Zambo 2012

Around this time last year, I remember my friend Taha posting photos of people painted in black and gold, dressed in wigs, masks, and costumes, prancing around on the street. He told me it was called Zambo, but I still didn’t understand what it was…

Then just this morning, while I was walking with Dana, we bumped into her cousin Nabil, who was also from El Mina. And he told us that today was Zambo, bringing me back to the title of the album Taha had posted last year! Now here was a local, telling me the tale:

It turned out to be an old tradition for the Christian community of El-Mina, celebrating the start of lent! They’d paint themselves and dress up, and parade around the street collecting money. Then they’d use that money to have a big feast at night and get drunk before starting fasting the next day!

I’ll leave you with some pictures Taha took today (more pictures here):

A Walk by the Sea…

It’s cold and it’s windy. But in its chill, the wind whispers to me, inviting me out to sea. So I get in my Peugeot and go to pick Dana up from in front of the Condor before driving to the coastline. Welcome to El-Mina, the city of waves and horizon…

It’s cloudy, but the light gently plays in and out of the clouds. I study it from inside the car thinking, I haven’t been here in way too long... “Look behind you,” Dana tells me, as I step out of the car to see this:

Heaven lit snow capped mountains, she called them. What a divine site, with the clouds letting just enough light emit from above, shedding daylight on the mountain tops. And in front of them, stands a mosque. And in front of it, stand palm trees, dancing in the wind. Where else could you see such a site?

We walked, with my camera grasped firmly in my hands. But for some reason, my eyes were taking in more beauty than the lens were and so I just kept cradling it from the straps wrapped around my neck…

We came across a flock of seagulls, floating in the breeze, by the water. A veiled lady in black stood there watching them, dancing in and out of water. As I stood by her side to take photos, she seemed to snap out of her reverie, and turned around to continue walking…

I usually cant take such close shots of moving objects, but I was glad I had brought my newest zoom lens along, which helped me capture these flying beauties:

A few minutes onward, we caught up with the veiled lady, standing again, lost in the sea. I remembered going to the beach with a close friend and her mother last year, and I still remember her mother telling me, “Nour, I could look out at the sea forever…” and when I looked at her, I saw this deep and reminiscent look, as if at the bottom of the sea, there lay treasures only she could see. A smile, of mixture of happiness and sorrow, I couldn't tell. But that look her mother had that day, was almost the same look this lady wore. And so I made sure not to let the sea steal my gaze. Because if it did, my thoughts would drown in it too...

We climbed down to the shoreline, which was decorated with thousands of seashells. I’m not sure if this was the same shoreline, but I clearly over a decade of a year back, Dad took my brother and me to an El-Mina shoreline where I picked out some seashells and took them back home, where they still sit in a basket in my room…

On the way back, we ran into a van selling hand carved boats. I’ve always had a fascination with boats; I even have three mini models in my room. I thought one of these would make a wonderful addition to my collection, but I didn't have any money on me and so, I made a mental note to get an El Mina hand carved boat one day in the future. Look, doesn't this last picture remind you of the boat in The Adventures of Tintin?

Today, I was reminded of the beauty of the sea, of El-Mina. It lifted my spirit! Thank You for a beautiful morning by the sea, Dana. It was a refreshing breath of fresh air! :-)

For “Father and Son”…

I think I was too young to remember “music” back when we were living in Canada. But I distinctly remember growing fond of it after we had moved back to Lebanon in 1996, when I was almost 10, especially during our family road trips in the car. We’d sometimes turn on the radio, but more often than not, Dad would like to put in some of his own music, most of which was Cat Stevens, and trip after trip, I grew a liking to him and his songs and I slowly began memorizing the lyrics…

But there was this one song in particular, that always gave me this strange feeling, especially when we were driving home on Sunday afternoons. I guess it’s the words of the song like, “Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away. I know I have to go…” That line always sent shivers through me. Yet listening to it I felt safe, and I always remember my father when I listen to it. And so, that was the song I came here for…

Cat Stevens, or Yusuf Islam as he likes to be called, was a brilliant concert for me. The audience was mostly old, and I think that’s one of the things I liked best about it. It brought back memories; it brought me back to roots. But most of all, it was a blessing to be watching it with my father… :-)

A lot of Cat’s old and familiar songs were played, especially my favorites like “Where Do the Children Play?”, “Wild World”, and “The First Cut Is the Deepest”. But I also discovered a new favorite of mine that night, “Tuesday’s Dead” which was played right before the intermission. I think for a title that’s got the word “dead” in it, it’s got one of the most upbeat tempos I've ever heard! Definitely another one of my new top Cat Stevens songs!

That night, Cat said that there are only two kinds of stories in life: those about leaving home, and those about coming home… That couldn't be truer! And a little towards the end of his stage time, a couple of youngsters at the back started screaming for him. He pulled up and chair, quite tired, and told them to “take it easy… which brings me to my next song”. I instantly knew it was not time to make a change, and set my phone to video mode, for “Father and Son”, my ultimate favorite song of his:

A Remembrance...

Lately I've been posting a lot of anti-Valentine’s statuses on Facebook and BBM: “Valentine's Day is cancelled, here's the mathematical proof: 14-02-12 = 0”, “Some call it Valentine's Day ... I call it Tuesday”, and to all my friends who are committed: "Happy Valentine's Day" ... and to all my friends who are single, "Happy Independence Day". And though I couldn't help but chuckle at the posts, there’s a little part of me that thinks there’s something sweet about this holiday…

Mich called me and A last night, asking if we’d want to go to Beirut with him today. Since we didn't have any prior plans, we were on the way there by 10 AM this morning. Our first and foremost stop was Hariri’s memorial site…

It wasn't too crowded yet there were a good amount of people there. As soon as I stepped in, I had a flashback… It’s been 7 years since the assassination. 7 years since I was sitting in our AUB dorm room with Nadine, when a deafening explosion shook us both. We looked up at the sky to see dark black smoke from the distance, and so we ran out of our rooms, trying to find out what had happened. The TV in the common room was already turned on with live footage, and more than half the residents were gathered around it. Moments later, we somberly learned that Hariri’s life had been claimed. And that all hell had broken loose…

I can’t believe that it’s already been 7 years. A lot has changed, yet in a way, nothing has changed at all. But if I could sum up the entire present day, it would be in this picture I took, this heart shaped arrangement of roses that his wife had placed on his grave this morning:

I took these two pictures at the memorial as well before we each said a prayer and went back to spend the rest of our work-free day in Beirut… HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY <3

Titanic Valentine’s Day Messages

If you asked me what my favorite movie was, I would without hesitation say “Titanic”, and no, not only because my favorite actor stars in it. Oh Leo, you’re so dreamy! :-P Anyway, I found these three “Titanic Valentine’s Day Messages” on Facebook this morning, and I couldn't help but post them, they’re so sweet:

I am also bucket loads exited for Titanic 3D to come out in April! So I’ll leave my Titanic love for when the movie comes out in two months… till then, here's the trailer:

I Will Always Love You...

In Memory of Whitney Houston ... (Aug 9, 1963 - Feb 11, 2012)