Aslam al Silahdar Mosque, Cairo - restoration

The Aslam al Silahdar Mosque is now reopened to the public after a 3 year restoration. The 650 year old mosque was given a face lift with the help of the Agha Khan Trust for Culture. Mameluke architecture, hidden in the Darb al Ahmar distric, the mosque is one out of the 456 registered islamic monuments in Cairo.
What time frame do you need to visit each of these buildings? and this is only the Islamic heritage!
Stones, designs, geometrical intricacy, visual illustrations... memories from the past to show evidence of the artisans' skills. Testifying on a way of life, they give richness to the present.
Through a meticulous restoration program in using materials as in the past and only modern technology to fortify the new,  the whole approach is about preservation of the spirit inhabiting the space.
Cairo remains an open treasure hunt to explore the Arab's history through beauty of stones.

link to the Agha Khan trust
(photos by AP)

Claude Levi Strauss

A voice is silenced.

Claude Levi Strauss, anthropologist, ethnologist, scientist, philosopher was a seeker of a certain understanding about humans and their relation with their environment, their language, their behavior.

Born in 1908 he died on 31st of October 2009 just before his 101's birthday.

100 years of a lifetime is something. But 100 years of fruitful, knowledge collecting, revolutionary ideas producing, sharing in teaching and publishing; that is a life well spent.

"We are in a world that I don't belong to anymore. The one I knew and cared for was of 1,5 billion humans, today we are over 6 billions. It is not my world anymore." he says in one of his recent interviews.

But his intellectual impact is a treasure in deciphering primitive tribes in the Amazon forest and their way of life. He worked on myths and symbols. He opened science to other cultures and concluded that, with its own rationale, no culture is superior to the other.

He viewed the confusion between material progress and  superiority in civilization as being infatued with one's own self and a mistake for the mind.

In his humble ways, he has found in the most primitive societies: "A pure form of the elements, diversity of beings, the grace of nature and the decency of men".

underground music in Lebanon

As a follow up on the previous note of "yallah underground", please find two interesting blogs on the music scene in Lebanon:
http://ruptured.wordpress.com/     By Ziad Nawfal who hosts weekly programs on Radio Liban
http://feelnotes.wordpress.com/    By Omar al Fil, young supporter of alternative music

Yallah Underground

Yallah Underground: "I don't sell a dream, I sell reality, that's the difference between me and a pop singer." Rayess Bek, Scrambeld Eggs, Fareeq al Utrash...
From the trailer, Farid Eslam, director, shows expert techniques of documentary film making. He chose a subject, we as arab, are rarely aware of: Underground music...
It reminds us of the vibrant talents ready to explode when given a chance. It reveals the need to express beyond the main avenues. It gives hope that creativity lives under the thickest concrete slab.
Let them all play and sing.
And let us wait for the movie to be released...

facebook page : Link
(thanks Alia for the info)

Green Caravan film festival (day 1)

         As an effort to bring together the community and share concern about the environment, Equillibrium has started today their film festival in Kuwait.

         At the press conference, beside the usual thank notes, Dr Salah Bourjini, UNDP representative in Kuwait for the region, presented few striking points. He said:  "We no longer talk about human development, we are now talking about human security, we need to find ways to liberate humans from the threats from which their lives are affected". Now, that is a whole new approach...

"Liberate", "free from fear": These words seem to come out of an eastern religion dogma for a personal spiritual journey.

       Will their next objective be the right to happiness for everyone on planet earth?

     Dr Bourjini incorporated the environment factor and explained: "We cannot continuously deteriorate the Eco-system, continue to stress the region and this is a threat ". The climate change is a visible sign. "Countries have to seriously address these problems, otherwise their economies will not be sustainable". On the other hand, if the planet deteriorates so fast, and the result be so harsh on humans, will we still be thinking about the economy, its financial crises and sustainability?

According to these movies shown at Dar al Athar, the damage is way beyond repair. Recycling is important but we have to start right now, all together.

Korean cultural week in Kuwait

The Korean embassy has devoted a full week to share its culture and artistic production in diverse locations in Kuwait. Those who saw the classical  music concert by Korean Musician were impressed by the traditional clothing, instruments and show.

       The breakdance joint performance, was on the 19th and 20th of October. Although breakdancing is now a trend from the past as it was popular in the 70's and 80's, starting with gangs and hip hop music, the Korean b-boy group presented a good blend between the modern movement and the use of traditional korean drums, the samulnori. They even invited a breakdance group from Kuwait to dance together on stage.

Mr Myeongso, Eo, First secretary at the Embassy said: "We tried to present Korean culture and part of it is breakdancing.  We wanted also to bridge the two countries so we found a local group to participate in the show, they rehearsed together and they did a great show. But we had a hard time finding the Kuwait group."

Kuwait is full of surprise and hidden talent.

Let's see how will the public respond to the rest of this cultural week: three movie nights on the 25th ("le Grand Chef"), 26th ("Forever the Moment"), 27th ( "200 pounds of beauty") of October at the leila gallery, Salmiyah. The dynamic Korean movie industry has been producing excellent quality and it is certainly worth the visit.

pick your show and head for salmiyah at 7 pm.

trailer for "Le Grand Chef" (Iron Chef-style fierce competition set in Korea where contestants compete to win a legendary knife.)



trailer for "Forever the Moment" (The inspirational true story of Korean women handball team's struggle against Denmark.)

"Red Ahmar Surkh Kirmizi" by Marianna Shreve Simpson

"I love red" says Dr. Marianna Shreve Simpson, specialist in Islamic art, during her lecture at Dar al Athar al Islamiyah, Kuwait, on Oct 19th.

As she wore a red suit for the occasion, she could have gone beyond the kitsch. But she took the audience into the realm and the essence of red, where it came from, how it was used and a fascinating historic approach to Islamic art through a color.

Two ways to use red:  - pigment ( a source of color and ink suspended in a liquid used a layer of color)  - dye (color dissolved in leather or fabric to penetrate and form a bond at the molecular level)

An insect, the cochineal gave many civilizations the deepest red. Vernice was another insect producing the red. Cinnabar mineral provided the vermilion red...

In a condensed visual and informative listing, she went through many technical details, historical events. Across the economics and industry of the red, she traveled in the 11th century from the crops in Armenia, to merchants in caravans, to calligraphers in Baghdad, to silk weavers in Agra to the bazaars of Grenada, Cairo, Isfahan, Lahore.

"It is the color of power" she said, displaying on the screen "Suleiman the magnificent" in a red kaftan, surrounded by red.

"It is the color of love and desire" while she analyzed a Persian miniature.

"It is the color of violence, blood, war": she expanded on the duality of the color and its symbolism.

"It is the color to vocalize and punctuate the holy book" and she presented calligraphy pages of the Koran.

In the introduction, she referred to "The Perfect Red" written by Amy Butler Greenfield, an exhaustive tale of the origins and the evolution of the color throughout history.

In the conclusion, she quoted Orhan Pamuk in his book " My name is Red" :"God is the perfect red".

As a culmination point to reduce the color to its simplicity, she says:"We all share the same color of blood and it is red. In its universal association, Red represents life."

Harley Davison Ride in Lebanon

For 3 days, Harley Davidson riders from the Arab world prevailed over boundaries, frontiers, cultural gap, religious restrictions, social limitations. They came from Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, from overseas, across many deserts.

On the mountains of Lebanon, 330 bikes roared in one tone, they moved as one hybrid element, they communicated in  the same hand signals.

    Together in their shinning armor, they carried the ideas of camaraderie, friendship and adventure. Although a ride is solely for the ride itself; the symbiosis with the elements, wind,  earth, moon, fire gives it a transcending dimension.

Forget one's worries or fears, hold your bike as an extension of your body, feel the vibes, and let the passion inflame your guts...

Did anyone propose to give posthumously a Nobel prize to Harley and Davidson? In the legend of "the Eagle soars alone" these bikers have gone beyond wars and conflict, they have distilled a sense of peace and togetherness...

(photos by Waleed Shalaan)

Education world day (5th oct)

A silent celebration: teachers' day, education, quality of impact, sustainability, progress, build the future, invest in teachers now...
The UNESCO has invested so much in the education at all level, around the world. But why, in their website, on this day, do they include a guidebook to tackle violence in schools? What is happening to the world of education? In France, headlines talk about a proposition to pay students as an incentive to attend and a way to reduce absenteeism. Those who have the possibility to learn might not want to take the chance and those who want to learn might not have the access.

In the Arab world, many reports have been published by the UN arms or other NGOs on the illiteracy with comparative results: the main issues remain: gender literacy, young children out of school, adult education, wars and conflicts, financial crisis, evaluation of academic achievement, rural population, poverty... What numbers reveal is in accordance to what they are compared to. In terms of world wide literacy and proficiency, the Arab world cannot compare itself to some western nations. But the effort is palpable whether in government policies or NGO's working on the ground or private initiative turning into associations. Universities are mushrooming in the Gulf area to cater to the growing demographics. The discrepancies within the Arab world uncovers the lack of its uniformity. Some countries have more means and will to promote and propose proper education to their citizens. Others nor the will nor the means. And some lost in trying.
Educational systems around the world are in constant challenge to adapt to a changing world and changing guidelines. Information is available at the speed of light with new technologies. It stays a sensitive issue yet so necessary to reflect upon.


click here for the Unesco site

Shanghai - Jia Aili in Platform China gallery

Platform China gallery presented in Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair the latest works of Jia Aili. Powerful lines, dynamic, with an intriguing fascination to the Mickey Mouse symbol. This works comes of interest beyond the common use of icons in Chinese art which seem to flock around the Mao era, the pre mao era, the transformations of cities, the new order, the modern China. The grey and white canvas convey an inner expression of a futuristic projection of solitude wearing the Mickey ears. The next canvas in black in white shows the artist's technical ability; is the Mickey a mockery or a reality in today's China?

Amin Maalouf - the blog

Amin Maalouf, the renown author, is experimenting the new web tool: blogs, blogging, to blog, to be blogged about, I'll post it on the blog...
An author who lives in recluse, writes alone, page after page to produce a 150, 200, 500 pages books, plans to share his thought process in short notes. It's a thrill to see an established writer in his medium ready for exploration within new dimensions. Come to think about it, it's not so surprising as Maalouf has often used his own perspective and point of view to present a different perception of History. The book "The Crusades through Arab eyes", for example, has given laymen the capacity to contemplate their own history and think about their present. In a simple fluent language, he has opened doors to help many understand the intricate labyrinth of origins. "In the name of Identity" touches upon the essence: who are you? who am I?
This blog will add a layer of sweetness to the information flood on the web.

his blog in English or French: with amin maalouf

Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair

Art fair from the 10 to the 13 th of september in Shanghai. Many galleries from Asia and some from the west. Art in a massive way. It gave a good sense of the Chinese art and how it is unfolding in the world of expression. At the entry, a curated display of the finest works.
The one that stood among others was this red carpet installation by Shinji Ohmaki from Japan: He used an ephemeral patterns of flowers to be walked on and destroyed to create a new life to the carpet. Elegance and futility under each step.

(more to come on this art fair and events around it, in future posts)

Green Caravan film festival

Save the date: 28 -29th October 2009
to save the earth eventually.
Green Caravan is coming your way in Kuwait at the Dar al Athar theater in Midan Hawally. A Film Festival to show world renowned movies on Earth matters: wild animals, water, pollution...
Please check their web site for more information. Take your kids or your grandma.
In the program: "Home" a movie released early summer by Yann Arthus Bertrand, the man best known as "the photographer from above".

The effort is a non profit endeavor, by Equilibrium to pull energies into better informed opinions that might someday do something.

Link to the film festival: http://www.thegreencaravan.com

Lebanese National Library Foundation

The Lebanese National Library Foundation saw a need to fulfill: restore and bring to the public the archive of books and newspapers with a history of more than hundreds of years. The effort is tedious and straining. Exhibitions are arranged often to keep the spirit alive. Beyond their wars, Lebanese are often aware of their written heritage and their freedom of speech across ages.
In the world today, many are questioning the existing necessity of National Libraries. With the age of technologies and unwired web of information, does anyone flip through books or dictionaries or even encyclopaedias?
The National Public Library in France (Bibliotheque Nationale de France) is under a severe strain of “take over” from the gigantic info monster: Google. Under the cover of digitizing all documents, the French are propelled into the digital faster track. They have already covered 800 000 documents, and wonder if Google's intentions are beyond the profit when proposing a full coverage of the archives.
The Lebanese National Library is far from that fear. They are still desperately fundraising to restore first, and then erect a space. They are certain that a memory brought back to life could encourage the younger generations of researchers into a far broader capacity of understanding.
And these youngster need an access to the past to built a better future.

link: http://www.flbn.org/en/

Zeina Maasri "Off the Wall"

A book published in feb 2009 on posters during the WAR in Lebanon, researched and written by Zeina Maasri. The forward by Fawwaz Traboulsi is quite eloquent in the issues at stake:

" Question: Why should we remember a civil war? Answer: so as not to have it repeated (...) Forgetting is one thing, amnesia is another. Amnesia, both officialized and popular, has been rampant in post war Lebanon (...) Collective amnesia is pathological while it pretends to be curative. (...) it condemns the patient and re-enact the traumatic past as a permanent present. That is why the post war years have been lived as a 'cold civil war' awaiting for the 'return' of the hotter version.
With patience, perseverance and a lot of talent Maasri has managed to collect document and archive hundreds of posters produced by the different protagonists during the wars of Lebanon. (...) she has offered us another way of looking at posters: posters as weapons.