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‘Athra’ … A Saudi e-Platform for Translation

Rashad Hassan.
Rashad Hassan.
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‘Athra’ … A Saudi e-Platform for Translation

Rashad Hassan.
Rashad Hassan.

“Athra,” is a Saudi e-platform dedicated to translation. It hires translators to translate articles and books under the supervision of senior experts in linguistics and translation.

So far, the e-platform has published over 150 translated books and articles, and plans to show 12 books in this year’s edition of the Riyadh International Book fair.

Rashad Hassan, a Saudi writer and translator who co-founded “Athra” said: “Translators are the cornerstone of this platform overseen by senior translation experts and practitioners. The platform does not only require the translator to translate a book or an article, but it brings him the material, trains and qualifies him, and then helps him translate and overcome the obstacles that he could face during his work.”

The platform recently announced the launch of the second edition of the Athra Project, an interactive translation project that allows translators to translate a book, and distribute it across libraries and e-book stores, as well as take part in fairs and events dedicated to books and translation.

According to Hassan, the Athra Project focuses on book translation, and “involves translators who have majored and practiced translation, and have former experience in this field.” The project consists old, contemporary and children’s books.

The Athra platform has acquired the exclusive translation rights from prominent global publishing and academic institutions, such as the universities of Harvard, Chicago, and Princeton.

“In this project, our main goal is to empower translators, and to enrich the Arabic translated content. The program passes through many phases, and offers translation training courses approved by the US board, along with regular discussion sessions that gather translators partaking in the program. It also reviews and evaluates their works regularly, and edits, proofreads, and finally publishes the translated books and articles,” he said.

The Athra Platform translates and publishes one to three articles each week in all fields of human science, in collaboration with international publishing institutions, explained Hassan. He also noted that 12 translated books on different topics will be displayed at the Riyadh International Book Fair.

“The translation team working with the platform includes 10 translation experts majored in translation. Anyone can translate and publish with Athra, on its official website or by taking part in its book projects. We offer opportunities for all translators, and select those who show the seriousness, enthusiasm, and will to work and learn,” he stated.

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Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP
During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP
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Syria's Aleppo Set for Revival Despite War Scars to its Heritage

During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP
During the four years of fighting before Assad's forces recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied - AFP

The historic Baron Hotel in Syria's Aleppo is dilapidated and damaged by years of war but still standing and ready for a revival, much like the city itself.

Aleppo's old city, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, was ravaged by the conflict that erupted after a government crackdown on protests in 2011.

Between 2012 and 2016, it became a battleground between Syria's military and opposition factions.

The army of now-ousted president Bashar al-Assad shelled opposition fighters from the ground and struck them from the air, supported by Russian firepower.
Opposition groups, meanwhile, used mortars and artisanal rockets, as the fighting turned ancient streets into sniper alleys.

During the four years of fighting before the government recaptured Aleppo following a devastating siege, the city was virtually emptied.

Now, after Assad's fall following a lightning opposition offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, residents are looking forward to reconstruction.

"Unfortunately, more than 60 percent of the edifices in the old city, monuments of the old city of Aleppo, were devastated to ground zero," said Georges Edleby, a tour guide in the city for 35 years.

"Hopefully there will be a day that we see them again restored."

The ancient souks where Aleppo's famed olive oil soap is piled up in stacks for sale has been reduced in many places to little more than rubble.

- 'Hope for a better life' -

Aleppo's medieval citadel, however, remains relatively intact.

Opposition fighters, one with a rose slipped into the barrel of his gun, stood guard outside the ancient ramparts, which Syria's army turned into a stronghold during the war.

Most of the damage in the citadel was caused by a 2023 earthquake, locals say.

Below in the old city, a few alleys of the souk -- once the largest in the world with 4,000 stalls -- have reopened after being restored, including with Saudi financial aid.

Jamal Habbal, 66, has spent all his life under the stone vaults of the old city and reopened his macrame and rope shop there a year ago.

"We have so many memories here. It was a big market that was vibrant and lively. Girls used to come to buy items for their trousseaus. They could find everything," he told AFP.

"And then suddenly, the crisis," he said, reluctant to even say the word war.

"We had to leave. I returned in 2018, but it's still difficult," he added, speaking in a dark and largely deserted alley.

Fadel Fadel has also reopened his shop offering souvenirs, soap and mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes.

"It was completely destroyed here," said the 51-year-old.

He is hoping to see Aleppo returned to its status as a "center of commerce, industry and tourism."

"We hope for a better life."

- Museum ready to reopen -

Outside, dusty streets wind between ruins that await reconstruction and revival.

The Baron Hotel once welcomed Agatha Christie, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and France's Charles de Gaulle.

Visitors flocked to see the somewhat faded glory of its rooms, as well as its terrace and the unpaid bar bill belonging to one Lawrence of Arabia.

But now, several broken windows adorned with shutters hanging from a single hinge offer a view into a deserted building covered in dust.

The hotel's future is uncertain.

Its last owner, Armen Mazloumian, has passed away. He told AFP back in 2014 that he felt the hotel's glory days were behind it and it would "never be what it once was again".

Nearby, however, the National Museum of Aleppo is readying to reopen. Its courtyard was hit in shelling but its building and collection were spared.

Director Ahmed Othman said the museum "took lessons from the experience of our neighbours," including institutions in Iraq and Lebanon.

"We took the necessary measures to protect our collections," he said.

"The statues that were too heavy to move were encased in concrete and the smaller pieces were moved to safe places."

Treasures that trace nine millennia of history and the birth of writing in nearby Mesopotamia have been preserved unharmed as a result.

"We did many things in order to protect the museum as a whole," said Othman