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Located on the former Green Line, the National Museum of Beirut is an impressive building with a magnificently displayed collection of archaeological artifacts that offers a great overview of Lebanon’s history and the civilizations that made their home here. The National Museum is considered to be one of the most significant Near Eastern museums because of its rich collection.
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I am sure you’ve heard this about a million times before “ya pappy, kam mara iltilak haj thot ossba’ak bi mounkharak” (oh, daddy, how many times have I told you to stop putting your finger in your nose). Oh no, wait, it’s not what you think… it’s not the child reprimanding the dad for putting his finger in his nose. It’s the dad whose calling his son dad.
post 77/365
Another slow food foundation for the protection of food biodiversity is our very own keshek el foukara (poor man’s cheese). Majdel Zoun is located around ten kilometers from the ancient city of Tyre, a small village of Muslim farmers situated in a dry stony landscape. Their Keshek el fouqara in fact uses no milk, whereas keshek is commonly made with goat’s milk yoghurt.
post 76/365
The Lebanese flag is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is to be two times a red one (ratio 1:2:1). The green cedar in the middle touches each of the red stripes and its width is one third of the width of the flag.
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post 75/365
Beloved for her powerful voice, Sabah, actress and entertainer, was never far from the limelight during her six-decade career.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
post 66/365
Christmas is a special time of year, a time filled with festivities and cheer. The lights are up, magic fills the air as people rush to get gifts. Children wait in anticipation for Father Christmas and all the gifts they will be receiving. All the wrapped presents under the tree topped with a golden star for all to see. But those gifts don’t at all compare to the beauty of having the family around. As we start this solemn slalom towards a week that ends engorged, with stomachs bloated whilst we gloat and toast a perfect holiday, let us remember that December is about reunion, love, and sharing this small world we inhabit.
365 Days of Lebanon 