100 Hours of Astronomy: Friday 3 April

This was the most important activity during 100 Hours of Astronomy. This is because Damas Gate Restaurant, which is located on the Airport Highway south of Damascus, is a Guinness Record holder as the largest restaurant in the world, with 6,014 seats. You can find a photo of the certificate below.

The lectures started at 17:30 with an introduction about the International Year of Astronomy and 100 Hours project. Then followed a series of short lectures about importance of astronomy and its relation with our lives by Dr. Hamzeh Hamzawi, presentation about the important events in 2009 by Dr. Firas Safadi (thanks to the IYA-2009 secretariat who published this Arabic translation of the original version on IYA-2009 official website), and the sky at that night with an overview of the most important constellations, stars, and planets by Mr. Samer Biazid.

It may be interesting to mention that Mr. Shaker Samman, the owner of the restaurant, has a piece of the famous Siberian meteorite which caused a huge explosion over Siberia in February 1947. This unique piece of the meteorite, which weighs about 106 kg, is displayed for public in the restaurant. A special speech about this stone was presented by Mr. Wisam Hosein.

The most important aspect of the activity was the presence of Major-General Mouhammad Fares, the only Syrian astronaut who ascended to Meer Space Station on 1987. He talked to the public about the importance of space navigation and answered their questions. The second important person was Sheikh Hasan Al Jamal, a famous religious character in Syria. He spoke about the religious importance of knowing about astronomy, especially that many aspects of the Islamic religion depends on lunar calander.

The audience was so heavy that the hall was crowded with people. There were a majority of kids and women. Many questions were answered by lecturers and members of the association.

Meanwhile 12 telescopes were mounted in the balcony and entry to the place was organized so that we can count the number of people who have their first look through the telescope. Shortly after sunset nearly all people in the restaurant came to see the moon, saturn, and orion nebula. We distributed brochures and leaflets, and we answered the questions of audience. We counted 365 participants.

The Syrian astronaut participated in the starparty, and he was in direct contact with the audience. Many TV-channels, journalists, and media directors were present as well.

We leave you with a photo summary of the event. Click on any image to enlarge it.

The association secretariat Ms. Turkia Jbour and the media manager Mr. Mohammad Nasab speaking to the audience about the IYA 2009	Damas Gate Restarurant holds the Guinness World Record of the largest restaurant in the world with 6,014 seats
Dr. Firas Safadi, SPoC in Syria, speaking about the important events of 2009 in a presentation translated to Arabic from the original of IYA-2009	Dr. Hamzeh Hamzawi speaking about the importance of sciences in general and particularly astronomy in our lives to find our place in the univese
Major-General Mohammad Fares, the only Syrian astronaut, speaking in public about his unique experience and the importance of space navigation	Mr. Samer Biazid demonstrating the view of the sky at that day with focusing on the constellations, brightest stars, and planets
Twelve telescopes owned by members of the association were mounted on the balcony of the restaurant. They were ready just before the sunset	The restaurant includes a piece of Siberia famous meteorite called 'Sikhote-Alin', which is possessed by the owner of the restaurant and is displayed for public
When the observation started total families moved to the balconey to look through the telescopes that we mounted there	This is a general veiw of the restaurant from the balcony where our activity was held showing part of its yard with many fountains and palm trees
Although there was a good number of telescopes, people crowded around them in the balcony to look at the moon, saturn, and orion nebula	We wanted to give the opportunity to all people in the restaurant to have their first veiw through the telescope and answering all their questions about astronomy
Even elederly people, who may have never peered through a spyglass, could enjoy the sight of the moon and saturn and know more about them	The activity attracted a lot of young children and was an opportunity to introduce astronomy to whole families who knew nothing about it before
Aljazeera channel in an interview with Major-General Mohammad Fares the only Syrian astronaut who ascended to Meer Space Station on 1987	All children enjoyed watching the crators on the moon through big telescopes, wondering that they have never thought about them before!

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