The late poet Issa Asfour sang of the customs and traditions of Jabal al-Arab. He has a famous poem in which he says:
Oh traveler at dawn…..
Stop and see our homes
You will find rifles and ammunition…..
Pride for the protected and our neighbor
Cardamom and fragrant coffee…..
We offer them to our visitors
The heart stands tall like the full moon…..
Lighting up our desolate nights
And when the bell of danger rings…..
Our free men rise to answer the call
Drinkers of red blood…..
We are the protectors of our walls
Asfour was born in As-Suwayda in 1925 and passed away on August 24, 1992. He received his education in As-Suwayda and graduated from Damascus University with a law degree. He worked in law and the judiciary, and was a member of the Research and Studies Association.
Asfour was a man of literature and knowledge, and a creative individual. He was a poet in both Classical Arabic and vernacular poetry, and a translator of French books, having translated over sixty books.
He was also a translator, a linguistic researcher, and one of the Arab creative figures in expressing Arab causes and achieving national identity.
