Monday 23 / December / 2024
“To Damascus, years are only moments, decades are only flitting trifles of time. She measures time, not by days and months and years, but by the empires she has seen rise, and prosper and crumble to ruin. She is a type of immortality....She has looked upon the dry bones of a thousand empires, and will see the tombs of a thousand more before she dies. Though another claims the name, old Damascus is by right the Eternal City.”
-Mark Twain
It was a cold evening in Old Damascus in 1995. Fadi was walking around the eternal city looking for a barber for a haircut. On a very narrow street he found a tiny barbershop and the barber was peculiar enough to draw attention. Fadi was surprised when the barber told him that his hair doesn’t need to be cut, instead he invited Fadi to listen to his music and oud. The barber held his oud and played some Arabic music for the guest and offered a cup of tea. It was some 20 years ago, but still Fadi feels that it happened yesterday, it was an unforgettable moment for him. “I spent some more time in the barbershop and we became friends, and I took many photos of that barber-musician,” said Fadi.
It is a unique photo among thousands of photographs from Syria taken by Fadi Masri Zada. For him every photo is a story. Every frame reflects the history, the land, and its people. His collection of photography is like a book of people’s stories. Fadi’s photography reflects his deep desire to understand people and to show their uniqueness and beauty. “My entire photo reflects the people of Syria, who are the most important subject in all my photography. If there is no human element in my frame, I won’t put it to depict Syria. The land, the people, the nature, and the diversity and the mix inspire me and trigger me into photography,” said Fadi.
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Fadi used his mastery in film-photography to depict the land he was born. It is a journey through scenes of life in all of its manifestations and transformations in the ancient land. In this exploration of the land and people of Syria, Fadi takes us from the columns and temples of Palmyra, to Busra, Aleppo and Old Damascus. “I have to link my history in Syria to what is happening now. I never imagined that this would happen anytime because I know as we Syrians we live for thousands of years together. I felt that I need to show the real image of Syria, which I experienced since I was born and I left the country in 2003 — the simplicity, the beauty, the nature of the geographical aspect of the country from desert to mountains, and the ancient cities. I have to remind people of the country’s importance in human history and I felt like it is time to re unite. Let people of Syria solve their problems themselves,” an emotional Fadi said, who had conducted an exhibition of his photographs recently in Bait Al Zubair.
Fadi started painting when he was a student. “Later on I found myself more with cameras than paint and brush. I felt like I can express myself more in photography. I was born into a family, which loves all sorts of art forms. My family encouraged me to go through this. I am an engineer by profession, but art is in my heart,” he said. Photography has to reflect your personality and the day-to-day life. You cannot separate your personality and your passion. Photography is a kind of art to reflect your message and you have to follow your heart.”
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Fadi’s collection of photographs depicts the Syria before it was devastated. “I never imagined at the moment of clicking that those places are going to remain only in photos. Some of the places where I lived and spent time are not there anymore. Palmyra is such a place where in every ten metres you will have to stop to see the history. Whenever I go to Palmyra I stay there for a day and wait for the sunrise and the sunset to grab the exact moment and the desired effect I want. Those are the places I am emotionally connected and it is much painful that these places are not there anymore and the people are not there anymore.”
One of the works of Fadi depicts the Arc of Triumph in Palmyra, in, which we see the rays of sun glimpse behind the edge of the ancient structure while a lonely bird flies across the clear blue sky. “Without this light of hope we cannot live. Now Palmyra is in our hand. The whole world is going to help us rebuild again. Still there is hope, the sun will rise again. Those people and places are not there anymore. The arc is not there, the sun is there and the bird will come back,” Fadi is pinning hope.
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The acclaimed photographer has used the old film techniques, in normal and 120mm format. “I use many cameras and many lenses from 20mm wide to macro and long focal point ones, but my favourite is the normal lens. When you are close to the subject especially when you are taking photos of people you have to connect with the subject. So 35mm or 50mm would be ideal for partying people. But it is again the man behind the camera is more important than whatever lens you are using,” Fadi says.
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Fadi had shot many of the Syrian photos in black and white films. “There are some moments you feel that this should be shot in black and white, don’t know why. All the photos are original; I haven’t photoshopped any images. I just want to reflect the truth behind every image,” Fadi said. For the aspiring photographers Fadi has one advice. “You have to love photography and have to be close to the subject. You have to dig up more in history. If you want to take the photos of the people, you have to live with the people. It is not just clicking and passing. You should know the history of the area and the people.”
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Fadi is now working on some photography projects in Oman. “Oman is a continuation of my land. I really like Omani people and they really can be a subject of photography. One subject is combining photos with poems. Very famous Arab poets are writing poems on photos of Syria. Another project is the Mountains of Oman, which I am planning to finish this year,” Fadi added.
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Fadi is an engineer working with the PDO. Follow him on Facebook at Facebook.com/fadi.m.zada, Instagram @fadimasrizada.
Email: [email protected]
