Comments on abufares said...the world according to a tartoussi: Of Guilty, Disenchanted and Dazzling Women and Cit...

As I said, a pig in mud... :D

2008-11-03T18:33:00.000+02:00

As I said, a pig in mud... :D

@maysaloonYou definitely should check Amsterdam ou...

2008-11-03T14:29:00.000+02:00

@maysaloon
You definitely should check Amsterdam out.
Their higher state of human consciousness is due to the fact that they have forged a unique identity in clear contrast and opposition to all religious teachings. And, nothing happened... except pleasant things perhaps:-)

@DianaSorry for being late in replying to your com...

2008-11-03T14:26:00.000+02:00

@Diana
Sorry for being late in replying to your comment. I was temporarily out of coverage.
Beirut, like all memorable cities, thrives on her contradictions. Despite my personal evaluation she is one of the most interesting cities in the Middle East to visit, and as I often hear, to live in.

Great post Abu Fares, I hear it is an amazing city...

2008-11-03T14:21:00.000+02:00

Great post Abu Fares, I hear it is an amazing city and definitely worth checking out one day. I'm not sure I'd say they are thriving in a "higher" state of human consciousness. A pig in mud is still a pig in mud, regardless of how much they are enjoying it! ;)

I've never been to Beirut, so I can't say if I agr...

2008-10-28T03:31:00.000+03:00

I've never been to Beirut, so I can't say if I agree, but I do like the way you painted her. (Hmm, perhaps Beirut is painted, with a bit too much makeup, which is now rubbing off. But what do I know.)

The line about the women speaking in English and French reminded me of an idea I read or heard somewhere: Beirut is proud that it speaks perfect French, but Damascus is proud that it speaks perfect Arabic.

@JGMThank you for the great link. You made my day ...

2008-10-26T11:10:00.000+03:00

@JGM
Thank you for the great link. You made my day with this photo of the Captain's Cabin. Unfortunately though they stopped the fish & chips. I have been there many years ago and remember that I had a good "fast" meal". During my last visit I went in with the intention of having a bite before running to the airport. Frankly I had enough of the big attractive names, restaurants, bars,...etc. which I'm forced to go to when my family is traveling along.
Some of the Beirut photos are fantastic. You see what partially pains me about Beirut and other significant cities... is the attempt of authorities and dwellers to show the more "modern" side instead of fixing what's wrong with our original identity... it's like shedding our human skin and standing skinless and naked in the presence of strangely dressed crowds.

@lêWalla you know how to live my dear friend.Soon ...

2008-10-26T11:01:00.000+03:00

@lê
Walla you know how to live my dear friend.
Soon Inshallah I'll join you as I have every intention of retiring when I'm still reasonably young. Can we still use this word "young" when we're slowly but surely approaching 50???

Hey abufares... it’s late and I can’t sleep. I’m ...

2008-10-26T06:23:00.000+03:00

Hey abufares... it’s late and I can’t sleep. I’m sitting infront of this thing browsing aimlessly and stuffing my face with chocolate. Two Ferreros at a time; sinful.

...but hey look what I found:
http://photobeirut.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/10/11/captainscabinsmall.jpg

Here:
http://photobeirut.typepad.com/photo_beirut/about_beirut/

Odd...I think I’m going nuts...Better go and rest the bones.

You have a nice day.

Aufares, i,m in divene moments, just returnrd from...

2008-10-26T02:33:00.000+03:00

Aufares, i,m in divene moments, just returnrd from a fantastis fishing day having wine with BASTURMA, listening SABAH FAKRI, singing a beautiful MAUAL ,KHALBI BINARI, and waching ORIENTATIS PAINTING,
SHI BIAKHOD AL AKEL
lê

It is most unfortunate that Beirut makes you feel ...

2008-10-22T02:39:00.000+03:00

It is most unfortunate that Beirut makes you feel this way abufares…on a different note I’ll tell you something for nothing, just the same if I were to sit with Charlize Theron and if she were to hold my hand
I would become silent, turn my head away and sink my eyes in the ground. I’d be embarrassed that she might be able to hear my thoughts or see through my eyes what the devil is cooking inside my filthy head…laughing out loud.

Have a great day abufares

@Katiaplease drop me a line on how I can get in to...

2008-10-20T11:56:00.000+03:00

@Katia

please drop me a line on how I can get in touch with you in Belgium.

abufares at abufares dot net

@JGMThank you for your perfectly sculptured commen...

2008-10-20T11:55:00.000+03:00

@JGM
Thank you for your perfectly sculptured comment.
Cities indeed carry the follies and absurdities of their inhabitants. My memories of Beirut are limited to my own lifespan of course. For 5 years I went to boarding schools in Lebanon in the late 60's and early 70's (the last 3 of which near Beirut) . Yet in the eye of an innocent child and even before the civil war broke out the writing was already on the wall.
I returned to Beirut after the war, during and after the Syrian presence (occupation if you so prefer) and I felt exactly the same. In an attempt to get along with whomever I met and wherever I was my best approach was to remain quiet and not engage in a 2-way conversation. I could never, for the life of me, reach a middle ground with a Beirutian. Everyone is 100% convinced that he/she is absolutely right. On top of that, I am truly an apolitical person by nature. It's almost impossible for me to maintain interest when the conversation turns into politics even if Charlize Theron is sitting next to me and holding my hand.
Beirut turns me into a very lonely and silent man.

Abufares,I'd love to get together for a glass or t...

2008-10-20T11:23:00.000+03:00

Abufares,
I'd love to get together for a glass or two, even if you have company :-) Let me know when you'll be here.
And about that nameless beer: if it didn't leave any particular taste, it was probably a Heineken ;-)

Thank you abufares for yet another beautifully chi...

2008-10-19T23:30:00.000+03:00

Thank you abufares for yet another beautifully chiseled post.

*To Beirut - peace to Beirut with all my heart
And kisses - to the sea and clouds,
To the rock of a city that looks like an old sailor's face.
From the soul of her people she makes wine,
From their sweat, she makes bread and jasmine.
So how did it come to taste of smoke and fire?

*Excerpts from the poem To Beirut (Li bayrut) by Joseph Harb.
Translation from Arabic by: Anonymous!

... I can almost say you are absolutely right abufares about the inhabitants of Beirut ...but not the way you perceive her.

Beirut needs no introduction and unlike her inhabitants she certainly is not pretentious.
She does not have the time to hate or even love for that matter… and no matter what we throw at her; she only knows how to stand defiant. From its primordial earthquake and aftermath to the departure of her last occupier, or the one that is still lurking in a mole hole…

Obscenities; our hands baked and offered to her.

Tonight I can see that you have added a couple of pictures more to complement your post and one of which is of her; Beirut!

Have a nice evening.

I've seen Duvel; it has the special glass, yes? I ...

2008-10-18T21:34:00.000+03:00

I've seen Duvel; it has the special glass, yes? I do like Bottington's, though that's on the end of the amount of hoppiness I can accept. Newcastle is lovely as well, and recently we were in a small town for a wedding and I had a beer that was perfectly balanced and truly just beautiful. I wound up drunk because I had to have a second one. It's called Erdinger hefeweizen (http://www.erdinger.com). If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it!

In terms of Belgians, I really like Chimay, especially for cooking with. Those monks really are a wonder!

Now I want beer.

@AllieI think I've tried all of the brands on the ...

2008-10-18T21:14:00.000+03:00

@Allie
I think I've tried all of the brands on the T-Shirt over the years.
I've found my perfect beer in Belgium last year. I don't think I'd live to taste anything better.
Take my word and give DUVEL a try. You wouldn't know what you've been missing till then.
A friend of mine told me that it can be purchased in the US... and if you ever treat your taste buds to this Belgian masterpiece please let me know

Oh, you are correct, I didn't comment! It's a grea...

2008-10-18T21:04:00.000+03:00

Oh, you are correct, I didn't comment! It's a great shirt, but I think the one I would get would be with lots of choices of the leafy variety.

Did you manage to drink each of the beers? I always have so much trouble finding beer I really like, since my preference is for beers that are perfectly balanced between hops and malt.

@AllieYou didn't comment on my T-Shirt. That's wha...

2008-10-18T20:54:00.000+03:00

@Allie
You didn't comment on my T-Shirt. That's what I bought myself from Amsterdam.

Oh, I miss those times. When the stewardesses (fli...

2008-10-18T20:51:00.000+03:00

Oh, I miss those times. When the stewardesses (flight attendants now, I guess) were nice and always refilled your drink (with a smile, no less!), a beer didn't cost your life savings, the radio was free to listen to, the food was edible and you could smoke on the plane. Oh, and no one threatened to arrest you if you used a swear word.

Those were the days.

I guess the trade off is now we can watch Law & Order on flight. :/

@AllieYou're absolutely right, flying was such a c...

2008-10-18T20:28:00.000+03:00

@Allie
You're absolutely right, flying was such a classy adventure at one time. I can remember my very first trip to the US on Pan American in 1976. I was treated like a teenage king... I traveled in business class last year in Europe but even that was in no way close.

@katiaI love it so much that I have a beer lover r...

2008-10-18T20:24:00.000+03:00

@katia
I love it so much that I have a beer lover reading my every word. To tell you the truth this is the first time I tried Palm and it was in an Italian restaurant called ivoli... Hahaha, the T was missing from the sign over the door so it's mot like the (L) I missed in Leffe in my post on Brussels.
Anyway, my favorite Dutch beer before and after this visit remains Grolsch. I chose the different restaurants as per the beer they advertised to get a chance to taste as many different brews as possible. Palm was one of them and I had no idea that it's Belgian. I liked it but didn't find it special in any way. I also had one more mystery brand of beer on the cruise boat. I was drinking wine but wanted a beer to stay in the right Dutch mood. I got in an unbranded glass. My taste buds were already dulled by the wine and I didn't have the sense (then) to ask what it was. It could've been a Heineken but I couldn't swear on it.
On another note, there's a slim possibility that I might come to Belgium at the end of the month. Unfortunately I wouldn't be alone on this business trip and I have no idea whether I'll have a chance to break free for an hour or two. Still I would love to be able to have a glass or two with you if possible.

@MariyahThank you for the kind words. I think that...

2008-10-18T20:15:00.000+03:00

@Mariyah
Thank you for the kind words. I think that I was lucky this time around as I had ample of time to experience a city like Amsterdam. Usually on business trips such as this one we rarely get to see anything at all except the inside of office buildings, hotel rooms and perhaps fancy restaurants at the end of excruciatingly long days. Last year I stayed in Athens for 2 days and I really didn't get a chance to see anything at all.
You should see them for yourself, the 3 special cities I talked about and all of the others.

Eek. Faces turning blue is a very bad sign! Perhap...

2008-10-18T20:03:00.000+03:00

Eek. Faces turning blue is a very bad sign! Perhaps then next time just smuggle aboard a snack to munch on. So sad that airlines have so little care these days.

Palm is Belgian ;-)I have to run right now but I'l...

2008-10-18T18:03:00.000+03:00

Palm is Belgian ;-)
I have to run right now but I'll comment on the rest later on...

You never let your readers down, Ya Abu Fares!! We...

2008-10-18T16:25:00.000+03:00

You never let your readers down, Ya Abu Fares!! Welcome home and bravo on another great post - was very much looking forward to it in whatever form it came. I was particularly impressed with your personification of the cities...or should I say "womanification". Anyway, I've not been to either Amsterdam or Rome and I have to admit, Amsterdam was never on my list of places I needed to go. You've definitely changed that. I was in Beirut too many years ago to comment on it - but your impressions are interesting. I'd like to see for myself.