Picture courtesy of Skyscraper City

I can’t believe they actually attacked him for taking pictures! WTF?

I saw a hole in the fence and tried to take a few shots. Nothing was visible but bulldozers. A man with a walkie talkie saw me and yelled that photos were prohibited. He sent me to the main door. There two men stood, one with greased hair, a white shirt and a metal cap visible in his mouth.

I asked if I could see the site and he refused. “This is private property, no pictures.”

“But this is our history. How can it be private property? There are ancient ruins there.”

He apologized and repeated that I could not access the site.

Another man appeared, easily the tallest on site with light, almost pale skin. He was built like a bouncer.

“You see this fence,” he pointed behind him. “This is private property.”

“I love history,” I said. “I think it should be shared.”

“You want history? Go look over there.” He pointed to the downtown area.

“I want to see what is here,” I said.

“Do you want to have coffee,” he asked, with a smile.

“Sure, but I want to see the ruins first.”

“There are no ruins!” he said, repeatedly. “There’s nothing to see here.”

The site door opened behind him and I tried to get look. “Close the door,” he shouted.

“What’s the secret,” I said. “Are you hiding something?”

One of the men standing behind him was radioing back-up. Soon “the boss” showed up.

He was wearing suit pants and a silky button shirt, slightly opened–gray or grayish hair. Clearly not the type to get his hands dirty.

“There is nothing here,” he said parroting the previous response.

“If there is nothing, than why won’t you let me see it,” I asked.

“Fine, you want to see? Look,” he pointed at the open doorway.

He ushered me inside and stood in front of me. All I could see was a big pile of dirt and rocks to my right. And in the distance, to the far left, I could see a foundation being laid.

“You see there is nothing,” the boss said.

“What about over here,” I said, pointing to the middle area that was not visible from our standpoint.

“Can I go over there?”

“Sure,” the boss nodded, hesitantly.

As I walked down the small dirt hill, an ancient rock wall structure appeared before me. The rocks were rectangular, dark, almost grayish from what I can remember in that moment. They were about 1-2 feet in length and carefully fitted together. I glimpsed a small team of men moving them out of place using a small crane. [Full Story]

Picture from KevinInTheKingdom

I would have picked Kababji over Barbar.

Beirut is a cosmopolitan city where food standards are high.

When it comes to kebabs, Barbar is a Beirut institution. It’s a snack bar with branches throughout the city, but its flagship store is in trendy Hamra, where it takes up a whole block and overflows with customers night and day.

You can eat almost anything at Barbar and be happy, but the chicken shawarma is the tastiest pint-sized snack.

Marinated in spices including cardamom and cinnamon, the chicken is sliced off the rotating shawarma, laid in a piece of warm, fresh Lebanese bread with a smear of garlic paste and a pickle. [CNN]

Thanks C!

Picture via Sports-Leb

Event Description: Skydiving
Concept: “Participation & Shows”
Location: Hamat Air Base, North Lebanon
Date: From the 9th till the 25th of August 2013
Daily Time: From 10:00am till 6:00pm
Altitude: Above 4,200 Meters
Jumps Participation: Open for Public “Lebanese & Foreign Participants”

Skydiving Ticket Price:
Tandem Jump with Photos & Video: 444 Euros
Extra Photos & Video: 111 Euros
Prices include: Jump Certificate, Local and International Insurance, TAX.

You can check out more details [Here] and contact the following number [+961 70 722264] if you are interested.

Here are few [pictures] from last year’s event.

Good Job Sareen!

This picture was uploaded yesterday night by Minister Sehnaoui on Instagram with the below text:

I introduce to you Super Geek. A young Lebanese Geek turned Super Hero He’s into high tech gadgets and would pick Star Wars over Politics any day His Mission is to lead the Young Lebanese Digital Lobby to instill change in Lebanon and the World In days to come we will all need to think and brainstorm together to create the Adventures of Super Geek Our fellow Geek @sareen_ak who drew this character to life will help us make this happen We will also need to work together to make Super Geek’s Mission a Reality Share Super Geek with the community so we can have all Geeks on board of our Young Digital Lobby

I am still skeptical about this whole Lebanese Digital Lobby idea and I am not sure how Super Geek’s adventures will be appealing to internet users but I guess it’s a fun initiative for students maybe that can’t do any harm.

This announcement comes with another big event, which is the 4G commercial launch that is set for Wednesday 15th of May. The initial launch is for Limited Locations but will gradually expand to cover all regions. I don’t know whether people will be able to subscribe to the service as of the 15th as we just received few days ago dongles for the pilot phase which did not start yet and will last a whole month.

I will keep you posted once I activate my 4G dongle.

[YouTube]

This look like a fun show.

The President’s office – Picture taken from Presidency.gov.lb

A Press Release was posted on the Presidency’s official website where it was stated that the Baabda palace will open to visitors the first Saturday of every month starting June. Looking at the pictures, it is definitely worth a visit.

The first Saturday of every month, beginning in June, will be an opportunity for people to visit the presidential palace in Baabda. Visiting times will be from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Those interested in making a visit may consult www.presidency.gov.lb for further details.

At least three weeks are needed to process applications for a visit. [DailyStar]

[High-Res]
Spotted in Sin el Fil

I can’t read the last word. Never heard of it before.

He’s very serious about his parking space

I found at least 10 of those “Only Player – No Parking” signs in front of a commercial center in Jounieh. I didn’t know a hair salon needed that many parking lots.

[YouTube]

Adonis is a Lebanese Band that was formed back in 2010 and has released so far one album and another is on its way. Kermalik is a single from the new album that is expected to be launched in June 2013.

Their songs are fun to listen to. You can check them out [Here].

[YouTube]

I read on the LBCI website yesterday that Jbeil was named the Best Arab tourist city in 2013 and then watched in the news that it will receive the award on the 15th of June.

I tried looking for the source of that information online but I could only find articles dating back from April stating that Jbeil or Byblos was named the best Arab tourist city in 2013 by The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and that the ceremony will take place on May 4th at Bourj Al Arab Hotel Dubai under the patronage of the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Dr. Taleb Rifaii, and a number of Arab leaders and representatives of the diplomatic corps. [NNA-LEB] [MTV] [Daily Star]

However, I couldn’t find any event related to The United Nations World Tourism Organization or Burj Al Arab on the dates mentioned. Having said that, I don’t know honestly if both sources are talking about the same award, and I have no idea where did this event take place if it ever took place.

Picture taken by myself: @LeNajib

In all cases, Jbeil deserves the award as it’s a great touristic city with beautiful souks and ruins, as well as plenty of pubs, restaurants and resorts. Walking down Jbeil’s old Souks all the way to the Sea Castle and having dinner at its many restaurants is a MUST if you are coming to Lebanon this summer.

Too bad UAE citizens are going to miss out on that as they were urged not to travel to Lebanon yet again. It’s quite sad to read that when we thought this summer was going to be better than the last one.

Picture taken by myself: @LeNajib

Spotted in Zouk Mikhael on the road parallel to the maritime road.

Update: Lebanese Elias Bou Saab, VP of the American University of Dubai, is apparently the reason why the ceremony is always broadcasted on Lebanese TVs. He is a major shareholder in OTV and business deals with major Lebanese TVs and institutions. I was told he’s also he was the mayor of Dhour el Choueir, whose municipality is becoming a model for others to follow. He’s also the husband of singer Julia Boutros. Thanks @ArzLeb

I was told that this is not the first year that they broadcast it live but I still find it weird. They have pretty cool commencement speakers though, Arianna Huffington the Chair, President, and Editor-In-Chief Of The Huffington Post Media Group and Los Angeles’ mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa.

I remember Journalist Ghassan Tueni (May he R.I.P) was the speaker during my AUB graduation. We didn’t get any TV coverage though, unless my memory has failed me.

Aregu in first place

The story keeps getting better and better! In case you missed the original story, check it out [Here].

In case you haven’t visited Sietske’s blog yet, read [Here].

My housekeeper, as you may remember, runs for pleasure. And so her trainer sent me a message me yesterday to make sure she got to this 10 kilometer cross-country race in Arsoun this morning. I had no idea she was signed up, but he’s signing her up for all kinds of races, and she’s loving it!
Well, he just sent her picture through on WhatsApp; First place in her age category, and what’s even more cool, First Place in the overall category. So she seriously kicks ass! Her next race is on May 26, for the 10K women’s Challenge Race, and her trainer (I should name him, he’s really awesome in taking her under his wings, Roger Bejani. And her team mates, who run with her as well!) says she’s got ‘podium possibility’. Watch out for her, and come and cheer her on!!! [Link]

[Vimeo]

Pretty cool ad.

PS:Someone remind the Ministry of Tourism that summer is here.

Joe Maalouf was sacked from MTV and his show Enta Horr stopped last week

It looks like the war between the Murrs and the Enta Horr team is far from over. First Jyad Murr replies to Joe Maalouf:

Just to clarify what happened, knowing that my family will not be happy that I answered, and want to ignore the one usual one sided monologue he usually does. But since I read so many things on the internet and heard what he said on VDL, especially the part that he only met twice by coincidence Gaby Murr in the elevator, I wanted to relate some facts with my apology to MTV’s board of directors for not wanting me to do that and doing it anyway:

1- MTV giving someone the freedom to express his opinions, has always given instructions to give the chance to both parties, weather political or social, to show their different point of views. We give the liberty to the broadcaster to express sometimes his personal opinion but always in a fair way. In the case of Maalouf, it’s a one sided pretentious monologue. These are not MTV’s principles, as you notice in all our political programs, Bimawdou3iyya, the news, seven, Beirut lyom etc and in Social shows like Talk of the town for example where we treat all guests whether from 8 or March 14 the same way, and I guess most of you noticed that.

2- After many remarks regarding that, especially from Gaby Murr and the many promises in his office to do so, 3 of these times I was present, (Maalouf says he only met him by mistake in the elevator on VDL!!! maybe all the persons in the 4th floor who see him there are only hallucinating and maybe, I am a the one not saying the truth, and Maalouf is)
The last time, and after 3 very strict remarks, Joe begged my father to excuse him and said: “Wa3ed Charaf, It’s the last time I do that, and I will always go by you to have your agreement on the political and social programs before I go on air, and will always have both sides of the argument..”
What happened after that, is that he does a show without sticking to his “wa3ed charaf”, with a one sided argument, and after a contact from a person who wanted to express live his other sided of the story, my father had call the studio to oblige Joe to do that because he was not accepting!!! , and after the threats, he does not let the person speak and acts as the sole judge and torturer with the caller.
Well just to tell you, I do not know any head of company, store, newspaper or whatever place who will not do much much more to an employee who acts this way, don’t listen to the directives, don’t keep his promises, and so on. I was surprised that my father reaction was just throwing him out of the door, I would have done that from the window if someone disrespects me that much.

3- Joe is trying to present this as a case of defence against poor transexuals, and I agree that what was done is wrong, however, This is not the case. Remember that by doing the contrary a few month ago, Joe made these homosexuals undergo the most humiliating treatments when they were arrested because of his report.
No, it is not because of this show specifically, it is because of all that was said above, and because of that MTV will stay the voice of freedom, will give a chance to everybody to express their opinions, and like it pushed a unknown Joe Maalouf a year ago will push in the future other stars who will stick to their “Charaf”, who will follow the directions of the media they work in, who will not think they are more important than the media and everybody who works there, who will not think they are smarter than any Lebanese, who will not arrogantly express their mono-sided opinions. We can create new program and star who will represent mtv’s values as it is the case of all the other 100 hosts we have on our channel.

4- Finally, please Joe Maalouf, come back to earth, when you started working in mtv, you used to talk with everyone in the cafeteria, now you go inside barely looking at anyone from the 100′s of studiovision and mtv employees, maybe, after stopping your show in mtv you will land back to planet earth. This time I will not use the French Fable of Lamartine: “La grenouille (des egouts) qui voulait se faire aussi grosse que le boeuf”, because he might not understand it, i will use the Arabic:
“رحم الله امرء عرف حده فوقف عنده

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