post 75/365
Beloved for her powerful voice, Sabah, actress and entertainer, was never far from the limelight during her six-decade career.
Sidon, The History
post 74/365
Saida, Arabic for fishing, takes its name from the old Phoenician word sidouna, also meaning fishing. In Genesis Sidon is a son of Canaan, a grandson of Noah. One of the most important, and perhaps the oldest, Phoenician cities dating around 4000 B.C., and perhaps even earlier, in Neolithic times, it was twice destroyed in war between the 7th and 4th centuries B.C., and again during the earthquake in the 6th Century A.D. It was the base from which the Phoenician’s great Mediterranean empire grew. Of all of Lebanon’s cities this is the most mysterious, for its past has been tragically scattered and plundered.
The Cartoonist
post73/365
In her cartoon world in shades of vivid colours, Zina Muffarij sketches Lebanese society with characters that form the stereotypical families nowadays. Her sketches are youthful, witty, funny, ironic, and a true mirror of the society we live in. Little Coussouma, one of my favorite characters, who happens to be the house maid, skips through twisted comical scenes with an irony so skillfully agile, that although carry a poignant point, are rendered wittily satirical.
Winter’s First Kiss
post 72/365
Big soft flakes of the first snow land on the earth. I look into the sky flooded with endless amounts of falling snow, swirling and dancing until they reach the ground. In the entire world there is nothing like the sound of falling snow. It sweeps away the world and the sky with a gentle hiss of snow globe tide. The snow blankets transforms all to still beauty on these mountains sitting atop of the world, silently watching. Within the icy silver stillness, the scheduled snow falls as the hush of the wind blows.
A Happy New Year
There will be no posts today as I am celebrating this day with my family. But I would like to thank you all for reading my posts. I know you don’t always have time to read them, but i hope you get to read a few a week.
A Little Note on the Lebanese
post 71/365
In spite of pervasive references to the war in Lebanon and in the midst of persisting regional tensions, the Lebanese are always trying to reaffirm their true image, that of perseverance, culture, and an intoxicating love for life.
The Finjein
post 70/365
A scent that always piques my interest, stronger the closer to it I become. Steam rises, softly blowing it away I take my first drink in this little white Finjein (cup) with green and red floral print. A cup of coffee somehow changes that lifeless sound of nothing there. ‘tfadalo a’l ahwe” (come in for coffee), almost everyone you meet will ask you to join them at home for coffee. As people we are always eager to connect and socialize with others. Coffee has always been a popular tool to socialize with other people in many occasions.
A Visual Memory
post 69/365
Set in 1975, West Beirut recreates the initial stages of Lebanon’s civil war through the experiences of three teenagers: Muslim friends Tarek and Omar, and the Christian neighbor May, not that religion or politics concern them very much. Tarek is more preoccupied with pop, sex, smoking and his beloved cine camera. Indeed, the division of Beirut into Christian-controlled East and Muslim West is simply an excuse to skip school. The three of them have several adventures in the chaotic streets patrolled by Muslim militias.
Standing the Test of Time
post 68/365
Tyre is a fabled place where monumental ruins recall as they change character with the daylight, the grandiose architecture and the vision, which its roman conquers, acquired from the orient. It evokes in equal measure the splendors of Phoenician times and those of Rome and Byzantium.
The Mountain Cheese
post 67/365
There is an intimate connection between food, seasons, and land that is universal. As the seasons change so does the earth, the air, the animals, and our body start to require different types of food. Somehow we are all connected on this little planet and what influences one, influences the other.
365 Days of Lebanon 