The symbol of Lebanon!

aub

Liban • Tripoli • juin 2011 by du bruit dans la tete on Flickr.

Out of Venice
58.5 x 76”
ink, watercolor pens and acrylic on canvas

(loc: Lebanon)

The symbol of Lebanon!

Beirut, Lebanon Junior Girls’ College library in...

Bait El Deen

I suspect this will come to be the dominant interpretation from now on:

….Though the decision to retaliate in force was inevitable, it also meant that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) was taken by surprise and did not have time to prepare properly. Of the entire vast order of battle, only five regular brigades were immediately available. Moreover, these brigades had spent years doing little but carrying out counter-insurgency operations in the Occupied Territories. As a result, they had almost forgotten how to fight a real enemy; he who fights the weak will end up by becoming weak. Some of the burden fell on the Israeli Navy which shelled Lebanon’s coast, imposed a blockade, and cut the country off from the world. In doing so, one of its modern ships was hit by an Iranian-built surface to sea missile, suffering damage and taking some casualties. Since this was the first time in thirty-nine years anything of the kind had happened, it was a considerable propaganda victory for Hezbollah. At the same time it proved how much the crew had underestimated the enemy, since they (perhaps acting on their superiors’ orders) had not even switched on the vessel’s electronic defenses.….

”Stark raving mad” (majnun, in Arabic) was, in fact, the way many people in Lebanon and the rest of the Arab world reacted to the Israeli attack. As the statements of several of Hezbollah’s top leaders indicated, they too were surprised by the strength of the Israeli reaction. None of the organization’s original objectives were achieved. Its fighters remain in prison; the Israeli “occupation” of Shaba Farm continues; and Jerusalem, which it set itself as its ultimate objective to liberate, remains as firmly in Israeli hands as it has been during the last forty-four years. What the war did do was to show that, in case of war, neither Syria nor Iran would necessarily come to Lebanon’s rescue. The country’s infrastructure was left in ruins. Thirty thousand dwellings were destroyed or damaged, and dozens of bridges, underpasses, and gas stations demolished. Hundred of thousands of people were forced to flee, and as many as 2,000 killed.

I wrote a piece with a similar message last year. Looked strictly from the framework of their objectives, both 2006 and Cast Lead achieved a narrow sort of deterrence. Given the duty of the government to protect its citizens from harm, this is appropriate and should be considered a success.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t larger problems with Israeli grand strategy and defense policy, but the success or failure of Israel’s wars should be judged on the basis of the policy objectives that these Israelis set themselves.

Beirut Tour 2010

EARLY HISTORY OF THE REGION

Before the Hebrews first migrated there around 1800 B.C., the land of Canaan was occupied by Canaanites.

“Between 3000 and 1100 B.C., Canaanite civilization covered what is today Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon and much of Syria and Jordan… Those who remains in the Jerusalem hills after the Romans expelled the Jews [in the second century A.D.] were a potpourri: farmers and vineyard growers, pagans and converts to Christianity, descendants of the Arabs, Persians, Samaritans, Greeks and old Canaanite tribes.”

-Marcia Kunstel and Joseph Albright, “Their Promised Land.”

El Tanoura - Fares Karam

Deir el Qamar, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon Junior Girls’ College library in 1946.

From the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress.

Via the Wikimedia Commons.

Deir el Qamar, Lebanon

El Tanoura - Fares Karam

Beirut, Lebanon Junior Girls’ College library in 1946.

From the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress.

Via the Wikimedia Commons.

Deir el Qamar, Lebanon

a larger version of my icon. lebanon: under construction.

but its not just Palestine that is / was affected by Israel’s murderous acts….

The Lebanon War

Destruction in the wake of Israeli bombs that targeted Beirut. Since June 6, the Israeli army launched a major offensive in South Lebanon, aimed at destroying Palestinian camps.

IMAGE:
© Patrick Chauvel/Sygma/Corbis

DATE PHOTOGRAPHED
June 24-25, 1982

Too excited for Lebanon, it’s getting ridiculous. Summer really starts when I’m there, then I finish it back home. Ahhhh too much happiness.

Electricity of Lebanon building shot from down under; #beirut #Lebanon (Taken with Instagram at EDL)

Driving to the Cedars a few months ago. 

A few months ago, driving near The Cedars.

a larger version of my icon. lebanon: under construction.

In the mountains of Lebanon

“People whom you will meet and, by saying nothing, will approve of their actions are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. You will be remembered as someone who did collaborate with Apartheid.”

- Joey Ayoub to the co-founder of WikipediaHezbollah moving missile stock from Syria to Lebanon

Martyr square in 1991.

In the 19th century, the square was known as Place des Canons. During World War I, Lebanon was under Ottoman rule. In 1915, Beirut suffered a blockade by the Allies, which was intended to starve the Turks out. The effect was a famine, followed by plague, which killed more than a quarter of the population. A revolt against the Turks broke out which resulted in hanging of many nationalists on 6 May 1916 in the renamed Martyrs’ Square. Among them were Said akl, Father Joseph Hayek, Abdul Karim al-Khalil, Abed al-Wahab al-Inglizi, Joseph Bishara Hani, Mohammad and Mahmoud Mahmassani, Omar Hamad, Philip and Farid el-Khazen, and Sheikh Ahmad Tabbara.

Currently some remains of the old Cinema Opera building (now a Virgin Megastore) and the bronze Martyrs statue are the only features left of the Martyrs’ Square. The statue, riddled with bullet holes, has become a symbol for all that was destroyed during the Lebanese Civil War.

The Martyrs’ Square is a common location for protests and demonstrations, among the more notable demonstrations were the 2005 anti-Syrian protests of the Cedar Revolution and 2007 anti-government opposition protests led by Hezbollah and The Free Patrotic Movement.

I do not own these pictures, only found them at work in an old film.

In the mountains of Lebanon

Liban • Tripoli • juin 2011 by du bruit dans la tete on Flickr.

Yuri Mrakadi- Arabyion ana - Album “Arabyion Ana 2000”

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this is where i’ll be todayyy. (taken in 2008)

Good morning Saida, Lebanon. June 25th. 

Liban • Beyrouth • juin 2011 by du bruit dans la tete on Flickr.

Liban • Tripoli • juin 2011 by du bruit dans la tete on Flickr.

Maya Diab, aka most beautiful Lebanese woman ever

(Photo: The Travel Case)

Artisans in Lebanon are a dime a dozen. If you are lucky, however, you stumble upon those precious gems whose story is as enticing as it’s manifestations, i.e. the product. Ghita is one such character I had the pleasure of meeting during my yearly pilgrimage to Starch, a boutique with a to die for concept likened to an incubator for young Lebanese designers. Ghita’s road to becoming an artisan is not unique per se. The majority of designers I met in Beirut typically studied something completely different in university, followed by taking a sharp turn towards their true calling. Story of our lives? What makes Ghita unique are the concepts and stories she’s made a grab for in the spirit of developing a very personal collection. 

Ghita, a Starch boutique baby, is soon to take her first steps on her own as a “grown up” accessories artisan. Recall I mentioned in my original Starch article that the boutique works very much like an art gallery. Burgeoning interior, clothes and accessories designers collectively showcase their work for a given amount of time before the next crop. Ghita was chosen to exhibit her accessories based on her portfolio from Domus Academy in Milan. After two successful collections to her name, literally, Ghita is on a roll. 

(Photo: Saddle Ring)

So what’s behind the collection? Shel Silverstein’s Edge of the World, if you will. Ghita took the notion behind the world being flat and challenged herself to question how flat materials take shape. How does it become voluminous and something of substance? These musings lent themselves to designing accessories, such as bags, that start off flat and then take shape through folding and layers. My favourite is the treasure chest in large and small. Below is the small version. I love how in each of Ghita’s designs on her website she brings you back to the concept in which she designed the bag; from flatness to folding. I urge you to visit her website to check out the rest of her “treasure chests”.

Maya Diab, aka most beautiful Lebanese woman ever

Did You Know...

Maral on Flickr.

…that there are three people who have camped out since March, 1974? They have slept outside in temperatures sometimes of around -67F, -55C. They are Sven and Per (brothers) and their sister Kari Heistad of Lebanon, New Hampshire in America. In extreme temperatures they can use up to three sleeping bags!

i went to a lebanese wedding this weekend

lal 3ayleh killa

2006 Israeli war on Lebanon, Beirut suburbs

That man she is smiling at is Shimon Peres. The 9th President of Israel.

He is responsible for the killings of civilians in Lebanon. The most distinguished war crime of the Peres was his direct responsibility as a Prime Minister for the shelling of the UN forces headquarters in the village of Qana in southern Lebanon in 1996. More than 800 Lebanese civilians sought refuge in the building to escape Israeli fire, yet the UN flag was not enough to stop the Israeli thirst for blood. 106 people were killed in the massacre and at least 110 were seriously injured.

Oh, did I mention Shakira is part Lebanese?
Doesn’t she look stupid….

Tripoli

Beirut ready to implement Iran-Lebanon agreements (Iran Focus):

“Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has declared his new government is ready to implement agreements which had previously been discussed with Tehran, Iranian state-media reported on Tuesday.

The state-run news agency Fars reported that the issue was discussed on Monday night between Mikati and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Qazanfar Roknabadi in Beirut.”

i kinda just wanna become an architect so i can go knock down all the ugly ass buildings in lebanon and replace them with presentable structures.

thats the only thing i hate about lebanon, all the nasty looking buildings

and it’s part of the tradition for the groom’s family and guests to drive like they’re having a parade to the bride’s house before the church ceremony. when they arrive, pictures are taken and the guests are greeted and then everyone leaves with the bride to the church where the groom is.

on saturday, the guests arrived at my dad’s aunt’s house (his cousin was getting married). while taking pictures, i overheard the groom’s sister saying “i don’t have one of these” in arabic, holding up a ceramic venezuelan dancer my dad’s aunt brings home from her travels there. next thing i knew, she quickly shoved it under her dress and made her way out of the house. i followed her slowly, trying to make sure if it had just been a gift or if what i was seeing was real, until she got to the groom’s family’s car. she opened the trunk. when she became visible again, the lump was gone from her dress and the dancer was not there.

i was pretty angered that the sister of the groom would steal something from the house like that. i mentioned it to my dad and he looked at me like i was crazy, saying no one would ever do that, especially not someone related to the groom. but i definitely saw it happen. i wished i had used my camera to record it, because it really put me in a bad mood.

on the way to the church, my dad told my jedo (grandpa) that i was mad, and that it was because a member of the groom’s family had taken something from the house.

my jedo, in his deep and sometimes incomprehensible voice, shrugged it off, and waving his hand in the air like he was swatting away a fly he said, “it’s tradition.”

Photo

Moby here we come! #beirut #lebanon #music #thisislebanon...

Frontiטre Liban/Israel, soldat de l’ONU.

Achrafieh

#Beirut #streetart by #eliezaarour #Lebanon #urbanart

late night session with @monaqasat #startup #etendering #arab #lebanon @seeqnce (Taken with instagram)

Sud Liban

Byblos

Hippodrome Beirut

That is ?original idea: the ugliest couch photo contest launched by City-Furniture #Lebanon (Taken with instagram)

Sursock

Moby here we come! #beirut #lebanon #music #thisislebanon #byblos (Taken with instagram)

"There, surrounded by the violence of many army, and finally by the Israeli invasion, I stood facing..."

I want a red tarboosh like these gentlemen.

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Dolly Chahine- Moumou Einy

#Beirut the #city redrawn #arabictype #urbanart #Lebanon #grafspace (Taken with instagram)

Beirut ‘s firefighters on duty #lebanon (Taken with instagram)

#arabicgraffiti found @ #Amchit #lebanon (Taken with Instagram at Les Colombes)

Map

A Lebanese Courtyard (by john a d willis)

“There, surrounded by the violence of many army, and finally by the Israeli invasion, I stood facing it all with my pen every day. I never felt fear, failure or despair, and I didn’t surrender. I faced armies with cartoons and drawings of flowers, hope and bullets. Yes, hope is essential, always. My work in Beirut made me once again closer to the refugees in the camps, the poor, and the harassed…”

- Naji Al-Ali (Palestinian Cartoonist)