‘Qays & Layla’ Brings Historic Love Stories to Digital World

Moviegoers wait to attend a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo)
Moviegoers wait to attend a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo)
TT
20

‘Qays & Layla’ Brings Historic Love Stories to Digital World

Moviegoers wait to attend a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo)
Moviegoers wait to attend a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 18, 2018. (AP Photo)

“Qays & Layla” is one of many Arabic stories that generations of lovers inherited and admired for all the meanings of love between the insane Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla al-Aamiriya.

Their story, which dates back to the 5th century AD, was never proven real by historians, but it became a legend and a symbol of eternal love. “Qays & Layla” is now back to life in Riyadh, but this time, it takes place in the technology era.

The Theater and Performance Arts Commission has created a new version of “Qays & Layla” with a contemporary and comic style that narrates the story in the current, digital era dominated by techs and social media.

Planned for nine days, the play is part of the events and live performances organized by the association in an attempt to highlight the local, cultural heritage, create modern arts that combine music and different forms of performance arts, and encourage the young talents on developing a local content that revives the Saudi heritage.

“Qays & Layla” is one of the most known Arabic love stories that revolve around passion, separation, and madness. The story’s protagonist was given several titles including the most popular “Majnoun Layla” (the mad of Layla).

Layla was Qays’ cousin, he grew up with her, loved her, and wrote her poems that people still read and memorize in our days. Layla’s parents refused to marry her to Qays, which made him leave and move to Najd, Hijaz, Damascus, but he never managed to forget her.



Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
TT
20

Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Syria’s minister of emergencies and disaster management on Tuesday requested support from the European Union to battle wildfires that have swept through a vast stretch of forested land.

The fires have been burning for six days, with Syrian emergency crews struggling to bring them under control amid strong winds and severe drought.

Neighboring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye have already dispatched firefighting teams to assist in the response.

“We asked the European Union for help in extinguishing the fires,” minister Raed al-Saleh said on X, adding Cyprus was expected to send aid on Tuesday, AFP reported.

“Fear of the fires spreading due to strong winds last night prompted us to evacuate 25 families to ensure their safety without any human casualties,” he added.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office in Syria, the fires impacted “some 5,000 persons, including displacements, across 60 communities.”

An estimated 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest and farmland -- more than three percent of Syria’s forest cover -- have burned, OCHA told AFP.

At least seven towns in Latakia province have been evacuated as a precaution.

Efforts to extinguish the fires have been hindered by “rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, strong winds, and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance”, Saleh said.

With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.

In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”