy Note features a pretty full set of options - face, smile and blink detection, image stabilization, geo-tagging, scenes and more. As for the image quality, its very similar to that of the Galaxy S II but the software could use a bit more tuning (the Galaxy Note were testing isnt a final retail unit). Still, noise levels are kept low and the amount of captured detail is very good. The videos captured with the Galaxy Note are equally impressive. The FullHD videos are shot at a bitrate of 17Mbps and that keeps a lot of fine detail in the shot, while providing smooth 30 frames per second. Same goes for the 720p videos. The Note however retains some of the issues of the Galaxy S II. 1080p videos have much narrower field of view compared to 720p ones and theres the autofocus, which annoyingly hunts front and back in the first second of video (instead of doing it before it starts recording).

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iPhone 4S Over iPhone 4 Should We Upgrade or Not?

lot of people are wondering which iPhone is the right one for them - both people looking to upgrade their own one and people who are just joining the Apple phone party. How much more do you get with the 4S, over the iPhone 4? If youre wondering just that, were here to help by putting the two head to head. Reasons to stay with iPhone 4
Same design Same screen too, both in terms of size and resolution The amount of RAM is the same Siri doesnt work too well for people outside the US Youll manage to snap more photos and longer videos and avoid 1080p playback problems. This isnt an in-depth review of the iPhone 4S. This isnt an in-depth review of the iPhone 4S. Here, we focus on the differences between the 4S and the iPhone 4. Its for people who are pondering an upgrade from the 4 to the 4S and for people who have an iPhone 4 and are considering whether or not to wait for the iPhone 5. Its for people buying their first iPhone too (get the cheaper iPhone 4 or the newer 4S?). We know most people who will be getting the iPhone 4S are current iPhone users, so a straight forward review would be no good for them. This is why were focusing on the differences between it and the iPhone 4, rather than describing details they are well familiar with, which wouldnt be very helpful with the upgrade or not question.

Apple seems to have adopted a Tick-Tock strategy. The 3GS improved on the 3G, but wasnt a completely new design, that came with the iPhone 4. And now the iPhone 4S improves on the previous model, again without being a complete redesign. Its a strategy that works, the previous generation of iPhone well proved that. But are the changes enough to justify an upgrade? Some people were underwhelmed when they heard theres no iPhone 5, while others cheered when they saw Siri and the beefier hardware. Heres the short list of changes that say Yes, its worth it! and also a few things that could potentially discourage you from upgrading to the iPhone 4S:

Reasons to buy iPhone 4S

Dual-core processor and 7x more powerful GPU Siri natural language commands and dictation engine 8MP camera with improved low-light performance and capture speed 1080p video capture with stabilization GSM/CDMA dual-mode device No more death grip thanks to dual antenna design 64GB option Power-efficient Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity

Lets start with the hardware - not a lot of changes at first glance, but there are still very important hardware changes. Well be looking at the camera too, the performance and Siri. Apple decided to go with the same screen as the previous iPhone - which is to say, one of the best screens on the market. The one thing that could have improved it was if Apple bumped up the size, a move that many expected (even hoped for) but didnt come. On the up side, the iPhone experience remains unchanged - in how the UI and apps look, how it fits in your hand and pocket, the compatibility with most accessories. Speaking of which, we know of one accessory that is no longer needed - the bumper (you can still use one, but for purely aesthetic reasons). Apple learned its lesson from the iPhone 4 and while the iPhone 4S looks practically the same, it features two antennas to combat the death grip issue. Note that were not talking about one GSM and one CDMA antenna - yes, the 4S is a dual-mode device that supports both networks, but it features two separate antennas that are connected to both radios. The phone can intelligently switch between the two antennas as needed (even in the middle of a call), so if one antenna is blocked, the other takes over. This means no death grip, no matter how you hold the iPhone 4.

The hardware

This will improve reception in areas of spotty coverage, where even the slightest sign of death grip can push reception below the threshold needed to make a call. Whether it will improve reception while not holding the phone at all is another question that will take a while to answer - but user reports have been positive for now. Incompatibilities with accessories stem from the slightly offset mute button. Now the CDMA iPhone 4 has had this design change from day one, so if you are on Verizon US, your bumpers will probably fit quite all. Clever antenna design aside, the internals of the iPhone 4S were updated too. The Apple A5 chipset features a dual-core processor with PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics that promise a 7x increase in rendering power. Its basically the same setup found in the iPad 2. Well be testing performance later on. One thing that didnt change from the iPhone 4 is the amount of RAM - its 512MB again. We havent seen iOS having any RAM issues, so we dont think this will be a big deal. The dual-core CPU launches apps tangibly faster, though its not that big of an improvement. .

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technology The battery in the iPhone 4S has virtually the same capacity as the one in the iPhone 4, save for a few mAh. Were working on a battery test, but that will take a while to complete. The iPhone 4S camera comes with a wider f/2.4 lens aperture, which will let more light in for its 8MP camera. The sensor design has changed too, both of which should offer improved low-light performance. Two last changes - the iPhone 4S is available in white from the get go and there is a 64GB version. We dont think Apple will ever let a memory card get inside their iPhones, but 64GB is about the maximum most phones can offer, even with rare (and pricy) 64GB microSDXC cards. But they do charge a premium for that sort of storage. You should keep in mind that Siri loses a good deal of its usability outside the US as it cant search for nearby points of interests and businesses. It also supports a limited number of languages and if you think your English will cut it, you may be wrong as Siri is very bad with accents. Heres the bad news for iPhone 4 owners Siri is not for you, just for the new iPhone 4S. Now, Apple says the service is in beta, so theres a chance that Siri will come to the iPhone 4 with an update somewhere down the line. But thats not a given and even if it does happen, youll have to wait for it. If you want the futuristic convenience that Siri offers now, youll need an iPhone 4S. Well, not quite. You can grab a free third party solution (e.g. Vlingo), which covers some of the same functionality and run it on your iPhone 4. Such solutions are not nearly as extensive or as flexible as Siri is, but do give them a try to see if they can be used as a stopgap measure. The dual-core CPU in the Apple A5 chipset a speeds up the general operation of the iPhone somewhat, but not as much as Apple would have you believe. Very often, the iPhone 4 is neck and neck with its successor. Of course, there are other software advancements besides Siri, plus services like iCloud, that launch with iOS 5. They arent exclusive to the iPhone 4S however. AE lock - basically, once the phone finds the appropriate focus and exposition settings, they are locked for the entire duration of the video. Its an iOS 5 thing, however, and not an iPhone 4S exclusive. Thats not all - the faster processor in the iPhone 4S has allowed Apple to enable realtime stabilization.

iPhone 4S Over iPhone 4 Should We Upgrade or Not?

To upgrade or not - our advice

As youve undoubtedly heard (and seen) Siri, the personal digital assistant that lives in the iPhone 4S, is really amazing. It listens to your spoken questions and answers back in its own voice. Its very flexible and you can ask it for information (weather, stocks, points of interest, you name it) and also ask it to perform tasks for you - set an alarm, add a calendar entry, compose a message, put down a note.

Software: hi, Siri

So, the new camera module with a higherres sensor, thats more sensitive to light and the improved optics let more light in. This should hopefully result in improved overall performance both in good and low lighting conditions, despite the increase in megapixels. Thanks to the bigger aperture, the iPhone 4S uses a lower ISO in the dark and its photos have considerably less noise. Theres less noise in iPhone 4S photos, despite the increased resolution (usually more resolution means more noise too). You gain a great deal of more detail with the 4S and its dynamic range is wider, so the objects in the shadow come out looking much better. Also, the iPhone 4 seems to exaggerate colors, where the 4S is much more accurate.

Still camera: iPhone 4 vs. iPhone 4S

The answer is that very often thats just the case. In browsing, it leaves all other smartphones in the dust. Theres the occasional tablet that can come close but thats it. In 3D gaming, it breezes past top-end Androids. According to the Geekbench suite, the iPhone 4S outperforms the iPhone 4 by a pretty wide margin. When it comes to multithreaded tests, the 4S does actually perform twice as good. Moving on to 3D performance, when you compare the 4S with smartphones rather than tablets, its scary fast - the Samsung Galaxy S II has one of the most powerful GPUs in the Android world and its quite a bit behind the 4S. The iPhone 4 just cant compete - Apple delivered the 7x improvement in graphics they promised. The browser is another area where the iPhone 4S excels. Results for both raw JavaScript performance (SunSpider) and the JavaScript + HTML performance (BrowserMark) are through the roof, with Android dual-cores lagging behind. Well chalk that up to Apples software genius, as the CPU alone cant account for the performance gap were seeing.

Benchmarks: is it twice as fast?

People who are upgrading from an iPhone 3GS or earlier or dont have an iPhone at all but want one should skip over the iPhone 4 and go straight for the 4S. The $100 youll save are not worth it in the long run. But what if you have an iPhone 4 in your pocket right now? Well, if that was your primary camera so far then getting the iPhone 4S is a worthy upgrade. As long as youre fine with using twice as much memory for the same number of photos and videos you shot before since you cant switch to a lower resolution. Some computers might choke on the FullHD video too, which is another potential headache. Siri is cool, we saw that for ourselves. But its usefulness is greatly diminished outside the US due to two things - it refuses to search for businesses outside the US and very few languages are supported. Your English needs to be spot on too, accents dont go very well with Siri. Still, for US citizens Siri is all sorts of cool (if youre not shy about talking to your phone that is). One more thing that can make the upgrade a no-brainer is if youve been having reception issues with the iPhone 4 - there will be none of that with the 4S. So, heres the final verdict - iPhone owners in the US will have to make a few concessions (not many, really) but getting the iPhone 4S is a smart move. For everyone else, its less clear cut but an upgrade is still encouraged if you can afford it.

Apple even gave it a bit of an attitude, so when you ask it something silly (as you surely will, just for the fun of it), Siri comes back with a clever answer and a grin on its face. The practical value of such jokes is zero, but it really gives the user a sense that they are speaking to something intelligent rather than something that knows some answers by rote.

The iPhone 4S also goes for FullHD video capture, leaving the iPhone 4 behind in 720p land. The difference between 1080p and 720p is nearly double the pixels. Youll also notice less noise in the iPhone 4S video and more realistic colors (the iPhone 4 boosts the saturation artificially). One thing we should mention here is just how fast the iPhone 4S camera is - startup times and shot-to-shot times are noticeably shorter than on the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S is one of the quickest shooters around, which will encourage people to take more photos instead of worrying if theyll miss the moment while the camera prepares for the next photo. Another thing we appreciated was the AF/

Video capture: from 720p to FullHD

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Fashion

She has changed the concept of fashion forever, when she broke all the rules and the taboos. She made the black color fashionable when it was only suitable for funerals. she liberated the women by creating loose casual clothes made out of jersey -a material typically used for men>s underwear- and of course when she dared to wore paints and masculine style jackets and made them trendy. All the respect to that great woman who not only created a new style of fashion but also created a new way of life.

Coco Chanel 20s

Words By: Hala Jarjoura

From Coco Chanel to Alexa chung and lots of other women who can still amaze us by their distinctive style and courage to change the fashion rules and the lifestyle rules and from the masculine/feminine style, to the very chic and elegant mode, the rebellion way of life and the boho-chic trend, arriving to the reminiscence vintage type, all this fashion trends are set by the fashion icons who impress us over decades

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Fashion

The American actress who later became a princess was very known by her style and her elegance. She was a fashion icon back in the days and still to our present times! Her simplicity and modernity own her the title, she knew exactly how to dress up and how to attract the attentions. In 1956 Hermes named a bag after her The Kelly bag and this bag is still very famous and covetable till now.

Grace Kelly 50s

Model, actress, social and human rights advocate, and the ex-wife of the Rolling Stone star Mick Jagger; she was the queen of the 70s with her distinguished rebellious style. The Nicaraguan born model set her own fashion rules and for that she became a very popular fashion icon who attracted all the big names in the fashion fields, and still to our days a lot of designers inspire their collections from her.

Bianca Jagger 70s

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When we say super model, we are definitely talking about Kate Moss. Since she has been discovered in 1988 at the age of 14 at JFK airport, she became a phenomenon by changing the modeling rules and competing the legendary super models at that time such as Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell today she is the muse of fashion designers and artists, and her boho-chic style makes her a fashion icon whose many girls seek and imitate her style.

Kate Moss 90s

The English model and TV presenter has become a fashion icon and muse of many fashion designers in blink of an eye because of her distinctive personal style. She frequently appears on best the dressed list, and also a regular cover girl for Vogue, Elle and Harpers Bazaar. she is often seen in the front row at fashion shows. In 2009 Mulberry created a bag named after Chung, called the Alexa. Vogues Anna Wintour has described Chung as a phenomenon while the New York Times has declared her the Kate Moss of the new generation. Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld has described her as beautiful and clever...a modern girl. For now a days no one can compete Alexa when it comes to style.

Alexa Chung Now!

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lifestyle

Four First Date Conversation Rules

Just talk about what youre doing now, what youre looking forward to, and what your goals are for the future. Dont dwell on the past! Talk about what excites you about the future, whether its next weekends movie release or your long-term career plans. Everyone has a past, but focusing on the future makes you seem like a positive, happy person an instant draw when youre chatting up someone youre interested in.

Express interest and curiosity in what the other person has to say. Treat him/her as though he/she is someone with whom youd like to be a good friend. This gives you a great deal of information. If you expend a great deal of time, effort, and attention getting to know this person and it does little or nothing for you, then it probably wont do a whole lot for you down the line.

hen it comes to getting personal on a first date, politics, religion, and sex used to be off the table

Do you tell all, from your sexual past to your political affiliation, on the first date? Or do you keep things under wraps before you get to know someone? The rules have changed, and were no longer learning from the same dating etiquette book our parents used.

the point of the date is to get to know the person youre out with so remember to let them talk too! Ask questions and really listen to their answers instead of thinking about how nervous you are. Truly concentrating on the conversation at hand will calm your first date nerves and give you a better idea of how compatible you are with your date.

Remember,

Dont mind taking about religion or politics, its an interesting and a good way to learn about someone. If it turns into an argument or you really disagree with each other, no biggie, you can move on. Most rational adults should be able to have a casual conversation on these topics without getting too heated. Dont sidestep potentially touchy subjects a chat about the days biggest headlines can lead to a passionate discussion or a fired-up debate, both of which can make sparks fly. And what better way to show off your smarts? If you feel like youre getting into dangerous territory, propose that you agree to disagree ... and continue the discussion on date #2.

Talking about your ex-boyfriends will kill any chances of a second date. As far as a first date is concerned, your ex and the complimentary baggage do not exist. A quick mention is okay if youre telling a fascinating story that happens to include an ex-flame, but resist the urge to launch into a discussion best reserved for your friends and therapist. Airing your dirty laundry will only make you seem insecure at best ... petty and a little crazy at worst.

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lifestyle

Porn Addiction Getting lost in the process porn use (i.e., spending more time than intended, losing count of time).

downloads along with ondemand live video streaming of sexual activities, while Facebook can leave some cruising images and profiles for hours at a time.

Despite the bad and unacceptable state of the internet in Syria, many people or let us say the majority of internet users in Syria used to browse porn websites while they are doing their work. This is normal, everyone in the world loves to see naked nice-looking people, the unnormal thing, however, is to adopt such a habit and depend on it to get satisfaction or to substitute it with reality. In Syria, many teenagers are being left to satisfy themselves through such websites and its very likely that they will become addicts, especially in such a strict society like ours.

o you spend your nights surfing through pictures or videos of naked men or women? Do you prefer to have to do your sexual acts alone although you have a wife? Do you really think that you spend more time looking for old porno movies, black and white porno photos and/ or new sexual methods than what you spend looking for educational or other types of useful information? Do you find the sexual porno comic stories hotter than your wife or girl friend? If all or most of your answers to the aforementioned questions were yes then you are Porn Addict.

Timeline

Pornography addiction used to spread through viewing and archiving porn magazines and videos. However, these days, porn addiction has new and frighteningly powerful carriers: the Internet, smart phones, live chat and social media. Porn addicts today can feed their porn hunger through viewing online still photos, downloading porn videos or through having webcam sex (paid and unpaid). Some use the internet to simply view images while others eventually end up using the internet as a way to meet with anonymous sexual partners. Although, smart phones offer some addicts instant phone-based porn

Similar to someone with a chemical or drug addiction, porn addiction tends to replace important relationships and commitments with its drug of choice: pornography. Pornography addicts tend to isolate themselves when engaging in their sexual acts. They can typically spend many hours or even days lost in twodimensional images and videos. While nonsexual internet addiction can also be painfully isolating and causes real life consequences to the person addicted to online gambling or fantasy games; internet porn addiction also carries a moral stigma and it is very likely that important love and sex relationships will be negatively affected. While some sex and porn addicted use compulsive masturbation as a part of their acting out, others engage only minimally in the sex act itself but, nonetheless, end up losing themselves in the endless sexual images and sites found online.

What is porn addiction?

Recovery from porn addiction requires honesty and outreach. For those addicted to porn and sexual acts, honesty begins by finding someone knowledgeable and working in sexual addiction therapy and admitting the entire problem to them without omitting the embarrassing or humiliating parts. Getting help with porn addiction can feel shameful, embarrassing or humiliating, but those feelings have to be tolerated when the greater concern is that the pornography addictions will significantly affect the life of the sex addict or in the lives of those he/she loves. The sex addict involved in internet porn addiction should acknowledge his/ her problem to make a change, a decision that often comes much later than their partners would like to or can tolerate.

Recovery

Below is a list of a few tips for dealing with porn addiction: Talking about the issues in detail with a trusted friend or therapist who will be as honest with you as you are honest with them. Making an addiction prevention plan to be carried out when tempted. Putting tracking devices on your smart phone and computer so others (best not a spouse) can monitor your online behavior. Knowing the signs of porn addiction, both general signs and those specific to you. Knowing the stages of porn addiction. This addiction could be more dangerous than other types of addiction as it destroys social relationships and establishes the grounds for a much more selfcentered lifestyle making it harder to build a good and healthy society.

Porn addiction rehab help tips

Signs of porn addiction

An inability to stop the behavior(s) and porn use despite previous attempts to do so. Anger or irritability if asked to stop. Hiding or attempting to keep secret all or parts of the porn use. Living a double or secret life related to porn. Continuing the behavior despite obvious consequences, such as a relationship or job loss.

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How to Choose the Perfect Womens Time Piece

Not to say you cant get a quality watch without breaking the bank, but its important to realize before you buy a watch that for anything with some substance of quality, youre going to have to spend at least a few hundred dollars. Dont be fooled by nice looking watches that are $50. They are junk and will not last. You can get a decent quality watch for well under $500, but thats up to you. Watches sell for every price imaginable - you just have to decide where you stand. Do I like a leather band? How about a metal bracelet? Is gold my style, or stainless steel? Am I looking for a jeweled inner working 12 diamond face, or will a simple white dial do the job? These are questions that one must ask before going shopping. Leather bands are great, they can be formal or informal. Jewels are going to be flashy and should be contained to watches that you want to show off - to flaunt yourself. White and blacks simple faces are conservative, while gold is traditional. For most of us, the answer is no. Some watches however, do go up in value. For example, its common that a well taken care of Rolex will hold its own and increase in value over time. On the other hand, if your watch isnt a collectible or rare, simply take care of it and know that it can last a lifetime. Perhaps it will be something you hand down to a family member, or use the rest of your life.

hen buying a womens watch, there are many things to consider. Honestly, most women should probably own at least three watches, which we will go over, but the truth is, most women prefer one watch over another and will wear it regardless of what theyre doing. A professional woman who works in a corporate office building will own a watch that is thin and blends into her outfit for the day. When she dines out; she puts on a flashier watch that says something about her personality. On the weekend; shell wear a throw-around kind of watch, one that can take a beating if she bangs it against the car or take it into a pool. Before choosing a watch ask yourself the following questions:

If youre looking for a single watch, we would recommend something conservative, yet fun. Perhaps a TAG Heuer, they are incredibly well built, timelessly styled, and are in the middle-of-the-road when it comes to price. Choose a dial color that suits you and stick with stainless steel links. If thats not your style, but you still want a single watch, I would go for a nice brown leather banded watch. Anything else is so situation-specific and is hard to wear in any setting. Are you flashy? Are you conservative? Outdoorsy? Cube Dweller? Whatever your style, pick a watch that compliments it. Theres no need for someone who spends most of their time in a cubicle to have a diamond crusted watch or a farmer to wear a Rolex. Watches should be practical; a nightclub owner wearing a calculator watch simply will not work.

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The Must Have Ladies Watches for 2011

A new watch is a great way to improve your style or to show someone how much you care. This is a list of the top womens watches to have for 2011.The watches reviewed start at under $100 and a few are expensive, but are at unbeatable values.

TAG Heuer Womens Aquaracer

Michael Kors Womens Silver Runway Watch

Simply, a perfect style from MICHAEl. The watch features a stainless steel bracelet and case. Silver-tone chronograph dial with logo, date window, three subdials and mix of silver-tone numerals and stick indexes. Three hands, quartz movement and water resistant to 100 meters. On the wrist this watch is very shiny and eye-catching without being too blingy as it does not have any sparkle. If youre looking for big chunky watch that looks much more expensive than it really is, this is an excellent choice.

TAG Heuer traces its roots to the small Swiss village of St-Imier where, in 1860, a watchmaker named Edouard Heuer opened his first shop. When we talk of aqua that means water. So, Tag Heuers Aquaracer watch series are built for water. These are watches that can be used in the water, by the water or even underwater. These graceful Aquaracer quartz timepieces have all the qualities of TAG Heuer: excellent performance, reliability and precision, they also come in a wide choice of glamorous dial colors.

Toy Watch Classic Collection

In the fall of 2005, Milan-based designer and wristwatch aficionado Marco Mavilla designed the first TOYWATCH. A lightweight, oversized plastic watch, inspired by high design timepieces, TOYWATCH is unexpected, arresting and irreverent. An anti-luxury statement in a luxury obsessed culture, TOYWATCH has become the it wristwatch and the must-have item among style-makers. The brand ignited a firestorm in the fashion, design and accessories industries and has been heralded as a sensation by the press.
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The Must Have Ladies Watches for 2011

Cartier Midsize Tank Francaise Stainless Steel and 18K Gold Watch
Perfect with casual or formal attire, the Tank Francaise features a simple yet luxurious two-tone construction. Designed for men and women, this striking timepiece from Cartier is made with the finest materials, including a stainless steel and 18-karat gold bracelet and a stainless steel 25-millimeter case and bezel. Protected by a scratchresistant sapphire window, the square white dial features a date calendar at three oclock, along with black hand indicators and Roman-numeral hour markers. Powered by Cartiers own Calibre 175A Swiss-quartz movement, the Francaise is water resistant to 99 feet.

Invicta Womens Square Angel Diamond Stainless Steel Chronograph Watch

Glistening with exquisite silver accents, the Invicta Womens Square Angel Diamond Stainless Steel Chronograph Watch catches the eye starting with its ornate diamond-encrusted stainless steel bezel. Protected by a fine mineral crystal, the square silver-tone dial is contrasted with crisp white stick hourly markers and matching hour and minute hands, while an easy-to-read date window is perched at four oclock. The sphericallybordered inner dial is embellished with three chronograph subdials with black markers and sweeping hands. The dazzling silver-tone bezel, held by a matching stainless steel case, features a crown set with an eye-catching blue jewel. Silver tones continue to the sleek stainless steel linking bands that easily fasten with a deployment clasp. Water resistant to 330 feet (100 M), the Angel Diamond also boasts the reliability of Swiss-quartz movement.

Swatch Full Blooded Watch Timex Womens Sports Digital Watch


This mid-sized Timex Sports digital watch features a durable pink and silver resin watch case with easy-to-access side buttons and quickly readable large digital display. Sport timing features include a 24-hour chronograph and 24-hour countdown timer. Other features include a daily alarm, dual time zone display, and water resistance to 50 meters (165 feet). Its completed by a comfortable gray polyurethane strap with a tapered profile. The Indiglo night-light uniformly lights the surface of the watch dial using patented blue electroluminescent lighting technology. It uses less battery power than most other watch illumination systems, enabling your watch battery to last longer.

Its Unisex! Plastic with aluminum case with a gold PVD stainless steel bracelet. Fixed gold-plated stainless steel bezel. Gold dial with luminous hands and 12 crystal hour markers. Date display between the 8 and 9 oclock positions. Chronograph - three sub-dials displaying: 60 minutes, 60 seconds and 1/10th of a second. Battery powered quartz movement. Scratch resistant plastic crystal. Octagonal-shaped crown set with blue cabochon crown. Case diameter: 42 mm. Deployment clasp. Water resistant at 30 meters / 100 feet.

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Timex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch


Combining stylish looks with heart rate monitoring features, this larger Timex Personal Heart Rate Monitor watch (model T5G971) can be worn by both men and women. It features a chest strap heart rate monitor, easily accessible function buttons, durable resin case, and comfortable resin strap with a stylish tapered profile. For integrating heart rate monitoring into your training, this watch enables you to continuously track your heart rate during exercise as well as pre-set target heart rate zones with alarms that notify you when you are out of the zone. It also offers an automatic activity timer and a workout review that recalls activity time and average/peak heart rates. This streamlined watch also has a month/day/date display with 12/24-hour time. The Indiglo night-light uniformly lights the surface of the watch dial using patented blue electroluminescent lighting technology. It uses less battery power than most other watch illumination systems, enabling your watch battery to last longer. The watch is water resistant to 30 meters (100 feet), which protects it from rain and water splashes.

Chanel l J12 29mm Diamonds

Chanel has always been known for creating elegant and unusual watches. Many of their wristwatch designs have become extremely popular over the years. This is true of their J12 collection; however, the innovative designers at Chanel never rest on the popularity of a piece, but rather look for ways to improve every design. The Chanel J12 29mm collection is the result of this dedication to improvement. Chanel followed the original design of the J12 series, but reduced the case size to 29mm. This new size makes a big difference in the watch. It is lighter, more elegant and better suited to many wrists. The designers have created a beautiful series of watches that is sure to rival the popularity of its forerunners. Aside from the case size, these gorgeous Chanel timepieces use the same classic elements as the first J12 collection. Each watch features a dependable quartz movement that marks the hours, minutes and seconds. Each face uses a combination of numbers and diamonds to show the time. The Chanel name is included on the watch faces. These Chanel luxury watches are made from durable ceramic instead of traditional metals. This means they are very scratchresistant, insuring longevity. These watches come in black or white to enhance the classy design. The Chanel J12 29mm are also available with white diamonds set in the bezel. These fine watches are sure to please anyone who is fortunate enough to receive one.

Send an article of no more than 700 words on a subject of your choice to basel.bannoud@awicompany.com with the title: Readers contribution for Whats ON

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film & TV

The Twilight Sega Movies

Puss in Boots will star Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots and Salma Hayek as Kitty, Puss love interest. Swords will cross and hearts will be broken in this adventure starring one of the most beloved characters of the Shrek universe - Puss In Boots. Its a swashbuckling ride through Pusss early years as he teams with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs....
Director: Chris Miller Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Zach Galianakis.

Created by: Khaldoun Qaddoura

Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson. Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Paul Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault, the wildly attractive Connecticut-born ance of Sanderson. Sanderson is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmens nancial benet, or use them to take the bastards down..
Director: Bruce Robinson Stars: Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart.

The newfound married bliss of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is cut short when a series of betrayals and misfortunes threatens to destroy their world. After their wedding, Bella and Edward travel to Rio de Janeiro for their honeymoon, where they nally consummate their marriage . Bella soon discovers she is pregnant, and during a nearly fatal childbirth, Edward nally fullls her wish to become immortal. But the arrival of their remarkable daughter, Renesmee, sets in motion a perilous chain of events that pits the Cullens and their allies against the Volturi, the fearsome council of vampire leaders, setting the stage for an all-out battle. Director: Bill Condon
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

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film & TV

Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy lead an allstar cast in Tower Heist, a comedy caper about working stiffs who seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler who stiffed them. After the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement, they plot the ultimate revenge: a heist to reclaim what he took from them...

Director: Brett Ratner Stars: Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller and Casey Afeck

Jack and Jill is a comedy focusing on Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler), a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill (also Adam Sandler). Jills neediness and passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside down. Katie Holmes plays Erin, Jacks wife....
Director: Dennis Dugan Stars: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino.

Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud, namely: who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare? Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.
Director: Roland Emmerich Stars: Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave and David Thewlis

Under the unforgiving desert sky, two warring leaders come face to face. The bodies of their warriors litter the battleeld. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika (ANTONIO BANDERAS), lays down his peace terms to his rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah (MARK STRONG). The two men agree that neither may lay claim to the area of no mans land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return and according to the tribal customs of the time, Nesib will adopt- or take hostageAmars two boys Saleeh (AKIN GAZI) and Auda (TAHAR RAHIM); a guarantee that neither man can invade the other. Years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his fathers land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American oil man from Texas (COREY JOHNSON). He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of innite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud Stars: Taher Rahim, Antonio Banderas and Mark Strong.

The movie tells intertwining stories of a group of New Yorkers as they navigate their way through romance over the course of New Years Eve. Robert De Niro will play a bitter dying man in a hospital, while Michelle Pfeiffer will be a frustrated executive secretary who decides to tackle her unfullled resolutions. Hilary Swank will play a producer of the famed Times Square New Years Eve show. Ashton Kutcher will play a guy who hates New Years Eve.
Director: Garry Marshall Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel Ashton Kutcher, Robert De Niro Katherine Heigl, Sofa Vergara Zac Efron, Abigail Breslin Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank Lea Michele, Alyssa Milano Carla Gugino and Josh Duhamel.
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guide

guide

ORGANISATIONS - DAmAScuS

EmBASSIES - DAmAScuS

Aga Khan Network 3343610\1 Agency for combating unemployment - Acu 6122607 Amal Al-Ghad 3741010 Boosting and Inspiring Dynamic Youth Achievement - BIDAYA 33502373 Euro Info correspondence centre - EIcc 6133865 German Academic Exchange Service - DAAD 371925 uN Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO 6121145/6 International committee of the Red cross - IcRc 3310476 International Organization For migration - IOm 6121370, 6121375 Syrian-European Business centre - SEBc 6133865 Syrian Family Planning Association - SFPA 3310396 Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association - SYEA www.syea.org Strategy Highlighting and building Abilities for Business - SHABAB 6611689 united Nations 6129811 united Nations childrens Fund - uNIcEF 6122592/3/4 united Nations Development Programme - uNDP 6129811 united Nations Food Program Agency - uNFPA 6113773/8 mob 0944593854 united Nations High commissioner for Refugees - uNHcR 2139961/2/3 mob 093210 0273 united Nations Industrial Development Organization - uNIDO www.unido.org united Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees - uNRWA 6133035/9 united Nations Volunteers - uNV 6129811 mob 0988805745 World Food Programme - WFP 612 0597/8 World Health Organization - WHO 3329315, 3315053 mob 0933400316

mINISTRIES - DAmAScuS

ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform ministry of communications and Technology ministry of culture ministry of Defence ministry of Economy & Foreign Trade ministry of Education ministry of Electricity & Energy ministry of Establishments & construction ministry of Expatriates ministry of Finance ministry of Foreign Affairs ministry of Health ministry of Higher Education ministry of Housing and construction ministry of Industry ministry of Interior ministry of Irrigation & Water Resources ministry of Justice ministry of Local Administration and Environment ministry of Religious Affairs ministry of Petroleum and mineral Resources ministry of Planning ministry of Social concerns & Labour ministry of Supply & Internal Trade ministry of Transport

2227600, 2213613 3320807 3338600, 3338633 8813236, 3721287 2213513, 2213514 4444702 2228334, 2229654 2223596, 2246690 3134302 2220200 3713255, 3713256 3311020, 3311022 2129862, 2129861 5431076, 2217572 2231834, 2231845 2220101, 2211001 2221401, 2221402 2214108, 2213738 2226005 4419080 4455972, 4445610 2218854, 2218853 2225984, 2210355 2219241, 2219044 3339111, 3336801

Embassy of Afghanistan Embassy of Algeria Embassy of Argentina Embassy of The Republic of Armenia Embassy of Australia Embassy of Austria Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain Embassy of Bangladesh Embassy of Belorussia Embassy of Belgium Embassy of Brazil Embassy of Bulgaria Embassy of canada Embassy of chile Embassy of The Republic of china General consulate of cuba Embassy of the Republic of cyprus Embassy of the czech Republic Royal Danish Embassy (+Greenlandic Embassy) Embassy of Egypt Embassy of the Republic of Equador Embassy of the State of Eritrea European commission Delegation Embassy of Finland Embassy of France Embassy of Germany Embassy of Greece Embassy of Hungary consulate of Iceland Embassy of India Embassy of Indonesia Embassy of The Republic of Iraq Embassy of Iran Honorary consulate of Ireland Embassy of Italy Embassy of Japan Embassy of Jordan Embassy of the Republic of North Korea Embassy of Kuwait Embassy of Libya Embassy of Latvia Embassy of malaysia Honorary consulate of Thiland Honorary consulate of malta Embassy of mauritania Embassy of morocco Embassy of Netherlands Embassy of Norway Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan consulate of Philippines Embassy of Poland consulate of Portugal Embassy of the State of Qatar Embassy of Romania Embassy of Russia Embassy of Saudi Arabia Embassy of Serbia Embassy of Slovakia Embassy of Somalia Embassy of South Africa Embassy of Spain Embassy of Sudan Embassy of Sweden Embassy of Switzerland Embassy of Tunisia Embassy of Turkey

6112910 3331446, 3334548 3334167/8 6133560 6116692, 6132424 6138010 6132314 2212648 6118097, 6118098 6122189 6124551/2/7/9 4454039, 3318485 6116692, 6116851 3311891, 3338443 3339594 3339319, 3334609 6130812/3, 6131823 3331383, 3339395 6190900 3332932, 3333561 33488820, 33488877 6112357 3327640 6127570/1/2 3390200 3323800 6115009, 6113035 6110787 4467110, 4452090 3347351/2 6119630/1, 6117939 3341290 3710826, 6117675 3342144 3332621 3338273, 3332553 6136260/1 4424735, 4417614 6117644/5 3338851, 3333914 2451321, 2212462 6122811/2/3 3316144 / 3316214 3733601 3309317 6110451 3336871 6122941 6110408, 6622506 6132694/5/6 3335844 3333010, 3336010 3320253,3337716 3320044 3327570/1 4423155/6 3334780, 3334915 3336222, 3333689 6132114/5, 6133648 3335534 3222650, 2229200 6132900/1/2 3304470, 3302470 3340070 6111972, 6111975 6132700/4 3331411

Embassy of Turkmenistan Embassy of ukraine Embassy of united Arab Emirates Embassy of the united Kingdom Embassy of the united States of America Apostolic Enunciator of Holy See (Vatican city) Embassy of Venezuela Embassy of Yemen General consulate of Iraq General consulate of Turkey General consulate of Armenia General consulate of Russia consulate of France Honorary General consulate of Portugal Honorary General consulate of ukraine Honorary General consulate of Hungary Honorary General consulate of Italy Honorary consulate of Austria Honorary consulate of Belarus Honorary consulate of Belgium Honorary consulate of Benin Honorary consulate of Brazil Honorary consulate of Bulgaria Honorary consulate of canada Honorary consulate of chile Honorary consulate of the czech Republic Honorary consulate of Denmark Honorary consulate of Finland Honorary consulate of Germany Honorary consulate of Greece Honorary consulate of malta Honorary consulate of morocco Honorary consulate of Norway Honorary consulate of Pakistan Honorary consulate of the Philippines Honorary consulate of Romania Honorary consulate of Serbia Honorary consulate of South Africa Honorary consulate of Spain Honorary consulate of Sweden Honorary consulate of the Swiss confederation Honorary consulate of Tunisia Honorary consulate of the united Kingdom

EmBASSIES - DAmAScuS

2241834 6113016 3330308 3391505 33914444 3332601, 3332446 3335356, 3337490 7186682

mALLS - DAmAScuS

cONSuLATES - ALEPPO

021-2641068/9 021- 26499670/80 021-2687240 021-2232401, 2269377 021-2211829, 2219823 021-2235566 021-2660375 021-2122626 021-2214601 021-2114072 021-2110933 021-3622667, 3622665 021-2277022/33 021-4600004 021-2660375 021-2684160 021-4642666 021-4663500/20 021-2281398 021-2123001/2/3 021-2639898/9 021-2633787 021-2211888 021-2679051 021-2677438 021-2113461 021-5110220 021-2266601 021-2255926 021-2121333 021-2233095/6 021-2689644 021-3634634 021-2665002, 2669785 021-2280510/1

cham city centre Damascus Boulevard Damasquino mall Ski-land mall Town centre mall Al-mounchieh city centre New mall

2117189 3235650 www.damasquinomall.com 5475551, 5475566 6217780, 6224444

mALLS - ALEPPO

021-2227030 021-2674010

SuPERmARKETS - DAmAScuS

Honorary consulate of the Republic of Turkey 041-473777, 041-475357 Honorary consulate of Belgium 041-477966, 477966 Honorary consulate of Finland 041-470171/2/3 Honorary consulate of Greece 041-467881 consulate of the Netherlands 041- 472531/4/5 Honorary consulate of Sweden 041- 470171/3 Honorary consulate of the Republic of Turkey in Lattaika 041-473777 Honorary consulate of Greece Honorary consulate of the Republic of Turkey

cONSuLATES - LATAKIA

ABS Abu Staif & Sons A.S Bader Ghloul Grand mart - city center mall Rami Soubeh Shereen Teeba Zain El-Abdeen Zaid mdawer Zenobia Al-Diwan Al-mazrahe Al-Saha Al-Skhra marosh Twenty Four (24)

6113080 6119373 3730206 3336785, 3314470 6326410 8881637 6625160 4458154, 3315220 2764825 3733231 6212282 3730625 021-2269055 021-4601333 021-2114823 021-2680985 021-4642101 021-4659401 031-2622662 031-2220674 031-2510423 031-2761592 031-2122842 031-2113004 031-2222925 033-523249 033-316866 033-314617

SuPERmARKETS - ALEPPO

cONSuLATES - TARTOuS

043-221104, 325000 043 -211114

Abu Al-Awad Al-Ashraf Al-Rawda Al-Shahbaa Al-Syoufe Al-Taleb Al-Tasweek Wal Tawfeer Al-Henem Al-malab Al-Nour

SuPERmARKETS - HOmS

SuPERmARKETS - HAmA

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guide
Last Station Olabi Patisserie Old House Lacasta cafe & more Stop 5 Al-Andalous Garden cafe Beite cafe Blue Stone city cafe mamma mia Restaurant Al-Qalaa - The citadel Al-Atlal Broasted Fawaz Le Jardin Sultan Restaurant 041-468871 mob 094657765 041-461013 041-475744 041-477919 031-416915 031-234032 031-2459999 031-239755 031-2112400 031-7340493 033-222234 033-223884 033-25335 033-235104 034-5913073 034-913600 034-910878 Azem Ecole Beit Al-Aqqad Beit Nizam chapel of Ananias Dahdah Palace Jamaa Al-Jadeed Khan Asad Pasha Khans of Souq medhat Pasha (Straight St.) madrassa An-Nuri maktab Anbar mausoleum of Salah El-Din minaret of Jesus (column) Sayyida Ruqayya mosque Sayyida Zeinab m ausoleum Shrine of Hussein Shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yehia to muslims) St Pauls chapel Takiyya As-Suleimaniyya The citadel The Tomb of Beybars umayyad mosque

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - DAmAScuS

ATTRAcTIONS - DAmAScuS

ATTRAcTIONS - HAmA

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - HOmS

Apamea Azem Palace Khans of the Souq of Hama Qasr Ibn Warden - Palace The Beehive Houses-Sarouj & Twalid Dabaghein The castle of musyaf The Grand mosque The Norias

ATTRAcTIONS - PALmYRA
East Wall Palace-Qasr Al-Heir Al-Sharqi Qalaat Jaabar - castle Qalaat Najm - castle Qalat Ibn Saman - castle Temple of Bel The Theatre The Tower of Elahbel-Valley of the Tombs Dura Europs-Tal Al-Salhiyyeh mari-Tel Hariri Qasr Al-Banaat Rasafa-Al-mansoura Saray-Qanawat

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - HAmA

Art caf Art cafe Ninar maharaja Indian Restaurant Abu Rummaneh Damascus Gate Al Farouk for food and sweets Al-Karieh Restaurant Al-Khawali Haretna Sushi Beit Jabri canoun Al-Tennin casablanca Elissar Inhouse coffee Kanaan Palace Resort Kaser Al Wali Restaurant La casa Leilas Restaurant & Terrace Narciss Linas Segafredo Taj mahal Tarboosh Al-Sham Tche Tche cafe Trovka Restaurant Zaman Al-Khair Restaurants Zenobia Quattro cafe-Restaurant chopin cafe Bazar Alcharq Beit Alkaisar Beit Sissi Beroea cantra Dar Ward Delta Emeralds Kan Zaman Kaser Alwali Larose Lily house mejana metastrada Taj Alklaa Wanes

2325757, mob 0988995566 4522257 mezzeh 2005 3355555 5475500 or 1/2/3/4, 0933202075 2131322 5475551/2 2225808 5441148 3354077 5443200 6116967, 6114778 5417598 5424300, 5428577 3336039 7138201/2/3/4 4461389, 3322336 3331288 5445900 5416785, 5431205 2143798 2316070 - 2142420 - 6117363 2453434 6115158 2216339 0988995566 6440175/6 2220575-2450116 6133625 5436502 021-2249120 021-5230130 021-4651444 021-9325 021-2122010 021-3620620 021-2122411 021-2126987 021-3311299 021-9911 021-2642241 021-2222501 021-2027 021-4663300 021-9250, 021-4606033 021-2116002 043-326083 043-220408 043-313313, 213900 043-328755 mob 094667887 041-850027 041-843231 041-458000 041-475403 041-456200 041-447207

Ishtar Hotel Villa Palmyra restaurant Traditional Palmyra Restaurant Al-Rashid Restaurant Lazaward Hotel Restaurant DEc Lailati

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - PALmYRA

ATTRAcTIONS - DER EZZOR ATTRAcTIONS - RAQQA ATTRAcTIONS - SWEYDA ATTRAcTIONS - EZRAA


The Basilica of St George The church of St Elias

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - RAQQA

022-241919 022-216120/2 051-220469 051-229648

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - DEIR EZ -ZuR

BARS & cLuBS - DAmAScuS

muSEumS - DAmAScuS

ATTRAcTIONS - ALEPPO

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - ALEPPO

Backdoor club champions Pub Le Serai Pub Blue Bar Domino Jar Al-Ward Jet Set Kasabjy Le Serai Pub marmar massimo Pub Oxygen Le Piano Bar XO Bar Z Bar Dome Baron Hotel Bar Sissi House

4446255, mob 0988990066 4450676, mob 0988900096 3737061 3340240 5431120 5429185 2232300 4416184 3737061 5446425 www.massimo-pub.com 5444396 5420542, 5430375 3391000 2217700 0991555444

Ain Dara Site Al-Jdeida Quarters churches & cathedrals Al-madrassa Al-Halawiyya Basilica of St Simeon (Qalat Samaan) Bimaristan Arghan church of Qalb Lozeh cyrrhus (Nebi Huri) Ebla (Tel mardikh) Khans around the Great mosque madrass As-Sultaniyya mosque of Abraham Serjilla Shibani School Souq Bab Antakya Khans The Aleppo citadel The Great mosque

The Army museum The Historical museum of Damascus The museum of Arab medicines & Sciences-Nuri Health centre (Bimaristan) The National museum The National museum of Popular Arts and Tradition - Azem Palace The Azem Palace

AIRLINES - DAmAScuS

ATTRAcTIONS - TARTuS

cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa-The citadel Qalat marqab-The castle

BARS & cLuBS - ALEPPO BARS & cLuBS - LATAKIA BARS & cLuBS - HOmS

ATTRAcTIONS - mAALOuLA
convent of St Thecla

Ayounak cave Khawaja Restaurant Yamak Viamidos

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - TARTOuS

021-2210880/1 021-2124362 041-475744 041-330033 031-2112400 031-2459999

ATTRAcTIONS - NABEK
monastery of mar musa monastery of St Sergius The Salah Eddin castle ugarit

Lacasta cafe & more moodz Bar Abu Nawas Blue Stone

ATTRAcTIONS - LATAKIA ATTRAcTIONS - HOmS


Air France Alitalia British Airways cyprus Airways Egypt Air Emirates Etihad Gulf Air Royal Jordanian Airline 2218990 2222262 3310000 2225630 2232158 9934 3344235 2221209 2315577

Al-Andalus cafe Al-Kordaha Restaurant Allegro cesar Express cafe Italian corner Restaurant

RESTAuRANTS & cAFES - LATAKIA

Azze Hrawe Residence church of the Girdle of Our Lady Qalaat Al-Hosn (Krak Des chevaliers) Outskirts of Homs St Georges monastery-Outskirts of Homs

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Lufthansa mEA Airlines Syrian Air Turkish Airlines Syrian Air Air France KLm Airlines Lufthansa Syrian Air Syrian Air 2211165 2213147 2450098 2212263

guide

HOTELS - ALEPPO
DEDEmAN mansouriya Palace Sheraton 021-2661600 021-3632000 021-21211111

GALLERIES - DAmAScuS

AIRLINES - ALEPPO

021-2241232, 2220501 021-2232238 021-2211074 021-2223005 041-476863 051-221801

Dummar cultural complex French cultural centre The Italian cultural centre Goethe Institute Russian culture centre Spanish culture centre

3115142 2316192 3319543 3719435 2317158, 2317351 3714003

cD SHOPS - DAmAScuS
Beit Wakil coral Julia Dumna Dar Zamaria mirage Park Hotel Riga 021-2117083 021-3330660 021-3636100 021-2288555 021-9895 021-9294 Aal Bal Art cafe Ninar Art House Atassi Gallery Ayyam Gallery Beit Al-Nur Beit Al-Sham Dar Al Baath Dar al mada Dar Ez-Zarqan for Arts Fateh muddaress Free Hand Gallery French cultural centre Galerie Abdal Gallery Sahar Occasions Galleria chantout Atelier Ishtar Khan Assad Pacha Kozah mustafa Ali Naji Al Ali Nassour Gallery Ninar Art caf Ruaa Art Gallery Rafia Gallery Tajalliyat Gallery Al Rywak Al-Sayyed Al Shaab ur-Nina Gallery Al-Sharq Showroom Dar El-mhanna Ebla Gallery Kawaf Fine Arts Gallery The Small museum Arts Home 5445794 4522257 6628112 3321720 6131088 5431287 3330038 6622141 2322276 5431899 2246710 3344219, 3347211 2316192 5445794 4444846 5436502 6617780 4465086 2215961 5410900 5421988 4423762 3710344 5422557 5610901 3310803 6112338 3337933 332 1450, 3334390 2319606 2243783 021-442861 021-2634098 021-2268757 021-2230985, mob 0933260301 021-2232596 041-477827 Al-Balabel Al-Beiruti Al-madar Al-mahatta Al-Nihlawy Al-Salka Al-Sham Kanawati for music mirza music mozart Asia Floyed King Radio one Rotana 2216826 3313475 3336722 54498761, 5410821 4441982 2214461 2457153 2323088 4470294 2321445

AIRLINES - LATTAKIA AIRLINES - DEIR EZ-ZuR

HOTELS - DAmAScuS

Ramsis Isis Jdayda

021-2111102 021-2126345 021-9225 \ 3632000

LuXuRY - LATTAKIA
Afamia Rotana Resort Lattakia 041- 330033

OTHER uSEFuL cONTAcTS - DAmAScuS


Art House Four Seasons Talisman1 Dedeman Sheraton Damascus Old Vine cham Palace Ebla cham Palace Beit Zaman Hotel Dar al-Yasmin Hotel Semiramis Hotel Biet Rumman 6628112/5 3391000 5415379 3322650 2229300 5450164 2232320 2241900 2241945 5435380 5443380 2233555 5451092 - 5451094

cD SHOPS - ALEPPO

021-2112993 021-2122596 021-2248440 021-4464063 021-2122702

cINEmAS - DAmAScuS

Damascus International Airport (Flight queries 167-Reservations 187) 4530201/9 central Tourist office 2323953, 2210122 Immigration and passport office-Visa extensions 2219400 DHL 096345345 Amigo Net 5421694 Internet cafe Smile 2326239 Spotnet cafe 5433374 Tourist Office DHL concord Internet cafe Internet centre

OTHER uSEFuL cONTAcTS - ALEPPO

Queen center Arjaan by Rotana Alfares Alarabi Omayyad hotel Blue Tower Hotel Damascus International Hotel Fardoss Tower Hotel maaloula Hotel Rawda Hotel Safir Hotel Damascus carlton Hotel Palmvillage Hotel

6664003 2225320 - 2248800 2235500 3340240 2311600/1/2 232100 7770250 6416206-7 / 6416210 6470140 2122000 3919004

021-2121228, 2230000 021-4440322 021-2247272 043-315906

OTHER uSEFuL cONTAcTS - TARTuS OTHER uSEFuL cONTAcTS - HOmS

GALLERIES - ALEPPO

messenger Internet cafe Tourist Office Happy Net cafe Tourist Office

031-2212336 033-511 033-216057

OTHER uSEFuL cONTAcTS - HAmA

GALLERIES - LATAKIA

OTHER uSEFuL cONTAcTS - PALmYRA

034-5910574 041-416926 041-465310

cuLTuRAL cENTRES & INSTITuTES - DAmAScuS

Al-Ahram Al Ameer cinema Biblous Al-cham cinema de cham Diana Dunia Al-Fardous Al Khaiyam cinema Al Kindi Rametta cinema Shamas & Ataasi Al-Sofaraa ugarit cinema Al-Zahraa Aleppo cinema Al-Ameer Al-cham cinema Al Hamraa cinema Al Khaiyam cinema Opera Rametta ugarit Az-Zahraa

2212504 2228513 2213355 4437008 2232300, 2232310 2211847 2211888 2213424, 2214472 4437008 2218899 3214384 2212388 2317008 2311539 2222212

cINEmAS - ALEPPO

Antique Khan Hotel Beit Rose Hotel Orient Palace hotel

5419450 5441241 2231351

Tourist Information Office center Net

OTHER uSEFuL cONTAcTS - LATTAKIA

Afamia Hotel Al Hossen Residence Al majed Hotel city Hotel Future Tower Hotel Al-Haramein Hotel Al-Rabie Hotel Ghazal Hotel

2228963 6471712 - 6471258 - 6420292 2323300 - 2323301 / 2 / 3 2219375 2315465 2317511 2319489 2318374 2313736

Arabic cultural centres Abu Rummaneh mezze Jobar Danish Institue Beit Al-Nur Dar Al-Assad for Arts and culture Dar Al Funoon

021-313935/310704 021-2112826 021-22405 021-322333/211071 021-311067 021-2120300 021-2112827 021-2124755 021-4444228 031-234131 021-2486340 041-234233 041-237430 041-833135

3349376, Adawi 6610678 , Yarmouk 46370040, Kafer Souseh 2238038, NIASD 5431287, British council

44202670 6320830 2139680 6120515 3330631 245 6165/44 2231679

Al Amir cinema Homs Damascus Al Ahram Al-Fardous

cINEmAS - HOmS cINEmAS - LATAKIA

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guide

Al Kindi cinema Al Sabaa cinema Al Abbasiyya cinema Al Kindi cinema

cINEmAS - TARTuS

043-224171 043-221139 043-220333 051-221593

Arabic Library for Arts & Tradition Al-Assad National Library The Public Library Al-Dar university Library Dar Al-mustaqbal The National Library

2216373 3334294, 3311073 2310744 021-2244230 021-3211096 021-2238205 031-2235710 031-2313559 031-2222180 031-2232862 023-235446

Al-Bahaa Al-Bierakdar Al-marifa Bookshoop As-Salmiyya Dar Al-Nada

023-719853 023-363017

cINEmAS - DEIR EZ-ZuR

LIBRARIES - ALEPPO

BOOKSHOPS - SWEIDA

016-230024 051-352323, 360905 015-230140

BOOKSHOPS - DEIR EZ-ZuR BOOKSHOPS - DARA

Ibn Al Nafees Ibn Sina The Italian Hospital The Red crescent centre Tishreen Yafa Surgical Hospital Al Ahli Al Amal Al Amir Al Ashtar Al Attar Ibn Rushd Al Kalimeh Al mwasat Al Razi The Red crescent centre Al Salam Al Shihan Saloum Al Shami Sraj Eddin Al Kindi

5123637, 5121211 5348834 3326030, 3326031 4421600, 4421601 5119450, 5119451 6112792, 6114795 021-2682801, 2682802 021-2676074, 2675991 021-2665551, 2667056 021-2667393, 2676390 021-2224420 021-4654977, 4654976 021-2674602, 2674601 021-2228738, 2238228 021-2676001, 2676002 021-4646800 021-4657800, 4657700 021-2661063, 2661062 021-4644830 021-2211750 021-2675652, 2675651 021-4642800, 4642801 052-426698 052-315053 052-750025 052-223107 052-750295 052-311171 033-440301 033-225331 033-416281 031-200474 031-2127408 031-2486475 031-2486478 023-548418 023-524524 023-717102 023-633460 023-850059 041-354825, 3177956

HOSPITALS - ALEPPO

DVD STORES - DAmAScuS

The culture House Library The General Islamic Library The Generality Library The modern Arzabic Library The Artistic Library

LIBRARIES - HOmS

HAmmAmS & SPAS - DAmScuS

LIBRARIES - IDLEB

BOOKSHOPS - DAmAScuS
Data Line Al-Hoda Al-Naeem centre Arebya co. cD centre Eaksousy Encyclopedia Fanty Firas Golden Technique Hisham Hi-Tech Jessy Laser Lezary centre majal Art masaya Syrian Video centre Al-Qasr centre Rainbow Ahmed Al-Zebi Al-Ansar Al-Hob Al-Khoyoul Al-majd Al-mawas Al-Tahhan centre Al-Yanour Ayman Zahra centre miami Future Al-Hareef Safwan Al-Khateeb centre 9804 2317271 44670680 3319270 3338885 2321989 2320276 6666701 3111902 5321742 2213418 6352800 5432090 2457801 2456178 3336810 6719873 4460358

Hammam Al malek Alzaher Balloran Spa - Four Seasons Hammam Bakri Hammam Ammona Hammam Nureddin As-Sadat Bab Al-Ahmar Hammam Yalbougha An-Nasry Al-Othmani Baths Oriental Kharraz Al-Sadeya

2225330 3391000 5426606 2316414 2229513 021-3330519 021-3622640 021-3623154 031-2234395 031-2232540 033-215250

BOOKSHOPS - ALEPPO

Al-Amin Al-Anwar Al-Fattal Al-Hariry Al-maghribi Al-miski Al-Noori Al-Tahhan Al-Walaa Al-Zahabi Abdul Rahman Bsout Al-Anwar Al-Arabi Al-Fidaa Al-Fourqan Al-manara An-Nawras An-Nour Al-umniya Abbas Abu Ahmad Al-Hagar Al-Hamawi Al-Hasen Al-Hayat Al-Nasem Al-Nedal Al-Nubalaa Al-Nur

2212041 2231199, 2244554 2456786, 2222373, 2234525 3320378 2452993 2237957 4419167 2222992 2231258, 2242104 3332581

BOOKSHOPS - HOmS

Al-Amal Hospital Al-Hikma Hospital The National Hospital An-Numa Hospital Dr. Sulayman Al-Saleh Hospital Shaba Hospital Al-Asad medical Hospital Al-Asfar Specialist Hospital Al-Bader Specialist Hospital Al-Ahli Specialist Hospital Al-Hikmah Hospital Al-Watani Hospital Al-Watani Hospital

HOSPITALS - AL HASSAKA

HOSPITALS - HAmA

BOOKSHOPS - HAmA

DVD STORES - ALEPPO DVD STORES - HOmS

BOOKSHOPS - ALEPPO

021-2255979 021-4442542 031-2470147 031-2211279 031-2127140 031-2618886 031-2135154 031-2211477 031-2468519 031-2471003 031-2477336 041-431450 016-251106 033-238238 033-224632 015-234752

021-3321441 021-4784163 021-2269239 021-2214227 021-2686492 021-2110494, 224 4385 021-3113833 021-4610320 021-2113577 031-2484996 031-2462907 031-2516874 031-2229655 031-2464181 031-2753447 031-2623620 031-2467522 031-2239587 031-2474733

GYmS - DAmAScuS

HOSPITALS - HOmS

BOOKSHOPS - HOmS

DVD STORES - LATAKIA DVD STORES - SWEIDA DVD STORES - HAmA DVD STORES - DARA

Al-Sham Fitness Barada Gym Beauty & Fitness centre for Ladies Body Gym Dynamic Gym Gold Gym Fitness House Al Jalaa mayyas Womens Gym Life Gym Al-Hadad house Al-Vilat Al-Warak House Blue GYm Gym House

5617723 4450686 6315570 2130651 4429890 4447000 4427476 6622147 5127565 2321773 021-2289474 021-4465612 021-2228856 021-2332260 031-2453500

Al-Khateeb Surgical Hospital Al-maarra Surgical Hospital Areeha Hospital maternity House Hospital Saraqeb Specialist Hospital Al-Sufi Hospital

HOSPITALS - IDLEB

HOSPITALS - LATAKIA

PHARmAcIES - DAmAScuS

GYm - ALEPPO

LIBRARIES - DAmAScuS

Abi Al-Fida Al-Dean Hayek Ibn al-Hytham maghmoumeh maher Fakhri

BOOKSHOPS - HAmA

033-223107 033-237282 033-225256 033-224173 033-213690 033-217781, 217962 041-439724 041-439166 041-470890 041-826558 041-424879 041-433298 041-436671 023-529195 023-239630

GYm - HOmS

HOSPITALS - DAmAScuS
Al Salam Al Assadi Al Amal Al Hayat Al mwasat Al Rawda Surgery Al Razi Al Tawfeek Dar Al-Shifaa The French Hospital 9936, 0933000315 6132500, 6132501 4451334, 4451335 4455322, 4445043 2133000 3338392, 3330589 6118445, 6111600 2228250, 2216364 4414134, 4414120 4440460, 4448556

Al-Imam Jaafar Al-Sadeq Al-Abbas Al-Huda Al-maha Amar bin Yaser Beirut Zahrat Al-midan AL-Amer An-Nour

BOOKSHOPS - LATAKIA

Abdullah makhseen Adnan Nomeir Adnan Tinawi Al-Falah Al-Farabi Al-Farawati Al-Fardoos Akram Khalifeh Akram Khoulani Fadi Dawood Al-Aasi Al-Aata Abdullah Arab Abdul Ahad Shallah Abdul Hannan Abdul Jaleel Al-Assaad

4443928 5420244 4625040 6114850 4421169 2217613 4444926 5121058 6214527 5617051

HOSPITALS - ALEPPO

BOOKSHOPS - IDLEB

021-4787250 021-5506684 021-2666402 021-3216496 021-2687876 021-2247827 021-4448882

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uSEFuL
NumBERS
Damascus International Airport 011-453 0201/9 Flight - 167 Reservation - 187 Police Homicide military Police civil Defence Fire Station Traffic Police Ambulance Health Info centre Operator International call Operator Phone clock Tel-Information Tel-Telegrams Electricity Emergency Water Supply complaints Syrian Insurance company 112 159 116 109 113 115 110 161 141 143 119 147 146 118 114 186

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