Silkworms long gone, Syrian opens museum to waning craft

Photos

Login / Sign Up

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Gold / Forex

Silkworms long gone, Syrian opens museum to waning craft

Syria's war whisked away the silkworms from Mohammed Saud's mulberry trees

Published: July 10, 2020 16:03 AFP and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Digital Content Editor

1 of 8

Copy of 267299-01-02-1594382157744 — After Syria's war whisked away the silkworms from his mulberry trees, 65-year-old Mohammed Saud instead turned his idle home workshop into a silk museum to celebrate the ancient craft. In the green hills of Deir Mama, Saud, his wife and three sons have been making silk for decades. Image Credit: AFP

2 of 8

Copy of 267303-01-02-1594382159655 — They would raise silkworms in the spring, watching them munch on mulberry tree leaves and slowly build their thick cocoons, before spinning the thread and weaving it into fine cloth. But Syria's nine-year-old war has complicated silkworm imports, and stemmed production for now. Image Credit: AFP

3 of 8

Copy of 267308-01-02-1594382169817 — In his courtyard-turned-museum, Saud held up a handful of glistening white silk cocoons the size of large grapes. Stooping down, he manually yanked around a large wooden spinning wheel used to unfurl the tight coils into long pale thread. | Muhammad Saud sits with his wife Amal at their home workshop. Image Credit: AFP

4 of 8

Copy of 267306-01-02-1594382165738 — Sitting at a large wooden loom with his feet on the pedals, he demonstrated weaving, his agile hands gliding from side to side as he weaved weft over warp. In a corner, off-white silk shawls were displayed on the wall, or draped around mannequins. Image Credit: AFP

5 of 8

Copy of 267298-01-02-1594382155479 — Muhammad Saud drops silkworm cocoons into a small woven basket at his home workshop in the village of Deir Mama, in west-central Syria. Image Credit: AFP

6 of 8

Copy of 267307-01-02-1594382167728 — "There are just three families left in Syria working this craft," he said. "Today I am the only one left in this town fighting for its survival." A decade ago, the year before the conflict broke out, he had told AFP that 16 villages and 48 families across Syria still worked in sericulture. Image Credit: AFP

7 of 8

Copy of 267305-01-02-1594382163705 — Cocoon harvests had already dropped from 60,000 tonnes in 1908 to just 3.1 tonnes in 2010. When fighting erupted in 2011, it all ground to a halt. Image Credit: AFP

8 of 8

Copy of 267304-01-02-1594382161582 — "I decided to transform my home into a workshop when I realised it would contain all stages of silk production," Saud explained. Image Credit: AFP

Latest In

Indian expat wins Dh25 million in Big Ticket draw

9 minutes ago
Intel CEO ousted by board frustrated with slow progress

18 minutes ago
Philippines star Eala rolls into Al Habtoor 2nd round

54 minutes ago
United not yet out of Premier League title race: Arteta

1 hour ago
Gazans walk miles for bread and flour amid shortages

1 hour ago

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you. Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our Privacy Policy.

Photos News

Trending