This is Beirut - Heritage

Bob Wilson, Master of Light and Stage, Passed Away at 83

This is Beirut, 01/08 13:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Theater Heritage Bob Wilson Director Culture Art

It was a silent seven-hour production that first made France fall in love with Bob Wilson. Deafman Glance, born from a moment of trauma—Wilson witnessing a young deaf boy being beaten by a police officer—would become a landmark of modern theater. Wilson later adopted the boy. When the show premiered at the Nancy Festival in 1971, poet Louis ...

Musical Satirist Tom Lehrer, Droll Prophet of Doom, Dead at 97

This is Beirut, 28/07 09:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Tom Lehrer Satirist Music Culture Art Heritage

Tom Lehrer, the acclaimed humorist and pianist whose satirical songs made him one of America's favorite prophets of doom before he retreated to academia, has died, US media reported Sunday. He was 97. The singer-songwriter died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his friend David Herder said, according to The New York ...

The Fearless Genius Is Gone: Ziad Rahbani Carries Lebanon’s Memory Into the Beyond

Marie-Christine Tayah, 26/07 20:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Music Heritage Fairuz Culture Lebanon

Born on January 1, 1956, in Lebanon, Ziad Rahbani embodied the rebellious, artistic and restless soul of his nation. Raised in a musical dynasty, he built his own identity note by note, word by word. At only 17, he composed Sa’alouni el-Nass, a politically charged and deeply emotional work that marked the beginning of a prolific, independent ...

Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz’s Son and Cultural Icon, Has Died

This is Beirut, 26/07 11:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Music Culture Lebanon Art Heritage

Lebanon is mourning one of its most influential cultural figures. Ziad Rahbani, composer, pianist, playwright, and outspoken political commentator, has died at the age of 69. Born in 1956 to the legendary singer Fairuz and pioneering composer Assi Rahbani, Ziad grew up surrounded by music. Yet, he forged his own path, blending art, satire, and ...

Notre-Dame Gets Back St Thomas Statue Adorning Spire Base

This is Beirut, 25/07 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Heritage Notre-Dame Cathedral Restoration Paris Culture

A statue of the apostle Saint Thomas was on Thursday returned to Notre-Dame in Paris, which has now recovered all 16 statues that adorned the base of its spire before a 2019 devastating fire. The statue, three meters tall and weighing 100 kilograms, was unaffected by the blaze, having been removed from the cathedral just days before for routine ...

Another Delay for Egypt’s Grand Museum Shakes Tourism Hopes

This is Beirut, 15/07 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Museum Egypt Heritage Culture Art Exhibition

In the shadow of the Grand Egyptian Museum, souvenir shop owner Mona has been readying for the tourist boom she hoped the long-awaited opening would bring, now once again out of reach. "I had bet everything on this opening," she told AFP from her shop, just steps from the iconic pyramids of Giza, which the much-anticipated museum ...

Australia’s Aboriginals Ask Unesco to Protect Ancient Carvings Site

This is Beirut, 12/07 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Heritage UNESCO Aboriginal Australia France Culture

A delegation of Australia'4F As Aboriginal people that travelled to Paris to campaign for UN backing to protect a heritage site they say is threatened by harmful mining were "overjoyed" Friday as the ancient site was recognized on the coveted list. The World Heritage Committee at UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural organization, had been ...

Jane Birkin’s First Hermès Birkin Bag Breaks Auction Record

This is Beirut, 10/07 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Fashion Hermès Jane Birkin Luxury Heritage Culture

The first-ever Hermès Birkin bag, custom-made for Jane Birkin in 1984, was sold at auction in Paris on Thursday for €8.582 million, including fees, according to Sotheby’s. This oversized black leather tote was the original prototype of what would become one of the most iconic and expensive handbags in the world. Until now, the most ...

King Tut Treasures Restored for Grand Museum Opening

This is Beirut, 07/07 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Egypt Cairo Tutankhamun Culture Art Heritage

As a teenager, Eid Mertah would pore over books about King Tutankhamun, tracing hieroglyphs and dreaming of holding the boy pharaoh's golden mask in his hands. Years later, the Egyptian conservator found himself gently brushing centuries-old dust off one of Tut's gilded ceremonial shrines — a piece he had only seen in textbooks. "I studied ...

The Palace of Versailles Brings Statues to Life With AI Conversations

This is Beirut, 24/06 13:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Heritage Palace of Versaille AI Statues France Culture

At the Palace of Versailles, visitors now converse with statues instead of listening to traditional audio guides, thanks to an innovation made possible by two artificial intelligence (AI) partners. The château unveiled the project to the press on Monday evening: a joint effort between American AI systems developer OpenAI and French start-up Ask ...

Ancient Oualata Battles Time, Sand, Rain and Exodus

This is Beirut, 06/06 14:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Desert Mauritania Manuscripts Culture Art Heritage

From his roof, Sidi Mohamed Lemine Sidiya scans the mediaeval town of Oualata, a treasure that is disappearing under the sands of the Mauritanian desert. "It's a magnificent, extraordinary town," said Sidiya, who is battling to preserve the place known as the "Shore of Eternity". Oualata is one of a UNESCO-listed quartet of ancient, fortified ...

Youssef Karam Akiki: The Last Lebbedeh Maker

Yara Germany, 01/06 09:30 - Reading : less than a minute

Hrajel tradition heritage craftsman Lebbedeh

In Hrajel, high in the Keserwan mountains, Youssef Karam Akiki is the last craftsman in Lebanon still making the Lebbedeh – a traditional woolen headpiece rooted in Phoenician heritage. With patience and precision, he now passes this ancestral craft to his young daughter and nephews. In an era where social media revives forgotten traditions, ...

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