Posted by Najib
Minister Faisal Karami to al-Jadeed: The Lebanon-Qatar match will be held in the presence of Lebanese fans. [Naharnet]
Update: A meeting at the Ministry of interior confirmed that fans will be present at the game between Qatar and Lebanon.
I just read this on Naharnet. It looks like fans will be authorized to enter the stadium after all to attend the Lebanon-Qatar World Cup Qualifying game. Let’s make the best out of it.
Posted by Najib
Picture taken by myself (edited via Instagram: LeNajib)
Beirut is like no other city in the Middle East, juxtaposing designer boutiques with grand mosques, bullet-scarred buildings with a boisterous nightlife. Though it has suffered hugely from decades of civil war, it is now one of the region’s safest places to visit. [BBC]
BBC are featuring on their main page a mini guide to Beirut, listing restaurants, hotels and main attractions to go to. Le Chef in Gemmayze is surprisingly still on the list of restaurants to visit.
Read the full article [Here].
Posted by Najib
I spotted those Zaatar bags at the newly open Rifai Branch in Jeita. The Aleppian and Jordanian Thymes mixtures are lighter and tastier than the Thyme we have in Lebanon as far as I am concerned.
Posted by Najib
Ras el Abed changed its name to Tarboush years back. I think it’s time Abeedo is changed as well.
Note: As mentioned by Majd, Abeedo is the family name of the owners of the company. I had no clue as I was referring to the use of “Abeedo” to point to a black person and I’ve heard it (sadly)quite often in Lebanon. Having said that, and being that it’s a family name, it can’t be compared to the naming of Rass el Abed.
Posted by Najib
Opening ceremony of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium: Picture
taken from Kaloustian.edu
As you all know by now, the upcoming WC Qualifying game opposing Lebanon and Qatar will take place on Sunday behind closed doors. No fans will be allowed from both sides for fear that some might insult the Qatari Emir.
The reason for the ban may seem silly and outrageous but before lashing out at Qatar and the Lebanese authorities, let us acknowledge that the Lebanese people, and more specifically sports fans and teams in Lebanon, are in a large part responsible for this decision.
In fact, why would the authorities be worried in the first place about Lebanese fans insulting and cursing the Qatari Emir? What the hell does cursing The Emir of Qatar have to do with a FOOTBALL game between Lebanon and Qatar? I think that’s the question that we need to ask here.
Our Lebanese Football National team is the best we had in ages, and is supported unconditionally by all the Lebanese regardless of religion and politics. Even more, the players on the team are being very poorly paid, if paid at all, yet are working hard and giving their best for the team and the Lebanese.
And how do we answer them? Mixing politics with sports and screwing up their achievements.
Sports are sports and we Lebanese should be supporting local and national teams based regardless of political affiliations. It should be forbidden and punishable by law to cheer for political leaders or religious leaders or whatever is unrelated to sports in all games. It is normal to have sports rivalries between teams or countries but they should be resolved in friendly and official games not by raising stupid sectarian and hateful slogans. We all saw how disgraceful our Basketball league was this year.
Having said that, and as stated in my previous post, I disagree fully with the decision but I hope it will serve as a wake up call for Lebanese to go cheer for sports in future games and not drag our country’s problems into every game we play.
Posted by Najib
Picture Taken on the way up to Jeita
Here are few sunset pictures I’ve been taking in the past few weeks from different locations. I hope you enjoy them. You can follow on Instagram (User: LeNajib) for daily pictures from all across Lebanon.
Zaytounay Bay
Mastita, before Jbeil
Marina, Dbayyeh
Antoura
