post 86/365
Sometimes it is with great dignity and love that one faces life’s hardship. Some people’s willpower can be surprising at times with an optimism that overshadows one’s manmade cruel fate. Below is the story of such a human being.
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Our Lady of Lebanon
post 85/365
As one, we are senseless beings begging for love, good health, and happiness, asking for forgiveness. Hoping to see light, we look above and stare at her peaceful face, and rest our heavy little hearts right on her shoulder. Occasionally I become lost in looking, and stagger into a daze as I wonder how many people have come here in search for something, asking her for help. She has stood there it seems for eternity contemplating anguish and propagating patience. Overlooking the bay of Jounieh, she opens her arms welcoming all.
The House of Faith
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Beiteddine was build to give pleasure to the eye. A palace surrounded with gardens, adorned by beauty, shining with apparent and hidden splendors. During the day, the marble throws its clear light, which invades the black corners that the shadows blacken. At Night, the stars wish to rest amidst its picturesque courtyard.
The Chestnut Street Vendors
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The breeze of these winter days, I can feel it slipping into my skin. The wind is sighing in a winter sky and the streets are busy as usual with people going about their day. The birds that came are gone again. The silence reins the skies yet the cacophony of a busy city fills the air. With all the painted images of a winter scene in the heart of Beirut comes the smell of roasted chestnuts in the air. It’s that time of the year where the street vendors stand on the side of the roads selling Kastana (roasted chestnuts).
The Title Reversal
post 78/365
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.
The Poor Man’s Cheese
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.
The Lebanese Flag
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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Our Sabbouha
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
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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.
The Cartoonist
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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.
365 Days of Lebanon 