SYRIA - OPENING UP

The music is English, the story Greek and the theatre is Roman.

Even more remarkable is the location ... an ancient but little known capital.

Its three hundred years since Purcell wrote his opera Dido and Aeneas and nearly two thousand years since Bosra was the Roman capital of Arabia.

Where Roman soldiers once gathered .. tonight in the same seats .. lovers of the opera.

Its first opera to be staged jointly by a cast and crew from England and Syria.

And it’s all about International diplomacy.

Not long ago Syria was the country best known to the West as a safe haven for terrorists.

But in the last few days Syria has turned from Moscow to Washington, started talks with its enemy - Israel - and has .. ever so slightly .. begun opening the door to foreign investment.

But even at the opera it’s impossible to forget that Syria is a one man regime, held for more than twenty years in the iron grip of its President Hafez el Assad.

Dr Rateb Al-Shallah (President Damascus Chamber Commerce): We are well aware that we have been blessed with a leadership that is unique in the area. We are sure that this leadership will get us to the shore of peace with the least problems, once it is there we are ready for it.

For centuries Syria’s stony desert was a highway.

Once it was part of the old Silk Road, even earlier, caravans from Mesopotamia passed through on their way to the Mediterranean.

It was trail from oasis to oasis ... and its biggest way station was Palmyra.

The Romans called it the City of Palms - trade made it rich and Roman leaders made it powerful.

Tourist guide: All the caravans has their stop here - the business took place here in the Agorra.

Its downfall came with the rule of the beautiful Zenobia.
Defying Rome, she declared Palmyra independent.

Tourist guide: Lets have fun in the bath of Zenobia..
Zenobia was captured, the Romans set fire to the city and massacred its people.

Palmyra sank into obscurity.

Now Syria’s modern traders see new opportunities.
A peace deal with Israel could turn their rich history into a prosperous future.

Shallah: Once we have peace that’s comprehensive and just, I think that the whole world would change its attitude. As a starter towards the area, after all this area is full of traditions, full of the history that people are interested in.

Female Tourist: In other words some camels here are worth more money than....

Tourist guide: Sure there are....

This year at the peak of the season, every hotel in town is full. Syria is still on the United State’s list of countries which support terrorism but even that isn’t stopping the tourists from arriving in record if small numbers.

Saeb Nahas: We have been getting number one position.

Saeb Nahas is the man bringing American tourists to Syria. His tour group was one of the government’s earliest joint ventures with a private company.

Saeb Nahas: Tourism is a backbone for our economy and for our foreign exchange revenue. Syria has so many potentialities in tourism and you have all what you need in this respect so you see that tourism inflow to Syria from all parts of the world.
Female Tourist [in amphitheatre]: This is gorgeous. Look at the seats...

But for Syria opening to foreigners will come slowly. It’s a revolution which is calculating and cautious.

Tourism Minister: Everyone who comes to Syria leaves with a different impression. The minute he comes into Syria he sees the generous good people and security, safety and stability. So the preconceived idea is altered.

In Syria change is slow and the past is powerful.
Damascus claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

A centre for Romans and Christians, Damascus expanded with the coming of Islam.

Its mosques date back to the 17 century . Even today its prayer callers are famous.

In the oldest city, the oldest meeting place is Cafe Nofara. For hundreds of years Damascenes have gathered here each evening after the prayer.

Long before radio and TV, there was coffee, water pipes and storytelling.

Poet [telling story]: The king turned to Ibrahim and Ibrahim said: “Your wish is my command sire.” (effendi)

Once popular in cafes from Marrakesh to Baghdad the street poets handed old books and traditional tales from father to son.

Now Abu Shadi is the last storyteller or hakawaty in Damascus.
Every night he draws an enthusiastic following... from university lecturers to labourers.

Poet [telling story]: The king said: “What’s going on - are the foreigners invading our land ?”Ibrahim replied: “Sire they are coveting our land and its riches.”

Its the tale of a thirteenth century slave who fought the crusaders and moghuls.

Everyone knows the story... whipping up the audience is part of the art.

Said Ibrahim: “Whoever stands in your way my King, I will end his day”.

The slave defeats the invaders.

Today in the era of Middle East peace a new kind of invader and their foreign currency are welcome.

Tourist guide: You may leave all things that you don’t need in the bus.. so jackets.. things that you don’t need.

By the year 2000 Syria hopes to earn more than two billion dollars a year from tourism, but so far Westerners are a minority.

Tourist guide: Would you please put the back over this cover.. this cloth.. that you are putting on - tighten the head cover quite well to cover the hair completely, put on the sleeves and tighten up.

At the Omayyad Mosque, one of the Middle East’s oldest and most beautiful... tourists, especially Americans are still something of a novelty.

American woman: Say I am..

Syrian boy: I am..

American woman: thirteen..

Syrian boy: thirteen..

American woman: years old..

Syrian boy: years old..

American woman: it’s nice to meet you.

Until recently Syria was almost totally isolated.

An ally of Iran it was seen in the West as a backer of Islamic fundamentalists and a sponsor of terrorism.

The vision of ordinary Americans in the black robes of Islam was almost unthinkable.

For westerners covering up like this will probably be one of the most memorable images of Syria but its only part of the picture. This is a country that’s incorporated the contradictions of socialism and Islam - is almost totally Muslim and yet remains relatively secular.

It has been a successful, but brutal balancing act.The government’s only real political opposition came in the 1980s from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The army crushed it almost immediately.
So it isn’t surprising that the government’s first economic changes have been the least political.

When it came to loosening control the government turned to a small group of businessmen it trusted.

Men like Saeb Nahas.

Nahas: Syria with her political stability since 1970 has generated economic stability, security stability and social stability and it’s well known that these are the first important elements for the tourism industry.

But caution driven by fear of losing political power has forced gross inefficiencies on business.
In the Nahas empire, this factory is a throw back to another era.

But even with joint management, the result is out-dated machinery, massive inefficiencies and little growth.

Syria doesn’t have a stock exchange and there’s only one government bank - all investment still has to be funded from outside the country.

Nahas: Of course it would have been easier if the banks were here. I do hope this problem will be solved one way or the other.

Syria’s politicians may be talking tough about a peace deal with Israel, but the quieter reality is that Syria’s businessmen are already preparing for a new competition and new opportunities.

Shallah: Peace in general is very good for all the countries concerned and I’m sure that everybody is to benefit from allocation of resources, the new trend to more constructive business and that is what everyone is very serious about.

The nineties should be a new era but so far to most of Syria’s 15 million people economic liberalisation has brought little change.

The old trading town of Palmyra could benefit from peace and more tourists.

In the long term, increased trade and a smaller army could leave more money for roads and water, education and health.

But Syria’s in no hurry for change.

It’s a place where even big businessmen weigh their words carefully - where economic reform won’t necessarily mean political freedom.

For thousands of years Syria’s been conquered and invaded - all the great civilisations have been here .. the Eygyptians and the Greeks and the Romans. Now the old empires have gone and Syria’s location and influence have put it at the heart of the modern Arab world... the country holding the key to peace and the Middle East’s future.

Syria is opening up but slowly and cautiously, fearful that economic liberties will result in demands for political freedoms.

A broad Middle East peace may well be inevitable - but Syria is in no rush to force the pace of history.