DAMASCUS, 8 November (BelTA - SANA). - For more than five centuries, the city of Damascus has been unique in the manufacture of brocade fabric, which has been associated with its name globally and considered one of the most famous and finest types of textiles and the most expensive because it is made of gold, silver and natural silk threads.
Its silk threads were imported from China. Later, Syrian craftsmen used the silk produced by the Dreikish area in Tartous Province, which was famous for breeding silkworms, and then the silk was sent to Aleppo city, where it was treated to make it ready for weaving (looming) in Damascus
Globally, the Damascene brocade has been classified as one of the most expensive fabrics in the world and was favored by queens, kings and famous rulers, as Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Britain, wore her wedding dress of Damascene brocade, which was specially woven for her from natural silk lined with gold and silver threads.
In 1953, Syria presented a gift to Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of her wedding, a cloth of Damascene brocade. The gift was presented by the late President of Syria at the time, Shukri al-Quwatli.
The most beautiful paintings of cashmere drawings , Damascene jasmine and grape leaves were drawn on Damascene brocade silky threads.
The Damascene craftsman also brought drawings from culture and stories of European peoples, including Italy, where he drew the story of Romeo and Juliet and drawings taken from an emperor in Germany, thus highlighting the meeting and harmony of civilizations on the Damascene cloth as it is Bilad al-Sham (the Levant) , which has always witnessed the most prominent civilizations.
