Things to Do This Week in Lebanon – June 7th 2017

IMG_8201.JPG

Here are my picks from Lebtivity for this week. The Cabriolet Film Festival is taking place this week on Saint Nicolas Stairs and I’m keen on attending at least one of the festival’s three nights.

  1. Le Théâtre Des Ombres
  2. Cabriolet Film Festival – Beirut – 9th Edition
  3. Ramadan Iftar at The Smallville Hotel
  4. BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2017
  5. Comedy Night Show: ON THE ROAD
  6. Tombé du ciel / Heaven sent by Wissam Charraf
  7. TEDxNDULouaize 2017 – Alchemy of Change
  8. Strawberry Full Moon Night Hike by Wolves Clan
  9. Cherry Day at Hammana – Karaz Hammana
  10. Stone L’oeil – Art Exhibition

Make sure to check Lebtivity.com for much more options.

0

Stunning Video of The Milky Way Rising Over Akoura

I absolutely love the astronomy photography and time lapse videos Moophz shares online from around Lebanon!

His most recent work is a time lapse video of the milky way rising horizontally above Jerd Al Akoura in North Lebanon. I just watched it in Full HD on my laptop and it’s just stunning, so make sure to watch it in high resolution on whatever device you’re using.

You can see more of these eye candies he takes around Lebanon and abroad on his website and Facebook page.

0

Ramadan Special – Things to Do This Week in Lebanon

Here are my picks from Lebtivity for this week. I know many of you search during Ramadan for a nice restaurant to gather with your friends and family over Iftar, so here’s a list of my favorite Iftar/Souhour places.

  1. Ramadan Iftar at The Smallville Hotel
  2. Daily Iftar Buffet at Le Bristol Hotel Beirut
  3. Tripoli Tour & Iftar by Vamos Todos
  4. Ramadan Iftar Gatherings at Bou Melhem
  5. Traditional Iftar at Indigo on the Roof
  6. Ramadan Iftar at Massabki Chtaura
  7. Daily Shour & Iftar at Boulevard Beirut
  8. Les Tziganes Special Ramadan
  9. Ramadan Iftar at Ladurée Villa Zein
  10. Ramadan Iftar at Raouche Arjaan by Rotana

Make sure to check Lebtivity.com for much more options.

0

How Do Boycott Campaigns Work in Lebanon?

I remember at least two artists who were subject to online and offline boycott campaigns in Lebanon over the past few years due to their alleged support to Israel, Gad Elmaleh in 2009 and Lara Fabian in 2012. Gad Elmaleh was accused of serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (which wasn’t true) while Lara Fabian faced so much criticism for performing at an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel, and civil society groups of course tried to keep the two artists from performing in Lebanon.

Fast forward to the present, Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot is scheduled to start showing across Lebanese theaters on June 1st. However, Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress and model who first appeared as Wonder Woman in Batman VS Superman last year and her upcoming movie posters have been surprisingly all around the country for a while now! That’s not just any actress supporting Israel, that’s an Israeli actress who served as a combat trainer in the Israeli Defense Forces with her posters all around Lebanon.

I’m not writing this to call for the movie boycott. I personally love superhero movies and will definitely be watching Wonder woman. However, I’ve yet to hear about any call against screening it and in this case one can’t but wonder how do civil society activists choose which artists/projects to boycott or let pass. At one point you start doubting their campaigns could be sometimes fueled by business competition… International artists are all exposed to have a connection with Israel at some point during their career, which makes it easy for anyone to criticize them for the sole purpose of provoking those who are investing their money into getting such artists to perform in Lebanon.

Anyway, the movie is showing in two days so let’s see if any cyber activists will try to take a stance against it!

Update:

I just learned the Ministry of Economy and Trade demanded the General Security to withdraw the movie from Lebanese theaters. However, the questions I raised above still stand.

1

Tyeb El Eid – Everybody Deserves to Dress Well for Eid

Tyeb El Eid is an initiative by Cherine Kabbani aiming to provide those in need with free decent clothes this coming Eid.

The whole thing started earlier this month when Cherine wanted to donate some of her old items to those who cannot afford new clothing on Eid El Fitr and asked her friends on Facebook to do the same. However, soon afterward she was overwhelmed with the stuff that people were willing to donate, so she thought of renting a place where people can drop off their unneeded items and make them available to those in need.

The project of course needed some funding, and with the help of a non-profit organization called “Wafa” Cherine was able to rent a small shop in Bourj Abou Haidar (Beirut) where she receives a lot of items everyday and even got a batch from PM Saad Hariri.

Cherine’s store is already operating now and the stories she is sharing on Facebook about the people picking their new clothes from the place are so heartwarming.

Those who would like to contribute to Tyeb El Eid initiative can either check the Facebook Page for directions or get in touch directly with Cherine on 70 964 595 to arrange for a driver to pick up their donations.

0

Ramadan Kareem

Do you remember this old Kassatly Chtaura Jellab ad from the 80s and 90s? It has been 30 years since it was first aired on TV and I guess nothing signals the time for Ramadan nowadays like this ad tune does every year on Lebanese TV stations (though it has now evolved a bit of course).

Anyway I wish all a blessed Ramadan!

1

For The Love of Elevators

We always encounter strange stuff on the internet and this YouYube channel I stumbled upon today is one of the weirdest I’ve seen so far. “Batatavator” is a channel full of videos shot just inside elevators around Beirut.

From old to new, slow or high speed elevators, the YouTuber behind Batatavator likes all kinds of them.

If elevatorphilia is a thing then this guy is most probably an elevatorphile.

0

Things to Do This Week in Lebanon – May 24th 2017

IMG_8201.JPG

Here are my picks from Lebtivity for this week. I personally will be taking my kid out to the car free day in Mar Mikhael.

  1. Acting Training for Presentation Skills
  2. The Digital Age of Design & Manufacturing in Lebanon
  3. Discover Mar Mikhael Car Free Day
  4. The Garden Show & Spring Festival 2017
  5. Arabic Calligraphy Workshop
  6. Stone L’oeil – Art Exhibition
  7. Tombé du ciel / Heaven sent by Wissam Charraf
  8. Beirut Design Week 2017 – BDW
  9. On the Streets // C U NXT SAT x Achrafieh 2020
  10. Ramadan Iftar at The Smallville Hotel

Make sure to check Lebtivity.com for much more options.

0

Are You Following M Media’s Growing Collection?

I subscribed to M Media a few months ago for the sole purpose of watching Bennesbe Labokra Chou again, but soon after I did it I found it hard to cancel my subscription because of their growing collection with titles that never cease to impress me. (They’re soon adding Film Ameriki Tawil by the way)

I personally usually avoid watching Lebanese movies in theaters unless they’re REALLY good, but I still like to watch them in the comfort of my living room (yes even the likes of BéBé). However unlike western movies/series, Lebanese ones are much harder to find online, and M Media has been recently making some great effort adding titles that were produced over the last few years ranging from drama to comedy and documentaries, in addition to famous old plays from the 90s such as “3ammti Najibeh” and “3arisein midreh men wein” with all content being in very good quality. So I have lately been spending time watching stuff that I missed in theater over the last few years (and also learned that Carlos Azar always lands the Jagal roles in his movies).

At $5/month I guess it’s a good deal, and while I know the people at M are doing their best to get more productions onto their platform, I wish they also add old movies from the 70s and 80s such as the ones by the late Maroun Baghdadi for example, I always read he made some great movies during that era but I rarely had access to them. I also don’t think anyone would mind watching Ahmad El-Zein and Mohamad El-Mawla all over again in those cool action movies from the early civil war days!

0

Review – Munchease Khaldeh

On the highway from Beirut to Saida there probably not a single restaurant or sandwich joint worth seeking for good food except for this burger place called Munchease.

Until last summer I never thoigh of checking it out even though a couple of friends kept talking about how good it is, but it wasn’t until they once dragged there me that I knew what I was missing!

I know there are several good burger places in Beirut but Munchease is probably the most underrated one among them. Passing on the highway you can’t miss it after COOP as it stands out with the wooden design and cool ambiance.

The menu is straight forward and is divided into 4 sections, starters, subs, burgers, and hot dogs. By now I can claim I tried almost everything they have and was never left disappointed except for when it gets too crowded inside (especially on weekends) even though the friendly waiters try their best to cope with everybody.

The portions are in general quite generous, and you can sometimes get enough with appetizers alone whenever you do not intend to go on an eating spree! My personal favorites are the mozzarella sticks, onion rings and chicken wings, and although they’re all fried items but they always served crispy and taste “clean” (or non-oily). I highly recommend you try the chicken wings by the way because they’re as good if not better than those served at popular american diners in town.

On to the burgers. They’re good, trust me, and I won’t go on to describe the bun and the patty because they’re just good! However, one thing you have to know about the people at Munchease is that they like their items to be overloaded with sauces and cheese. So the burgers they serve will always be messy (good luck avoiding to drip) and quite heavy with all the cheese inside. I personally always feel full with their decadent combo meals and never managed to finish the fries at the end.

For starters, I recommend you go with my all time favorite “Munchease Special” since it has the least amount of cheese, and make sure to try their different dips since they all taste good especially the honey mustard.

Price wise, value for money is quite fair compared to other places, a fulfilling meal for two with drinks will set you back around $20-25 which is far less that what you’d pay at other popular diners or burger joints.

Long story short, Munchease is worth the 10 minutes drive from Beirut to change from the usual places you’re used to, and with the summer season ahead, it’s also one of the ideal places to hit on your way back from the southern beach resorts.

0

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes