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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
This is Beirut, 09/04 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Perfume Art Culture Heritage Luxury
In rapid succession, molten drops of glass fall into molds, giving shape to iconic perfume bottles from Lancôme, Chanel, and Guerlain—now produced with a lighter carbon footprint thanks to a new electric furnace at the Pochet du Courval glassworks in Normandy. An intense heat surrounds the furnace, which continuously melts a mix of raw ...