Michael Ondaatje

 

Some of the writing reminds us of the bon mot from JL Borges about his hope, on contemplating his oeuvre, that he had at least written in the end a couple of rather acceptable paragraphs... The 'acceptable paragraph' one spots in this novel with intimidating frequency shows Ondaatje, like Borges, attaining near-perfection, literature-wise... Simplicity, light deepness and an almost-poetical sense of rhythm ... As a bonus the best card table scene I've ever read with an unforgettable introduction to poker "mechanics" ...

Ytzhak Shamir

 

Approaching Jericho, on the desert road towards the Monastery of St George, one spots the essence of what settling is all about. A defiance, an arrogance but also a sense of romantic doom like the Fort of "Beau Geste"... The winter desert light is photovoltaic white... Who would live there but for the grand gesture?...

Gemael & al

Café Blanc in Beirut. Neo-Orientalist style...

A trip to Beirute

My impressions of Lebanon (to be continued)

Tyre

Tyre, one of the Phoenician cities whose names we learned by heart at high school, offered apparently some resistance to the great army of Alexander...

Rafik Hariri

One can show their patriotic pride in quite fashionable accessorizing...

Desirée Sadek

The New Orientalism is everywhere in smart Beirut... People there know t the secret of blending East and West with the daring that it's needed but without falling into the kitsch caricature one tends to find -unfortunately - in other azimuths... A new Byzance indeed...

Shatilla 2

Palestine refugee camp of Shatilla (November 2008)

Michel Suleiman

The Lebanese army, on the eve of Independence Day, was very on the edge... These innocent photos almost derailed a smoothly planned trip aboard a UN-marked bus...

Yvonne Sursock

Imagine the structure of an Andalusian grand house with a central patio as big as a pracieta and then convert the patio into the the floor of the central room and put a proper ceiling above everything... A Palace that counters years of bad press on the subject of Beirut... The "chatelaine" talks charmingly about Chomski amidst all the fluffy evidence of the discrete charm of the haute lebanese bourgeoisie ...

Leila Barakat

An evening out in Beirute...

Nedjma

A Muslim female friend first told me about this book... Frank self-awareness of sexuality in an autobiographical book by a Muslim female author must be rather difficult to swallow in some a-tolerant quarters...

Ron Pundak

 

The new HQ of the Peres Centre for Peace at the beach in Jaffa this blogger of yours used to consider his. The modern building, although beautiful in itself, invades the traditional architectural features of the decaying houses surrounding the beach like a Barbarian who nobody has invited for dinner. Reminds one of the Carlos V Palace in the Alhambra. Heavy-boots subtlety, if The Right Honourable Reader understands what I mean...