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Adana – Shopping In Turkey Now Made Easier

By on December 24, 2018 in Travel

Wings of Lebanon airline has always been known for operating seasonal flights to neighboring countries and European destinations, and one of destinations they have been heavily promoting lately is Adana is Turkey. I was invited to take part in one of their media tours in the city last week and I believe the trip is totally worth it for one reason: SHOPPING.

Although Adana is a nice city with a good feel, it actually has little to offer as a touristic place since it doesn’t have much attractions like Istanbul does for example. However, its proximity to Beirut and the cheaper prices you find there for clothing products simply qualifies it as a shopping heaven.

Adana Vs. Istanbul

I’m comparing the two cities because most people who visited Turkey landed in Istanbul and are used to the shopping experience there.

First of all the fight to Adana takes around 45 minutes, and it has a quite similar climate to Beirut as opposed to the freezing temperatures you experience during this time of year in Istanbul. Moreover the airport is only ~10Km away from the city center so you can basically start your journey there almost the minute you touch down. On the other hand, the airports in Istanbul are 1 hour away from the center.

With regards to product prices, all those who visited Istanbul know about the good deals they there get when shopping, but Adana is even cheaper simply because it isn’t much touristic. I felt like clothing items are cheaper by at least 25% than Istanbul, and the price difference from Beirut absolutely makes up for what you pay for the ticket price and even much more.

The main two malls for shopping in Adana are Optimum and M1, aside from the street shops that you can of course find everywhere.

Pharmaceuticals

In case you don’t know it yet, pharmaceuticals cost 50% less than what you pay here in Lebanon, and some people I know have totally given up on buying their chronic medications from the local pharmacies and are instead relying on people going to Turkey to get them their supplies.

This is of course one more reason that makes your trip very cost effective.

Food

Just like almost everywhere else in Turkey, Kebab is quite popular in Adana and the city is famous for its Adana Kebab which is a wider version of the regular Kebab with unique flavors. Bottom line, meat lovers will definitely not going to be disappointed.

Accommodation

Hotels are also quite cheap compared to other cities, and you can get a booking at a five star hotel with excellent facilities for no more $80-90 / night.

Do more than shopping!

Even though I mentioned that Adana has little to offer in terms of touristic attractions. You can still definitely do more than shopping there by taking a train to a nearby coastal city called Mersin.The trips costs $2-3 and takes 1 hour.

So you can basically book 3 nights for example, spend 1 in Adana to do all your shopping, and then head to Mersin to chill by its waterfront and enjoy the nightlife there.

Budget

Nakhal is currently offering 3 night packages for New Year starting $285 and of course less after that period. The flight schedule on specific days makes it also possible to simply go in the morning do all the shopping and then come back in the afternoon during the same day.

For more information about the packages and flights schedule you can check www.nakhal.com or call their experts on 01 389 389.

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11 Lebanese Online Shopping Websites To Help You Do Your Christmas Shopping

By on December 18, 2018 in Shopping

With Christmas only few days away, and knowing how jammed the roads and mall tend to get over this week, I personally avoid to do any shopping during this period. So if you also hate spending several hours on a trip to the mall to get a single item, here are 11 of my favorite online shopping websites in Lebanon who are known for their consistent service and can definitely save you time and effort if you have been postponing your holiday shopping.

JouéClub

Several big toy stores have recently launched in Beirut but Joue Club remains my favorite. Their website has all their popular brands an they offer free delivery for orders above 150,000L.L.

Antaki Group

Antaki is a distributor for several high end brands like DJI, Parrot, Polaroid, Dyson, Yamaha, Bose and many others. They have a lot of interesting and cool gadgets to choose from.

Exotica

I know there are many flower delivery websites in Lebanon, but when it’s Christmas you better not take risk and simply go with the best in the field.

Codeone

This website is specialized in home and giftware items. Their collection is always carefully selected

HiCart

This website has a wide variety of products from electronics to mobiles, home appliances, toys, beauty stuff, and even books.

209 Lebanese Wine

This website offers wines from over 45 Lebanese wineries and delivers them straight to your door, hassle-free. What I love about the website is that it makes your choice easier by telling you what kind of food goes best with each bottle. They offer free delivery for orders over $70.

Feel22

This is your go to website for everything makeup and perfume! They have a lot of brands and cater mainly to women but also have a dedicated section for men’s products.

Sarah’s Bag

Sarah’s Bag is a Lebanese fashion house that creates luxury hand-crafted bags and accessories with original designs that I think would be pretty cool as a Christmas gift.

GS

All the brands you love from GS online! They offer free express delivery for orders above $66.

Como Store

Como is a multi brand concept clothing store. I know from my friends that they have a good customer service and they offer free delivery.

Librairie Antoine Online

For some, a book is always a good idea as a gift, and we all know Antoine is the leading bookstore in Lebanon.

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Middle East Airlines Seals The Deal for 4 Airbus A330-900neo Aircrafts

By on December 12, 2018 in Transportation, Travel

As part of its wide body fleet renewal, Middle East Airlines has decided to purchase four new and two option Airbus A330-900neo powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines due to deliver in 2021. And just today, a contract was signed with Rolls-Royce to provide support for the Trent 7000 engines powering the new fleet.

The contract was signed during the Lebanon-UK Business and Investment Forum in London by MEA Chairman Mohamad El-Hout and Rolls-Royce Chairman Ian Davis in the presence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the UK Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt.

One of the things I love about Middle East Airlines is that they are always committed to keep their fleet up to date by retiring their old aircrafts once they accomplish 12-13 years of service, and today’s step goes inline with this strategy.

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Vegan Lebanon – The Ultimate Directory For Vegans in Lebanon

By on December 10, 2018 in Food

Being vegan is hard enough, but I think it becomes harder in a country like Lebanon where meat is an essential part on our table everyday, and it gets boring to get stuck with potatoes and salads everytime you decide to eat out.

So for those of you who avoid any animal-derived food, Vegan Lebanon is a directory for Lebanese restaurants and shops that cater to your needs, with the options to search for food and products both by category and location.

The website has so many listings and I personally never thought we have that much vegan offerings here in the country. So if you follow a vegetarian diet, do check out the directory on www.veganlebanon.com because I’m sure it will definitely bring something new to your table.

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8 Radio Stations Will Pay Tribute To Gavin Ford With A Special Show This Week

By on December 2, 2018 in Culture

To all those who loved the late Gavin Ford and tune to his morning show on Radio One, you will will definitely find solace in listening a tribute show for him that will air on the 7th of December between 9AM and 10AM on 8 Lebanese radio stations (Radio One, Virgin Radio, Mix FM, NRJ, Light FM, Nostalgie, Fame FM and Power FM).

There is no doubt Gavin was a quite loved media personality and his show Gavin Ford In The Morning left a mark in the industry, that’s why he certainly deserves this gesture by the participating radio stations.

The pre-recorded show will be produced by Dan Harper and Olga Habre and is going to be available on YouYube afterwards. If you have a memory to share about Gavin or a special recording from one of his radio programs, you email it to Dan on dan@danharper.co.uk so they can try to include your contribution.

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Express “Shatfeh” on Bte7la L Hayeit

By on November 30, 2018 in Television

I was watching Bte7la l 7ayeit on LBC the other day and chuckled a bit when one of the hosts accidentally spilled her cup of coffee.

The situation however got funnier when the director apparently had no problem with a man and his Vileda Promist invading the set to clean the mess and provided an express “shatfeh” during the show! 😀

Check out how it all happened in the video below.

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Ogero Announces Its Fiber Deployment Timeplan

By on November 23, 2018 in Telecom

If you regularly visit Ogero’s website then you probably have noticed that they recently published their plan for deploying the fiber network (FTTX) around Lebanon.

Over the next three years and until min 2021, the time-plan shows that at the end of each quarter a number of areas will start benefiting from the FTTX project. Still, the schedule seems to be subject to change since the exchange office I am connected to was set to be done by Q4 2018 but I noticed today that it was delayed along with several other area till Q2 2019.

I personally can’t wait till my DSL line gets on board the Fiber project because my internet connection speed has been unbearable for almost two years now, and the last time I tried to complain once again to Ogero’s support I got a mediocre argument and funnily enough, they requested that I ask my ISP (IDM) to follow-up on my problem with them instead of me doing it personally. (Because logic!!)

Anyway, you can stay up to date with the time-plan on this link and don’t forget to keep your fingers crosses.

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HINAD – Homosexuality Is Not A Disease

By on November 18, 2018 in Sexuality, Social

It is 2018 and NGOs in Lebanon not only have to make campaigns to get people to accept homosexuals the way they are, but to also raise awareness about homosexuality not being a disease an to not attempt to “cure it”!

For that reason, LebMASH (The Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health) collaborated with Agnes Varis Trust and launched a campaign this month titled HINAD (Homosexuality Is Not A Disease) to affirm once again that homosexuality is simply a state and not a disease, and to warn about the consequences about all the “conversion” attempts whether through coaxing, hormonal treatments or even “electroshock” therapy, that people think are effective to change the sexual orientation of a homosexual individuals.

A recent study that 72% of people in Lebanon believe that homosexuality is a mental disorder and 79% agree that homosexuals should be taken in for psychological or hormonal treatment, and that’s why they also made a hotline 76-085714 available for people who wish to report violations or seek information about the best ways to deal with LGBT individuals.

I truly believe there’s so much time ahead before we convince our society to accept homosexuals the way they are instead of bullying them and attempt to “straighten” them, and that’s why I hope this campaign makes an impact by driving more people to reach out to the available advisers.

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Will Lycée Abdel Kader Simply Disappear?

By on November 7, 2018 in Architecture, Beirut, Culture, Social

Lycée Abdel Kader, one of the most reputable schools in Beirut that was established over 100 years ago and a prominent landmark in Beirut, is now at risk of simply disappearing without leaving a trace.

How it all started

To those who are out of the loop of what is happening with the school, here’s a brief summary:

In 1985, Hariri Foundation bought the school and managed along with the Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Étranger (AEFE) and the Mission Laïque Française (MLF). And until 2005, the school AND the land it is built on were effectively under the control of the late PM Rafic Hariri so there was no need to worry about rent.

After his assassination, his wealth was eventually split among his children, and Lycée Abdel Kader’s land ended up going to his girl Hind while his wife Nazik was controlling the Hariri Foundation. So basically Hind got a piece of land that in unable to generate any profit in its current situation, and it turned out she had big plans in mind. That’s why a couple of years ago it was confirmed that she wants to start a project in it and asked the school to seek another location.

No one exactly knows what’s coming next for the school, some claim she aims to build a new mall there even though the area is so crowded already, and others say it will turn into residential towers. Keep in mind that the school has a very old castle within its premises, and no one also knows if it will be preserved or not.

The alternatives

Lycée Abdel Kader is one of several institution that shaped the identity of Beirut, that’s why the suggestions to move it outside the city were rejected by all stakeholders. On the other hand, Beirut has no big spaces left to accommodate a school as large as LAK with all the facilities they need.

Due to that, people in charge thought of renting one of the Makassed schools buildings in Beirut since some of them are currently vacant and big enough for their needs, but they were faced by the Makassed Alumni who refused to have the identity of their old school changed.

This is where things started getting problematic for the Hariri Foundation, and with very little options left they apparently discussed renting the Antonine school campus in Baabda which caused a big fuss yesterday.

One possible alternative now is to completely shut down the school in case they fail to find a place to relocate the school to. And I can’t imagine how it will be like for the students and their parents.

What can be done

It is good that people are starting to express their outrage at the thought of having the school shut down or relocated, and some politicians on twitter are doing the same, but it is not enough. The Eden Bay resort was built in Ramlet El Bayda despite all the legal actions that were taken against it and the movements that people organized in the street. That project was much more controversial since it was built on a seaside that is supposed to be a public space, but it still managed to see the light! So keyboard warriors on twitter will definitely not be able to change the fate of Lycée Abdel Kader.

On the other hand, what should be done is to channel all the energy and effort into establishing pressure groups to force the Municipality of Beirut to buy the land instead in order to keep the school in its place. It might sound like a long-shot but still worth a try.

Otherwise, I personally think that the only practical and affordable solution is for people in Makassed to accept hosting Lycée Abdel Kader because it would be a win-win situation. Makassed have many vacant buildings and are currently going through a financial crisis, so I don’t see a reason for not accepting to rent some of their properties.

What I am afraid will happen

We got used to the government failing us every single day. In order to brighten their image, the ministry of culture issued a statement today denying granting any permit to demolish the school buildings, but we all know that real estate developers can do whatever they please as long as they’re backed by our khara kleib awesome politicians.

I also really wouldn’t be surprised if the Hariri Foundation turned out to be just buying time in order to later tell their students they are out of options and they must search for another school. I know this comparison is unfair, but can you imagine the same happening to institutions like the AUB or USJ for example?

We all acknowledge Hind Hariri has all the right to do whatever she likes with her private property, but the school burned itself into the collective memory of Beirut, and what’s happening will not only affect the current students but also the whole city. If she is insisting on proceeding with her deal, then I hope someone comes up with a solution to preserve the land and the rights of all parties.

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