A Season of War This is a season of war: here in the Fertile Crescent, there in the North and Horn of Africa, in Europe between Russia and Ukraine… The statistics alone are enough material with which one can draw the starkest of portraits of this age. But along with the faces of war’s victims, …
The Old Amman and its il-Madineh At a small dinner party a few years ago in Beirut, I met George Arbid, then professor of Architecture at AUB and co-founder of the Arab Center for Architecture (ACA). He told me he was working on a region-wide project on monuments to modernity in Arab metropolises–or something to …
Return to Hadath “ Ya, madame,” he shouted from the third floor balcony. I think I finally heard him the third time around. “ My grandfather lived here a long time ago,” I reassured him, instinctively knowing what brought him out. “I just wanted to take a photo or two of the old place.” He …
As The Lebanese Elites Play House… When the 2019 protests in Lebanon began to fizzle, a few of us sat over dinner discussing what might be the key lesson of that season of discontent. The most chilling one so far, I said, is that the ruling cabal realized they can pretty much do whatever they …
“Lina, My Little Muslim Friend” Last week, a Lebanese friend of mine, whom I shall call Samira, went with her daughter and granddaughter to the children’s toy department at London’s Selfridges. Upon entering the store, she was stunned to see little veiled Lina and her playmates on display. The Muslim dolls Lina, Amira and Aamina, …
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