Archive-name: lebanon-faq/part2
Last-modified: 1997/4/6 Version: 2.37 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge ******************************************************************************* 11. What are the various Lebanese organizations and how can I contact them. American Task Force for Lebanon 2250 M St., N.W., Suite 305 Washington, DC 20037 Telephone: 202-223-9333 Fax: 202-223-1399 This organization publishes a monthly newsletter called "Outlook", with Tanya Rahal (Exec. Ed.), and Deeb Keamy (Managing Ed.) ** Centre for Lebanese Studies, Oxford, England Address: 59 observatory street Oxford. Phone: 0865 58465 The Centre for Lebanese Studies is an independent academic research institution. It was founded in 1985 in association with the Middle East Centre at St. Antony's College, Oxford. Its aims are to promote international understanding of the country and issues facing it. The Centre initiates and publishes research papers and books on relevant historical, economic, political, sociological and cultural issues affecting Lebanon. It also organises conferences and seminars in order that ideas and views on the country's state of affairs may be exchanged. A registered charity, the Centre for Lebanese Studies relies on the backing of individuals who extend their support while preserving its autonomy under the supervision of an academic research committee. (for details on books and publication read question 16) ******* The US Arab Chamber of Commerce publishes a directory of companies in New York doing business in the Middle East. Their offices in New York are at 420 Lexington Ave, Suite 2739, NYC 10170 THeir phone number is 212-986-8024. Good luck. david hirsch, ucla ******************************************************************************* 12. What are the projects you can contribute to help rebuild Lebanon ? There is a non-profit organization for Lebanese Academics and Professionals that is working on development projects between Lebanon and North America. It is called ALPA (Association of Lebanese Professionals and Academics) to join or contact them, send e-mail to: alpa@lido.eng.uci.edu or fawaz@harrier.berkeley.edu ******************************************************************************* 13. Are there any information about The Cedars of Lebanon and/or organizations that deal with this matter?? There is two organizations that works on Cedars related matters, which are the SPNL (the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon) and the FCF (the Freinds of the Cedar Forest). Following is the breif description of the FCF Comitee and it's activities then a report of the SPNL about the cedar in Lebanon. the friends of the cedar forest committee: president: father george nakhle rahme vice-pres: antoine gebrayel tok treasurer: wahib keyrouz (who is also the conservationist of the gibran museum) secretary & official spokesman: bassam m. geagea head of the ecological team: dr. henriette tohme head of the phytopathology and plant protection team: dr. khalil melki head of the agricultural and decoration team: wajdi geagea (engineer) the committee has transformed el-arz kadicha into a natural regional park, and their work is predominately in bsharee. a good - though old- source for more info on the cedars of lebanon is : "the remnant cedar forests of lebanon" by e.w.beals of the aub, published in the journal of ecology - volume 53, pages 679 to 694. The following is a Report issued by the SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE IN LEBANON, and posted by Kamel Saidi on SCL, for addresses please read the end of the article. Here is the preliminary report on the Cedars of Lebanon that was prepared by the SPNL. I hope it helps some of you and I encourage anybody who is interested in joining SPNL to do so. If you would like more information about SPNL, I will be more than happy to send you a full brochure about them. CEDARS OF LEBANON (Cedrus Libani) PRELIMINARY REPORT PREPARED BY SPNL (SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE IN LEBANON) February 1994 A. GENERAL Cedrus Libani is a native of Lebanon, hence the name. It also occurs in Cyprus and Certain areas of Asia Minor. It is a tall evergreen tree having short dark needle-like leaves and highly prized fragrant hard wood. Cedrus Libani has been known to survive for over 3000 years and some of the existing Cedars of Lebanon are over 2000 years old. However, the great demand for its famous wood since ancient times has largely denuded most of the natural Cedar forests in Lebanon and the surrounding area. King Solomon is said to have imported the fabled cedarwood from Lebanon in biblical times to be used in the building of the temple in Jerusalem. So have the Egyptians and Phoenicians before him, as well as the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders and Ottomans in more recent times. During the first world war, the Turks decimated Lebanese forests, including a good part of the remaining cedars, to provide fuel for their railways in the area. Further damage took place during the chaos of the civil strife in Lebanon between 1975 and 1991. However, the present peace in Lebanon may cause an even greater danger than the war to the remaining cedars of lebanon. These dangers come from the following sources: a- Atmospheric pollution caused by the coastal cement plants in Chekka (which have been expanding their production to help the reconstruction efforts after the war), as well as other industrial air pollution. Although the Chekka cement plants have now been required to install anti-pollution equipment, more stringent regulations against air pollution should be enforced. b- An insect pest that has hit many of the cedars during the last few years, specially the Bsharri cedars. This requires further study and control. c- Lack of proper protection and the consequent trampling and abuse caused by goats and visitors to cedar forests. The present peace has greatly increased the number of tourists, both local and foreign to the cedars, who are now able to venture to areas that were not secure during the war. This endangers the ecological balance in areas where cedars occur. B. OCCURRENCE Despite the foregoing ravages, and the ravages of the past 16 years of chaos in Lebanon, Cedrus Libani still occurs in several ranges of the western slopes of Mount Lebanon between 1400 and 2000 meters above sea level. Some of these forests have been relatively well preserved while others, unfortunately, are still being abused and are in danger of further decimation. The areas in which the remaining cedar forests of Lebanon occur are the following: 1- Chouf Mountains a- Barouk Forest This is probably one of the better preserved cedar forests in the area and occurs on the western slopes of the Barouk mountains. It covers an area of around 100 hectares, with several thousand ancient trees still standing. b- Ain Zhalta Forest Also in the Chouf mountains, this forest covers around 110 hectares. It is relatively well preserved and as a result of this, we have noticed that parts of it have started to regenerate themselves through the natural growth of the new cedar seedlings over the last few years. c- Maasar El-Chouf Forest This is the furthest southern distribution of Cedrus Libani. It covers around 6 hectares and is well preserved. This forest is fenced and guarded by forest rangers who prevent any type of trespassing or activity in its environs, except by special permit. More work is required to protect and extend the Chouf mountain cedars. The best way to do this, in our opinion, is to declare them both national and international wildlife reserves of great significance. 2- North Lebanon Mountains a- Bsharri Although this is the most famous of the ancient cedar forests in Lebanon, it is not very well preserved, with only 375 of the ancient trees still standing. This forest has been recently reopened to visitors and is used as a tourist attraction to the great detriment of the trees themselves. Branches are still being chopped off and used to make souvenirs to sell to tourists, despite representations to the contrary. These cedarwood trinkets can be readily bought off street vendors around the Bsharri cedars. The Friends of the Cedars Committee in Bsharri has done some good work by planting several thousand new cedar seedlings in the last few years, and by trying to investigate the cause of the disease attacking many of the trees. However, these efforts are still inadequate to ensure the continued preservation of this once great forest. This requires closing it up to all visitors, except for special occasions, and putting it under the strict control of experienced and well trained forest rangers. The land of this forest is the property of the Maronite Church. However, a church is situated in the midst of the forest and a main asphalt road passes under some of the ancient trees. This situation is also detrimental for the preservation of this magnificent forest. b- Ehden Forest Also situated in north Lebanon, this forest has a great number of Fir (Abbies spp) and several other species of trees, besides Cedrus Libani. This forest has been recently declared a protected area by the Lebanese government, under law No. 121 of 9 March, 1992, as a result of pressure from several environmental organizations, including SPNL. 3- Other Stands of Cedars These are generally smaller and more scattered occurrences of Cedrus Libani than the above mentioned forests: a- Jeij, in Jubail mountains (central Lebanon). b- Tannourine, in Batroun area of north Lebanon. c- Wadi Jahannam, in Akkar area of north Lebanon. All the above occurrences still need to be properly surveyed in detail to determine their extent and present condition, before any action can be taken to preserve them. C. CONSERVATION SPNL believes that, despite the many dangers still facing the existence of the Cedars of Lebanon, if swift action is taken, the species can still be saved and may flourish again. If we can get these forests to be declared as protected areas and prevent both people and goats from trampling around, together with continuous new plantings of cedars around existing forests, then we may still be able to make them regenerate themselves. Efforts have increased in recent years to preserve and expand the existing cedar forests in Lebanon. Among the most important of these developments are the following: 1- The establishment of a new Ministry of the Environment in Lebanon in 1993, as a result of pressure from many non-government organizations (NGO's), is a good beginning. But it is only a beginning. 2- A new association called the Society for Arz El-Chouf, whose objective is to preserve the cedars of the Chouf mountains, has been established in early 1994 by Minister Walid Junblat. 3- SPNL and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) have proposed, in late 1993, a project to be funded by the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Global Environmental Facility (GEF), in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, to establish a new department of wildlife and protected areas in Lebanon. The objectives of this department will be to safeguard biodiversity and natural ecosystems in Lebanon through the establishment of a system of national parks and protected areas. Three areas have been selected to start this project, namely: a- Barouk Forest b- Ehden Forest c- Palm Island (off the coast of Tripoli) The Ministry of the Environment still has to make a decision and take necessary action to make this project reality. 4- SPNL and the Lebanese government have requested the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO to nominate the main cedar forests of Lebanon as historic sites of international importance. A visit to Lebanon by Mr. Jim Thorsell of WHC was sponsored by SPNL in April 1993 to study this proposal. But we still await further action by The Ministry of the Environment to bring this idea into actuality. 5- In the meantime, SPNL is conducting a campaign to plant new cedar trees. To this end, SPNL welcomes financial contributions for planting cedar trees in various areas where Cedrus Libani already occur in Lebanon. SPNL will plant one cedar tree in your name against a contribution of only 30 U.S. Dollars. Please contact us at the following address for further information: SPNL P.O. Box 11-5665 Beirut, Lebanon Tel.: (01)-343740/342701/344814 Fax : (961-1)-603208 Telex: 20179 SARI LE ****************************************************************************** 14. Are there any information about ski resorts in Lebanon ?? The following is an article from the In-flight Magazine of MEA Airlines. "The Story of Skiing in Lebanon", in Cedar Wings, The In-flight Magazine of MEA, issue 20 March-April 1994, pp. 6-12, 16. People are often surprised to discover that sunny Lebanon is a great place to ski. Six winter resorts operate in the high mountains, where from December to April heavy snow covers the rocky massif. The variety and accessibility of these slopes, ranging from the Cedars in the North to Kanat Bakiche nearer Beirut, make skiing one of the country's natural joys. The sport got started in 1913 when a Lebanese engineer, fresh from his studies in Switzerland, introduced skiing to his native country. But it wasn't until the 1930's that a group of French and Lebanese young people began to ski in earnest. These were a hardy lot, who in the days before ski lifts would spend many hours trudging up steep slopes for the joy of a single run down to the bottom. "We didn't know anything about skiing except that we wanted to do it," reminisces Dr. Emile Riachi, now president of the Lebanese Ski Federation. "We rented wooden skis, old fashioned leather boots with simple bindings and we walked up the slope. To keep from slipping we put fox skins under our skis." These young enthusiasts went all over the country, starting out at dawn to tramp up snowy slopes in the Cedars, Sannine, Barouk and Mount Hermon. It was all adventure, but with no lifts, one or two descents a day was most they could hope for. A nucleus of more serious skiing began in 1935 when the French army established a ski school near Bisharre, in the famous Cedars. Those were the days of the French mandate and the army's idea was to train soldiers to patrol the rugged mountains. The army school's most enduring contribution, however, was the generation of expert Lebanese skiers who formed the first Olympic team and later helped spread ski fever throughout the country. Since 1948 Lebanon has sent skiers to every winter Olympics and they have always made a good showing. Unfortunately, the 1994 winter Olympics have not seen the Cedar flag. According to the Ski Federation, new Olympic regulations have effectively disqualified a number of smaller countries, including Lebanon. One of the first ski lifts in the Lebanese mountains, a mechanical snow climber, was built in the late 1940's on the slopes of Dahr al-Baidar. Today travellers to Chtaura and Damascus can still see the remains of this disused 370-meter tow on the high pass. In 1951 the big chair lift in the Cedars was erected and tows and lifts began appearing in Laklouk and Ouyoune es-Siman (Faraya-Mzaar). With modern facilities available, Lebanon's skiers got on the fast track. In the 1960's they organized a Ski Federation. Later a high level Ski Committee was set up, headed by the Director General of Tourism. European instructors were brought in and international competitions organized. The annual Cedars Ski Week, listed on the International Ski Federation Calender, attracted participants from many European countries. Tourists also started heading for the snow as part of their packaged itineraries. Energized by this success, ski developers and travel agents began to publicize one of the country's greatest claims to fame - its weather. "Only in Lebanon," they announced to the world, "can you ski in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon." It's true that Lebanon's weather is crucial to its ski appeal. Investors in one proposed winter resort observed the weather at the site for three years. Finally they reported that it was almost possible to tell how many days of powder, crust, boilerplate or corn snow could be expected. Other planners compared conditions at 11 European ski locates with those in Lebanon. Their conclusion? Lebanon looked good, very good indeed. Once the Lebanese discovered the thrill of skiing, they stayed with it, even during the civil war. In fact, according to the Ski Federation, the sport has steadily developed at the rate of 15 to 20 percent annually, even during the fighting. "This year", says Dr. Riachi "you can expect to see some 10,000 skiers on the slopes on a god Sunday in March." Despite his enthusiasm, however, Dr. Riachi is not yet ready to advertise Lebanon as a ski paradise. "We are still feeling the effects of the war", he admitted. "Telephone communications to the mountains are not good and we need more facilities. Hopefully, we'll be ready for foreign tourists in a few years." Lebanon's Ski Federation and resort owners are gearing up to achieve this goal. A mini-building boom is underway in the higher elevations as investors and enthusiasts work to enlarge and improve their facilities. This season will see three new ski lifts at Ouyoune Es-Siman (Faraya-Mzaar) as well as improved snow maintenance equipment. New hotels and chalets, restaurants and shops are in the works in most locations. Safety has also been beefed up. The Lebanese Ski Committee is applying new measures at all resorts. Flags and signs will warn of poor snow conditions or dangerous areas. A rescue team will be stationed at each slope and all resorts will be equipped with first-aid supplies, an ambulance and a medical team. Ski competitions are in the forefront this season with a varied schedule of national contests, including the first cross-country competition since 1975. Next year the Federation hopes to organize Lebanon's first postwar international competitions. Perhaps it's not surprising then, that Lebanon is such a great place to ski. With stunning wide-angle views at every turn and slopes ti suit every level, skiing becomes a special experience. But, like Lebanon itself, much lies in its potential. "We are ready to start moving on this", says Dr. Riachi, who, remembering the time when there were no lifts at all, knows just how far the sport has come in Lebanon. Cedars The Cedars, 121 kilometers (75 miles) from Beirut, is perched on a platform at 2,066 meters (6,300 feet) elevation in a great bowl scooped from the towering peaks. Qornet al Souda reaches up 3,100 meters (10,135 feet) offering a superb view of Qadisha valley to the south and the Bekaa plain in the north. The ancient cedar trees, survivors of the magnificent giants that nice covered the entire area, are both a land-mark and symbol. As for skiing, the Cedars offers the most complete combinations of slopes, valleys and exposures of any resort in Lebanon, most of them with an ideal northwest exposure. But this natural ski paradise remains relatively undeveloped compared with its rivals. Its 2,400-meter chair lift, built in 1951, has been out of service for two years, although four good T-bar tows carry skiers up to 2,300 meters (7,500 feet). The Cedars has a number of chalets and hotels, ski shops, restaurants and a varied night life. Faqra Faqra, now a private club, is located south of Ouyoune as-Siman (Faraya-Mzaar) at 1,750 meters (5,741 feet). Its ski trails overlook the sea and the bay of Beirut. Facilities include a hotel, 200 private chalets, restaurants, a heated pool, squash, sauna, tennis, and a fitness club. The slopes are equipped with a chair lift, 2 ski lifts, and a baby lift. The resort also features an international slalom track. Members only. Special arrangements are available for tourists. Kanat Bakiche Kanat Bakiche, with an elevation of 1,990 meters (6,065 feet) is located on Mount Sannine near Faqra. This centre, 48 kilometers (29 miles) from Beirut, is known for the good quality of its snow. There are 2 ski lifts, and hotels are available in the area. Laklouk Laklouk was established by banker Joseph Saab in the early 1950's. Set among terraced orchards, its safe, gentle slope was dynamited out of a nearby cliff. Known as a family resort, Laklouk is remarkable for the stark beauty of its surroundings. Sixty kilometers from Beirut (37 miles), it is 1,740 meters (5,708 feet) high. It has three ski lifts, hotels, chalets and other facilities. Ouyoune es-Siman, generally known as Faraya-Mzaar after the nearby village, was established by Sheik Selim al-Khazen, who early on saw the area's potential. Mzaar is a region rich in natural curiosities, among them the 30 meter bridge carved from the rock by wind and rain. From Mzaar, one of the finest views in Lebanon takes in the Bekaa, Mount Hermon, Laklouk, the Cedars and the coast. Skiers are often able to see the sprawling city of Beirut outlined below. Fifty-four kilometers from Beirut (34 miles), Ouyoune es-Siman has an elevation of 1,891 meters (5,763 feet). It is one of the best equipped and maintained of Lebanon's resorts, with 11 lifts, including 2 chair lifts, which connect trails ranging from beginner's to advanced. There are chalets, hotels, ski shops and other facilities available. Zaarour Zaarour, 37 kilometers (29 miles) from Beirut, is a small resort on the wester flank of Mount Sannine where a splendid panorama takes in the famous Valley of Skulls ("Wadi el Jamajem"). About an hour's drive from Beirut, the center is equipped with ski lifts and a snack bar, but lacks hotels and other facilities. Elevation is about 1,990 (6,065 feet). Owner Michel Murr plans to develop Zaarour as a private club. ***************************************************************************** 15. What are the various Lebanese magazines and newspapers. Some of the newspapers are: Al Hayat (published in London, New York as well as in Beirut)* Al Nahar Al Safeer Al Anwar Al Dyar Nidaa Alwatan Haramoun Al Nahar has a WWW site the URL is http://www.annahar.com.lb/index.html * address of Al Dyar: Fax: +1 212 478 2981 (the Fax is in Lebanon) Tel: +961 1 427 202 404 * addresses of al-hayat: Main office: London KEINSIGTON CENERE, 66 HAMMERSMITH ROAD, LONDON W14 8YT UK tel: 071-6029988 Fax: 071-3714215 071-3714225 Telex: 925746 Administration: tel: 071-6029988 Fax: 071-6024963 Telex: 925751 Distribution: tel: 071-6052122 Fax: 071-6024514 Advertising: Media Force London : tel: 071-6027383 Fax: 071-6025023 Jeddah : tel: 02-6608458 Beirut : tel: 498967 Ryad : tel: 4640352 Washington office: AL HAYAT 1185 National Press Building Washington DC, 20045 USA Tel: 202 783 5544 Fax: 202 783 5525 New York office: AL HAYAT Press Room C-321 United Nation Bldg, New York 10017 USA Tel/Fax: 212 486 0576, 212 963 7619 Haramoun (political independant) It is said to be available in the US and Canada (3 days delay), Information: Nicolas Shahoud Tel: 1 314 772 7778 Pager: 1 314 582 2564 Some magazines: Al Nahar al Arabi wal Duwali Al Hawadess La revue du Liban La revue du Liban, is weekly French speaking magazine, editor in chief Milhem karam. It has a web site: http://www.dm.net.lb/rdl/ " Paul Salem, the assistant dean of Arts & Sciences at AUB has set up (I think with the help of his father Elie Salem the ex-foreign minister) the Lebanese Center for Policy Study, which deals with all political, social, and economic aspects of the Lebanese arena with a special emphasis on policy matters. They produce a monthly publication called the Lebanon Report and a quarterly journal (a la Foreign Affairs) called Middle East Review. The office they have in the US is mainly for the circulation of these publications. " They provide the following addresses: The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies Lebanon: Tayyar Center Box 55215, Sin Al-Fil Beirut, Lebanon Tel. 961-1-490561/6 Fax 961-1-490375 USA: P.O. Box 1377 Highland Park, NJ 08904 Phone: 908-220-0885 Fax: 908-937-6697 A very good source of information on economic developments in Lebanon is the Middle East Economic Digest, which is published weekly, in English. To subscribe, send a letter to the following address: P.O. Box 14 Harold Hill Romford Essex RM3 8 EQ U.K. It costs 275 sterlings in the UK, 300 sterlings outside the U.K. No special concessions are offered for students. The AUB Alumni Science Subcommittee publishes a quarterly magazine (Sci-Quest) that is distributed free of charge (in Lebanon--outside Lebanon, you may have to pay a small amount to cover mailing charges). To get on the mailing list, contact: Sci-Quest AUB Alumni Science Subcommittee AUB Alumni Club American University of Beirut P.O. Box 11-0236 Beirut, Lebanon. The Lebanon Report Dicussing every thing of what happened in the last month in Lebanon + Pictures. People who read they found it extremly helpful and very objective. It is written from a neutral point of views and does not belong to any faction. It is centered in Sin-El-feal (east beirut). I highly recommed it to anyhow how is interested. there address is: The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies P.O.Box 1377, Highland Park, NJ, 08904 Tel: 908-220-0885 Fax: 908-937-6697 ******************************************************************************* 16. Where can I find Lebanese magazines and newspapers. In NY/NJ, you can buy it in the World Trade Center, in Penn Station, Newark, NJ, and in Arab shopping areas (see below). In Boston there is the "out of town news" which sells them. It is located Harvard square, right outside the "T" station. It has several newspapers including "al hayat" and "al hawadeth". In Norway, many big libraries have magazines and newspapers relating to the Middle East. In Arabic there is the Ahram or the British based alHayat or Sharq al-Awsat. In Oslo the small Kiosk besides Saga cinema sells magazines and newspapers that relate to the Middle East. The University of Oslo publishes a magazine called Midtosten Forum that takes up issues related to the Middle East. Most articles are in Norwegian, but there are some in English or other Scandinavian languages. To get this magazine write to: Midtosten Forum Tidsskriftredaksjonen 1030 Blindern 0315 Oslo Norway In Montreal, There are the "Maisons de la presses internationales", that have a wide variety of Arabic/Lebanese newspapers and magazines. They have the daily Al-Hayat (printed in NY), Al-Hawadeth, Al-Wasat, Al-Watan Al-Araby, etc. "Les Maisons" have three locations on St-Catherines st. in downtown Montreal. Other downtown Kiosques and arabic food stores, get Al-Hayat and other papers and magazines. A couple of local Lebanese papers are issued in Montreal weekly or bi-weekly, the most important are Al-Mustaqbal and Sawt-Canada. These papers contain news from Lebanon and the middle-east as well as news of the Arab and Lebanese communities in Canada. ******************************************************************************* 17. What has been written by Lebanese and/or about Lebanon ? What follows are titles of books by contemporary Lebanese writers available in English.(They all deal with the war in one aspect or another). Kamal Salibi, "A House of Many Mansions, The History of Lebanon Reconsidered", 1988. Emily Nasrallah, _Flight Against Time_ trans. Issa J. Boullata. Charlettetown, P.E.I.: Ragweed Press, 1987. This is a very touching depiction of an older man's inability to get used to life in Canada, where his children live and where they want him to move because of the outbreak of the war in Lebanon. The old man's attachment to his Lebanese village is conveyed in a simple, direct style, making his predicament that much more poignant. Elias Khoury, _Little Mountain_ trans. Maia Tabet. Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1989. What I find really interesting about this book is its post-modern style. The narrative point view, speaker, time, place, all shift without warning. It is almost as though Khoury is trying to re-create stylistically the disjunctions and disruptions occasioned by the civil war in Lebanon. (his representation of women, however, is rather sexist in my view) Etel Adnan, _Sitt Marie Rose_ Post Apollo Press, 1978. In this work Adnan narrates the experiences of a Maronite woman who falls in love with a Palestinian and is kidnapped by a group of men (her co-religionists among whom is an old school friend of hers. Her experiences are witnessed by her students who are deaf-mutes. This is a very powerful and disturbing book. Etel Adnan, "five senses for one death." The Smith Special Issue 18, 1971. This is a long imagistic poem by Adnan. Jean Said Makdisi, _Beirut Fragments: A War Memoir_ New York: Persea Books, 1990. Makdisi is a Palestinian-Lebanese who describes her experiences in war- torn Beirut. For her those experiences, which she retells in very moving terms, and her determination to stay in Beirut make her a true Beiruti. Her love for Beirut and her agony over what is happening to it are quite clear. Employing different styles (chronicle, descriptive narrative etc.) in different chapters, Makdisi ends her book with a very moving poem. Here's the poem : "Is it possible to hope that from the rubble of war, which at certain times seemed to haved ended civilization, a new form might arise and permit future creativity? There is something of the alpha and omega in this hope, is there not? Zbale garbage surrounds us, everywhere we look, there are piles of rubbish, debris, there is stench and ugliness, we Yield always we yield to the force of things, we are in danger of surrendering to despair, and to the ease of Xenophobia there is always someone else to blame for what has happened to us, it's never our fault, oh no, and meanwhile we are Waiting always waiting, for the others, for the solution, waiting for them to let the water come gurgling into our empty taps, waiting for the walls to crumble Weary of the never ending War we listen, overwhelmed with sorrow and anger to the the empty Words the endless empty rhetoric which has only brought more Violence while the Veneer of fashion glitters like a worthless, forgotten coin in a mound of rubble as it catches the sun. Ugliness surrounds us, the ugliness of a broken city, ugly buildings sprouting up everywhere, ugly streets, whole neighborhoods, the beauty of mountains is destroyed by utilitarian ugliness, and Time weighs heavily on us--our days are long, and we carry History on our backs, an intolerable burden--but History gave us also Tyre and Tripoli and Sidon timeless relics from the past, ancient, beautiful, but Scarred by war and the suffering of Refugees We are a land of refugees, a people of refugees, coming from everywhere, going nowhere. Refugees make beautiful causes, but they are people--their trucks piled high with the pathetic remnants of former lives, mattresses and goats and children and stoves--they have found no Quicksand in which everyone sinks. We are in a Prison of violence and forgotten ideals. Still, Peace will come, and Oppression will end, must end, and Nemesis will come, but not with more Militias certainly not with more fighting men, nor with more Lies the lies told by everyone to preserve the war and to preserve the Knitting together of the unravelling whole. Justice In war there is no Justice, and it is not from War that Justice will come. Jbeil ancient Byblos, and Jounieh with its ancient harbors and stunning bay, emerald mountains dipping into the blue sea and searching into the azure skies, they are in danger of drifting away from us, but someday perhaps there will be Joy and Jubilation when this war ends and the Internecine butchery ends. They say Hope springs eternal and so it does, in spite of the Guns and the Fawda the anarchy which threatens us at every turn, because Earth around us is beautiful: the gray rocks on the sheer cliffs, the shimmering silver leaves of the olive trees, the deep dark green of the ancient cedars, the sweet smell of the pine forests, the oranges dotted like yellow stars in the sparkling groves that lie by the blue seas. Meanwhile, our Days pass, drearily, with explosions shattering the stillness of the nights. Our senses are dulled by the Catastrophe that has been upon us here in Beirut --poor, ugly, stricken Beirut, broken Beirut, unloved city, lost Beirut, like the child in the tale, torn between two mothers, but no Solomon here, no true mother. Beirut pleads to be redeemed, but not by Another Army. ........................... (This poem is more effective as a culmination to Makdisi's memoirs. It is reproduced here without permission.) Hanan Al-Shaykh, -The Story of Zahra_ trans. Peter Ford. New York: Quartet Books, 1986. Zahra is a shia Lebanese living in Beirut during the war (though she also goes to West Africa for a while). I won't give away the plot but only mention that she has a very complex relationship with a sniper. I really liked this book. It deals very frankly with sensitive issues such as sex and politics, and especially with the struggles of women. Other Lebanese writers I like but for whom I have yet to see anything published in English are Ghada el Samman and Layla Baalbakki. Excerpts of their works are available in English in anthologies such as -Opening the Gates_ edited by Margot Badran and Miriam Cooke. Indiana UP, 1990 and _Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak_ edited by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan. Univ. of Texas Press, 1977. There are several other anthologies out as well. The University of Chicago library has an excellent collection of books in Arabic. You might search there for what's available. UC Berkeley also has a very good collection. There is at least one bookstore that I know of in San Francisco called The Arabic Book Center that also supplies books in Arabic as well as English. They will order books for you as well. If you want to read good books by Lebanese writers, Amin Malouf has written "Samarcande", "Leon l'africain", and "Les croisades vues par les Arabes". These books were best sellers in France. (Samarcande in particular is HIGHLY recommended). Amin Maalouf's books have been translated into English. Here are the English titlesof two of them: "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" trans. Jon Rothschild. Schocken Books, New York, 1987. "Leon l'africain" has also been translated. The English title is Leo Africanus. [Begin French] Le dernier roman d'Amin Maalouf s'intitule "Le rocher de Tanios". Ce dernier roman a pris le pris de Gouncourt 1993 [le prix le plus important en France] voici ce que dit le journal francais Le figaro dans son numero de 9 Nov 1993: [debut le figaro] Le FIGARO 9 Nov 1993 [Titre]: "Le Rocher de Tanios": contre tous le fanatismes Par Laurence Vidal Il n'a eu quelques jours pour devenir nerveux. Amin Maaalouf, il y a une semaine encore, n'osait sans doute pas esperer le Goncourt. Depuis fin aout, deja, tout le monde jurait un autre, Marc Lambron, favori des Academiens. Ceux-ci ne dementaient pas. Il a fallu le coup d'eclat des dames du Femina qui, devancant les Dix de trois jours, leur ont rafle leur candidat, pour la place, devenue libre, commence a susciter de nouveaux espoirs. Dans la redistribution des cartes, Amin Maalouf semblait le mieux dote. C'est chose faite. Le Rocher de Tanios (1), Goncourt 1993: un prix merite. Un choix heureux, quels qu'aient ete les aleas coups de theatre et jeux de massacres quil'ont precede. Heureux, d'abord, parce que le romain, cette legende revisitee des annees 1830 au mont Liban, a quoi charmer le public large sans demeriter pour autant aux yeux du lecteur difficile(2). Heureux, ensuite parce qu'est recompense un auteur, un ecrivain, qui, depuis dix ans, eleve inlassablement le double de conteuret de foi d'humaniste andide. Descendant d'une famille qui, depuis le XVIIIe siecle a donne au Liban une vigntaine d'ecrivains, Amin est fils de Ruchdi Maalouf, journaliste et ecrivain lui-meme, enseignant, peintre, poete et grande figure du Beyrouth des annees 40 a 80. Dans le sillage de ce pere aime et respecte qui "revait d'une democratie ideale et a beaucoup souffert de l'echec d'une republique fraternelle", Amin Maalouf aprend tres tot le sens du mot "paix". Ce chretien du Liban eleve par les jesuites a ete facone par la double culture, arabe et francaise, par le gout des lettres et l'esprit e tolerance. Diplome de sociologie et d;economie politique, Amin Maalouf, tres tot, reprend l'un des flambeux paternels et devient journaliste. Il est a Saigon a la fin de la guerre du vietnam. On le retrouve dans l'avion qui ramene en Iran l'ayatollah Khomeini. Quant a la premiere fusillade entre Palstieniens et Phalangistes, qui fitplus de 20 morts et mis le feu aux poudres de Beyrouth, elle eut lieu sous les fenetres de son appartement familail. L'annee suivante Amin Maalouf s'installe a Paris. Et c'est en 1983 que parait son premeir ouvrage: Les croisades vuespar les arabes(3). Une vie passee a jeter un pont entre ses deux meres, l'Orient et l'Occident, vient de comencer. Car cet homme a vecu vignt-sept ans sur une terre dechiree par des conflits a caracteres religieux, cet erudit souriant qui eclare parfois ecrire " parce que j'ai besoin de reflechir sur ma vie, sur mon siecle", n'abandonnera jamais les freres ennemis, qu'ils soient d'ici ou d'ailleurs. C'est 1986, Leaon l'Africain (3), biographie tres romancee de Hassan Al-Wazzan, alias Jean Leon de Medicis, ce musulman ne en Grecnade en 1488, mort en Tunis vers 1555, et entre-temps baptise a Rome par le pape Leon X, dont il fut le conseiller et l'ambassadeur. Portrait d'un homme qui resume en lui, et reconcilie, toutes les contradictions, les dechirements et les affrontements d'une epoque. Place ensuite a Omar Khayyam, poete, astronome et philosophe persan. que l'on retrouve dans Samarcande (4). Une sceptique dans la lignee d'Avicenne, un chantre du Carpe diem qui preferait les femmes et le vin au fanatisme religieux. Puis toujours en quete de figures symboliques, Amin Maalouf s'interesse a Mani. C'est le jardin des lumieres (3) en 1991, ou se revele un prophete qui n'a rien a d'un manicheen au sens ou on l'enetend aujourd'hui, mais qui recommande, au contraire de nourir la lumiere qui se cache en chaque etre et chaque chose; qui prone une foi reconciliee, melange de christianinsme, de boudisme et de zoroastisme(les trois religions dominantes dans la perse des Sassanides). Belle constate d'un ecrivain qui, dans le Premier Siecle apres Beatrice (1), nous depins une humanite du XXIe siecle qi nous ressemble comme une soeur, se dechire, et menace de se detruire. Avec Le Rocher de Tanios, pour la premiere fois, Amin Maaalouf a rompu la distance qu'il avit toujours maintenue vec ses livres. C'est le retour au Liban, a Kfaryabda, village des ancetres, en un siecle ou deja les interets etrangeres soufflent la tempete sous les branches du Cedre. La encore dans ce roman ou plane " toute la subtile et trouble poesie du conte oriental"(2), c'est le refus de se laisser entrainer dans l'enchainement des vengeances qu'il illustre. Dans un monde qui "se bestialise", auand " les citoyens les plus paisibles se transforment soudain en tueurs" parce qu'ils sentent leur communaute menacee, c'est, encore toujours, la proffession d'une foi inderacinable chez cet homme blesse a mort par tous les fanatismes: " Il n'est qu'une valeur immuable: la liberte de la personne humaine". Ainsi parle Amin Maalouf prophete dans le desert, prix Goncourt 1993. (1) Grasset (2) Figaro 17 Sep (3) Latte`s (4) Latte`s, 1988 Prix de maison de presse [fin le figaro] un autre roman c'est "Les jardins de lumiere". Il raconte l'histoire de "Mani", un oriental qui a vecu au 3eme siecle, et fonde une nouvelle religion, le "manicheisme". Son principe de base etait le respect de toutes les religions (Christianisme, Boudhisme, ... l'Islam n'existait pas encore). Apres s'etre repandu un peu partout (de l'Inde jusqu'en Europe, en passant par la Perse, le Moyen Orient, l'Egypte ...) cette religion a disparu vers le 12eme siecle a cause des nombreuses persecutions de la part des autres religions (Christianisme, Islam ...). Bref, le roman est une sorte de biographie imaginaire qui constitue neanmoins une vraie lecon de tolerance et pose beaucoup de questions sur l'interet des religions ... Personnellement, j'ai lu les trois romans d'A.M. : "Leon l'africain", "Samarcande" et "Les jardins de lumiere". Tous les trois sont excellents (a mon avis) mais j'ai eu une legere preference pour "Samarcande". En realite, je pense que ce qui plait aux occidentaux dans les oeuvres de Maalouf c'est son style de "conteur" (Haqawaati), auquel ils sont peu habitues (parfois il va un peu trop loin dans l'invraisemblance des coincidences...) [End French] Robert Fisk,"Pity The Nation - The Abduction of Lebanon", Oxford Paperbacks, 1990, ISBN 0-19-285235-3, approx $16.00 Fisk is an AP correspondent who reported on the war in Lebanon *from* Lebanon since its inception in the mid 70's. A devastating book. 'Required' reading for anyone interested in an unbiased account of the wars in Lebanon. Covers events through the late 80's. Thomas Friedman, "From Beirut to Jerusalem" Jonathan Randall, "Going All The Way" N. Alamuddin Title: Turmoil: Druzes, Lebanon and the arab-israeli conflict Publisher: Quartet books (London) ISBN 07043 7050 6 (hard back) 07043 0189 x (paper back) Price: 14.95 (English pounds), hard back. 9.95 // , paper back. The book has recently been published and it is useful to those interested in the Lebanese politics and the history of Lebanon. For those interested in the affairs of the Arab world, especially, the issue of identity, Xavier de Planbol offers his ideas in a new book in French. The book : Les nations du prophete, manuel geographique de politique Musulmane. Author: Xavier de Planbol. Evelyne Accad : _Sexuality and War : Literary Masks of the Middle East_ New York : New York University Press, c1990 The topics in this book seem to include: Arabic fiction--Lebanon--History and criticism. Arabic fiction--20th century--History and criticism. Lebanese fiction (French)--History and criticism. Sex in literature. Feminism in literature. Violence in literature. Sexual animosity--Lebanon. Sexual animosity--Arab countries. Lebanon--History--Civil War, 1975-1976--Literature and the war. Stefan Wild, Libanesische Ortsnamen, Typologie und Deutung, Beirut 1973. (Lebanese place names: their typoligie and meaning). This books belongs to a series called: Beiruter Texte und Studien, vol. 9 Wild's book is in German :(, yet he has an excellent summary in English. Here is a quotation from the summary: "A very interesting feature [in Lebanese place names] is presented by sound-shifts due to an etymologizing tendency. This phenomenon was called in a recent most illuminating study by Joshua Blau (On Pseudo-Corrections in Some Semitic Languages) 'hyper-correction due to over self assertion'. In correction with Lebanese place-names it means that an Aramaic place-name, when taken over by an arabophone population may be changed in its consonantic and/ or vocalic structure in accordance with an etymologically related Arabic model. We find Sibliin < Aramaic Shibbliin 'ears (of wheat)' an Aramaic plural form, with its initial 'sh' shifted to 's' under the influence of the etymologically related Arabic 'sabal' with the same meaning. Another example is Biskinta < Aramaic bee Shkinta 'house of dwelling', under the influence of the Arabic root 'skn'. The etymology is, of course, not necessarily 'correct' from a linguist's point of view. A name like Nakhli most probably derives from the Aramaic 'naHla' 'valley, waadi'. Since Aramaic 'H' frequently corresponds to to Arabic 'kh', the Arabic word 'nakhl' 'palm-trees' could easily but wrongly be associated with the Aramaic form..." (p.327) "It is reasonably plausible to suggest that similar developments took place when the Canaanite-speaking population gave way to Aramaic speakers, and even before, when pre-Canaanite (pre-Semitic?) place-names were molded into Canaanite. BUt our data are insufficient to quote examples." (pp.327, 328) "The great majority of place names in Lebanon, in fact about two thirds, is now Arabic. The rest are chiefly Aramaic, some Canaanite (not more than 2%) and a sprinkling of Greek names like Traablus < Tripolis, Turkish names like Qashlaq < Kishlaa 'winter quarters', and French like Bois de Boulogne...." "This clear cut division [of place names into Arabic, Aramaic etc.] is, however, misleading. A large number of names must have shifted morphologically from Canaanite to Aramaic and/or from Aramaic to Arabic. This is demonstrable in cases like 'Jbail'. This name sounds now like a purely Arabic toponym, a very common 'f@ail'-diminutive of 'jabal' 'mountain'. We happen to know, however that the same place is attested as 'ku-ub-la' in Sumerian texts of the third millennium BC., a time when it is impossible to think of an Arabic origin. While the original meaning of the name is unknown, the structure makes it highly probable that it was a Semitic name, and we may be justified in calling it Early Canaanite. If we did not know the pre-Arabic evidence, and this is the point, we should be obliged to interpret 'Jbail' as a quite recent purely Arabic name. The only was to prove that an existing Arabic-looking and -sounding name is in reality pre-Arabic, is of course to find an attested pre-Arabic form. As the majority of Lebanese place-names which can be attested at all before the 20th. century, are to be found at best in late medieval sources, a pre-Arabic origin can normally be suspected [as Frayha does], rarely proved. There is however one further piece of circumstantial evidence indicating that the shift of place-names must have frequently. We may safely assume that the general ecological conditions determining, why names were given to places remained fairly stable from Canaanite times up to the beginning of industrialization in the 20th. century. We are therefore justified in assuming that the proportion of compound place-names like '@ain'... 'spring of' or 'bait'... house of' was in early times as great as it is now. The most important of the appelatives used to form place names are the same in Canaanite, Aramaic and Arabic: @ain, @ainaa, @ayin 'source'; bait, baitaa, bayit 'house'; karam, karmaa, kerem 'vineyard'; tall, tellaa, tel 'hill'; and many others. The close structural and etymological relation between place-names the three languages involved has made the transformation of place-names very easy, and conversely often renders distinction between place-names of Canaanite, Aramaic and Arabic origin very difficult. The place-names which have preserved their Canaanite or Aramaic character are the exception rather than the rule." (pp. 328, 329) "... Place names show the Lebanon as a resort of te pious, where Canaanite gods, Christian saints and Muslim sheikhs mingle. Valleys and rivers, springs and forests, peaks and mountain stamp the life of the people. Place-names, the linguistically petrified remnants of cultural history, preserve the memory of the cedar, where there are no more cedars, and recall roaming wolves and bears where is today no more than the occasional fox. Generations of hunters and farmers, shepherds and hermits have left their unmistakable imprint on Lebanese toponomy. At a time where, in the Syrian desert, the Bedouin are beginning to use place-names like ij-jfuur (the pump-station H4), and the industrial age in Lebanon is dawning, the spectrum of Lebanese place-names shows us an enthralling and extraordinary vivid picture of yesterday." (p. 330) Here is a review that recently appeared in TIME magazine of Ziad Rahbani's latest play: >From TIME Magazine (May 31, 1993) SIGHTINGS by Emily Mitchell (p.61) THEATER Lebanon You Gotta Have Wasta "Of Dignity and Stubborn Folk" Written and Directed by Ziad Rahbani ACT I: BEIRUT, 1998. Syrian and Israeli troops have withdrawn from Lebanon, and the country can determine its own fate. But greed is ascendant, and mayhem is at hand. In kaleidoscopic scenes, belly dancers alternate with news flashes and fake TV commercials, while people boast of their "wasta" (connections). When an old Armenian is electrocuted trying to repair a generator that is the only power source, an announcement is made: " He was the last Armenian in Lebanon - nothing technical will work again . " ACT II: BEIRUT, 2003. Though the country is in its death throes, sectarianism has not expired. Animals join the few surviving Lebanese, and an orangutan wants to vote. "What is your religion?" the humans demand. Cannibals garbed in animal skin- and holding walkie-talkies - proclaim a new credo:" We only eat our friends." In this bleak, gallows-humor play, Ziad Rahbani parodies Lebanese society and evokes the pessimism of Orwell's 1984. The daily "Hayat" notes that "Rahbani is like those animals that feel the earthquake before it happens." "Of Dignity and Stubborn Folk" is selling out in Beirut's 620-seat Piccadilly Theater, and audiences sense that the tremors may already have begun. There is Charles Glass's book "tribes with flags", an account of his travels from Iskandaron to lebanon (i.e. until he was kidnapped). ISBN 0-87113-457-8 there is one part of the book that you might enjoy, a brief description of the Levant. (note: Levant are the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean) "The battlefields were also vineyards, and fruit trees sprouted from ancient graves. Where men had drawn swords, hurled spears and fired automatic rifles, children played. Rivers that armies had forged in the night to surround an enemy provided family picnic sites. The sea in which navies displayed their cannon was beautiful to look at and cool to swim in. With what little there was from the land and sea, the people made their lives rich and lavish. The divisions that were a source of conflict also gave wealth...In a small area, there seems to be the sights, sounds and smells of all the world" another interesting quote "A man may find Naples or Palermo merely pretty but the deeper violet, the splendor and desolation of the Levant waters is something that drives into the soul." James Elroy Flecker (British poet) Beirut, October 1914 Another book is titled "The Struggle Over Lebanon" by Tabitha Petran. It was published in 1987 by Monthly Review Press (New York). The book is a well-written analysis of the making of modern Lebanon and chronicles the war years. The analysis is particularly rich in identifying the roles and actions of external actors and does a superb job linking these outside interests with the local leadership that allied itself to them. The back cover holds strong recommendations for the book by three authorities on the area. They are Rachid Khalidi, Edward Said, and Noam Chomsky. Said calls it "an astonishing chronicle...a powerful and magisterial narrative dense with human dram and political insight." Petran is unique among westerners that have written about Lebanon in that she was not an "in and out quick" journalist. Unlike so many who wrote about the Lebanese war, she did not visit the country for a few weeks, squeeze in a dozen interviews and then provide western audiences with a shallow tale of how horrible life was at the Commodore hotel. Petran lived in Lebanon from 1962 till 1986. She had a clear view of the pre-war conditions and of the modern history of the country. She lived through the crucial Lebanese history years of 1967-1975. Her book is rich with deep analysis and a wealth of historical facts. Of the 383 pages of text, she allocates over a hundred pages to a wonderfully succinct summary of Lebanon's modern history. The rest of the book covers the 1975-1986 period. There are 30 pages of notes that would particularly useful for interested scholars. from the Centre for Lebanese Studies, Oxford, England (address and info Question 11) Publications Books Theodor Hanf Co-existence in Wartime Lebanon: Decline of a State and Rise of a Nation. Published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. Oxford and London: 1993. 512pp. 45.00 ISBN 1 85043 651 7 The subject of this book is the problem of conflict and conflict regulation in Lebanon. How were conflicts regulated peacefully in pre-war Lebanon? How did this country come to be the battlefield of a surrogate war and, at the same time, a civil war? How do the Lebanese political and military leaders on the one hand, and ordinary citizens on the other view what has happened to their country? What do they desire and what will they settle for? Are there any prospects of re-establishing Lebanese co-existence? This book attempts to show that although fear can produce a vicious circle of hate and violence, it can also produce reason and compromise _ that conflict can bring forth co-existence. Leila Fawaz An Occasion for War: Lebanon and Damascus in the 1860s. Published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. Oxford & London: 1993. 256pp. 34.50 ISBN 1 85043 201 5 This pioneering study tells the story of the 1860 civil wars which began in Mount Lebanon and spilled over into Damascus to become the most severe sectarian outbreak in the history of Ottoman Syria and Lebanon. The author's close analytical narrative of the dramatic events of this year is set against the background of broader themes of social, political and economic change during the nineteenth century and explores the interaction of local contexts with regional and international currents. Albert Hourani & Nadim Shehdi (eds.) The Lebanese in the World: A Century of Emigration. Published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. Oxford & London: 1992. 801pp. 45.00 ISBN 1 85043 303 8 This book is a collection of essays based on papers delivered at a conference on Lebanese Emigration organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies in Oxford. The chapters are written by historians, economists, sociologists and political scientists, coming from various backgrounds and disciplines. They attempt to evaluate the impact of the emigrants from Lebanon on the host societies, the process of integration, their economic, political and cultural significance, as well as their relations with the home country and their contribution to its development. Engin Deniz Akarli The Long Peace: Ottoman Lebanon, 1861_1920. Published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. Oxford and London: 1993. 372pp. 34.50 ISBN 1 85043 655 X This book analyses the development of an autonomous political regime in Ottoman Mount Lebanon known as the Mutasarrifiyya. The book describes how that period was one of reconcilliation and socio-political integration for Mount Lebanon, and discusses the relevance of that epoch to later periods of Lebanese history. Leila Fawaz ed. State and Society in Lebanon. Published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and Tufts University. Oxford and Cambridge, MA: 1991. 108pp. 14.95 ISBN 1 870552 23 7 This book includes a selection of the papers presented at the conference on Rebuilding State and Society in Lebanon held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1988. It analyses ways in which the Lebanese state and society can be rebuilt and discusses the future prospects of Lebanon. Paul Balta & Georges Corm (eds.) L'avenir du Liban dans le contexte regional et international. Published by Les Editions Ouvrires, Paris: 1990 FF 115 These are proceedings of a conference held in May 1988 at the Centre de Formation des Journalistes. The book includes an extensive chronology, a bibliography and documents. Maghreb Machrek LIBAN: Les defis du quotidien No 125, juillet-septembre 1989. Published by Documentation Francaise. 191pp. Bibliography 6.00 ISSN 03366324 A special issue of this French academic journal is dedicated to the challenges of daily life in Lebanon during the civil war written by authors who have lived through the situation. The eight papers cover aspects of economic and social crisis, emigration, internal population movements, education and the relation between the citizen and the state. Edited by Ghassan Salam in co-operation with and under the sponsorship of the Centre for Lebanese Studies. L.I. Conrad (ed.) The Formation and Perception of the Modern Arab World: Studies by Marwan Buheiry. Published by Darwin Press Inc. Princeton, NJ: 1989. 624pp. 49 plates Index 24.00 ISBN 0 87850 064 2 This volume presents a selection of 27 studies by the late Marwan Buheiry who was the founding director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies. The essays and articles fall under four main themes: European Perceptions of the Orient; the Superpowers and the Arab World; The Economic History of the Middle East; Intellectual and Artistic History. Nadim Shehadi & Bridget Harney (eds.) Politics and the Economy in Lebanon. Published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, SOAS. Oxford and London: 1989. 120pp. Bibliography 13.50 ISBN 1 870552 18 0 This book examined current issues in the politics and economy of Lebanon as seen through the eyes of nine prominent experts in contemporary Lebanese affairs. It is the outcome of a one- day conference organised in March 1988 by the Centre for Lebanese Studies, Oxford, and the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, SOAS, London, and does much to clarify the prevailing complexities of the Lebanese situation both at the regional and international levels. Kamal Salibi A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered. Published by I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. London: 1988. 247pp. Cased Index Bibliography 26.95 ISBN 1 85943 091 8 Lebanon's leading historian examines the process of historical myth-making to explain why at this time of unprecedented internal dislocation, Lebanese nationalism has never been so strong. This is a timely source of insight into both the Lebanese conflict and the creation of nationalist sentiments. Nadim Shehadi & Dana Haffar-Mills eds. Lebanon: A History of Conflict and Consensus. Published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. Oxford and London: 1988. 352pp Cased Index Bibliography 32.50 ISBN 1 85043 119 1 A collection of papers by a group of scholars and experts on Lebanon covering a wide range of themes explaining both the roots of the conflict and the basis for resolving it. The papers were presented at a conference held at St. Antony's College, Oxford in September 1987. CLS Bulletin Vol. 2. The CLS Bulletins report on the various conferences and seminars that have dealt with Lebanon as well as list the organisations interested in Lebanon. The Bulletins also have a section on new books and articles on Lebanon as well as a section on completed theses. 5.00 ISBN 1 870552 16 4 CLS Bulletin Vol. 3. 5.00 ISBN 1 870552 21 0 Forthcoming Papers on Lebanon A series of analytical essays dealing with historical, political and economic issues contributed by the Centre's staff and other scholars in the field. The following have now been published: No.1 Albert Hourani Political Society in Lebanon: An Historical Introduction 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 0 08 No.2 Ghassane Salame Lebanon's Injured Identities: Who Represents Whom During a Civil War 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 0 16 No.3 Nasser Saidi The Economic Consequences of the War in Lebanon 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 0 24 No.4 Marwan Buheiry Beirut's Role in the Political Economy of the French Mandate 1919-39 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 03 2 No.5 Nadim Shehadi The Idea of Lebanon: Economy and State in the Cenacle Libanais 1946-54 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 04 0 No.6 Miriam Cooke Women Write War: The Centring of the Beirut Decentrists 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 05 9 No.7 Chibli Mallat Shi'i Thought from the South of Lebanon 4.50 ISBN 1 870552 07 5 No.8 Kamal Salibi Lebanon and the Middle Eastern Question 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 08 3 No.9 Nassif Hitti The Foreign Policy of Lebanon: Lessons and Prospects for the Forgotten Dimensions 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 10 5 No.10 Carolyn Gates The Historical Role of Political Economy in the Development of Modern Lebanon 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 113 No.11 Michael Humphrey Islam, Sect and State: The Lebanese Case 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 121 No.12 Farid el-Khazen The Communal Pact of National Identities: The Making and Politics of the 1943 National Pact 5.00 ISBN 1 870552 20 2 No.13 Caesar Farah The Road to Intervention: Fiscal Politics in Ottoman Lebanon 5.00 ISBN 1 870552 25 3 No.14 Judith Harik The Public and Social Services of the Lebanese Militias 5.00 ISBN 1 870552 39 3 Forthcoming No.15 Yezid Sayigh The Palestinians in Lebanon: Coming to terms 5.00 ISBN 1 870552 49 0 Forthcoming Prospects for Lebanon A series of analytical essays dealing with policy aspects of relevant current issues. No.1 Nawaf Salam An Essay on Political Opportunities and Constraints 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 06 7 No.2 Antoine Messara The Challenge of Coexistence 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 09 1 No.3 Samir Khalaf Besieged and Silenced: The Muted Anguish of the Lebanese People 3.00 ISBN 1 870552 15 6 No.4 Joseph Maila The Document of National Understanding _ A Commentary 8.00 ISBN 1 870552 24 5 No.5 Fida Nasrallah The Questions of South Lebanon 8.00 ISBN 1 870552 39 3 No.6 Oussama Kabbani The Reconstruction of Beirut 8.00 ISBN 1 870552 34 2 No.7 John Kolars Thomas Naff The Waters of the Litani in Regional Context 8.00 ISBN 1 870552 19 9 No.8 Marianne Heiberg The Future of UNIFIL 8.00 ISBN 1 870552 44 X Conferences In addition to an annual conference there are also workshops and one day seminars. Current Research on Lebanon Oxford, September 1986. Consensus and Conflict in Lebanon Oxford, September 1987. Politics and the Econony in Lebanon Organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies with the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS. London, March 1988. Rebuilding State and Society in Lebanon Organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in co- operation with the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. Boston, October 1988. L'Avenir du Liban dans le Contexte Regional et International Organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the Centre d'etudes de l'Orient Contemporain (Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III) and the Centre de Formation et de Perfectionnement des Journalistes. Paris, May 1989. Lebanese Emigration This conference was organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and held at St Hugh's College, Oxford, September 1989. The Lebanese in Africa This conference was organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and held at the Middle East Centre, St Anthony's College, Oxford, September 1990. State and Society in Syria and Lebanon 1919-1991 Organised in co-operation with the Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies. Exeter, September 1991. Peace-keeping, Water and Security in South Lebanon Organised in co-operation with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. London, October 1991. The Reconstruction of Beirut Organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies. London, March 1992. Parliamentary Elections in Lebanon Organised by the Centre for Lebanese Studies, in co-operation with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and the International Peace Academy. Oxford, May 1992. Lebanon in the 1950s Organised by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas, in co-operation with the Centre for Lebanese Studies. Texas, September 1992. Visiting Fellows Professor Abdul Rahim Abu-Husayn, Dr Said Boumedouha, Dr Carolyn Gates, Professor Irene Gendzier, Mr Fawaz Gerges, Dr William Harris, Dr Kohei Hashimoto, Dr Michael Humphrey, Mr Ignacio Klich, Professor Boutros Labaki, Mr R Rene Laremont, Mr Michel Van Leeuw, Professor Neil Leighton, Dr Mona Macsoud, Dr Fida Nasrallah, Professor Kamal Salibi, Professor Radwan es-Sayyid, Dr Estela Valverde. Archives and Library The Centre possesses a body of archives and research material, the most important of which are a collection of US government documents on the 1958 crisis, collected by Dr Carolyn Gates; a collection of material on the Civil War of 1975-6 collected by Drs Ahmad Khalidi and Hussein Agha; a collection from the Israel State archives; and a collection of newspapers on the 1982 Israeli invasion collected by the late Leigh Douglas. ------------------------ A new book about islamic art and architecture has just been published. It covers the era from 1250 to 1800, and examines work in the area that extends from Morocco to India. For the interested in the subject, the book is essential. Title: The art and architecture of Islam 1250-1800 Author: S. Blair & J. Bloom Publi: Yale University Press Year: 1994 ISBN: 0 300 05888 8 ******************************************************************************* 18. Where can I find works written by Lebanese and /or on Lebanon ? Check your local or University Library, most of the books listed above can be obtained in major bookstores or on special order from your local bookstore. You can also see : Saqi Books 26 Westbourne Grove London W2 5RH vox 071 221 9347 fax 071 229 7492 They are bound to have it. They are specialists in Arabic language and Levantine books. also you can try the following two that are on line : Quantum Books, Cambridge MA phone: 617-494-5042 fax: 617-577-7282 email: quanbook@world.std.com mail list: quanlist@world.std.com Computer Literacy Bookshops, Inc. PO Box 641897, San Jose, CA 95164-1897 phone: 408-435-5017 fax: 408-435-0895 email orders: orders@clbooks.com order problems: service@clbooks.com other into: info@clbooks.com ** There is a company in Watertown, Massachusetts (USA) called "Beit Al-Fikr" that sells a large collection of Arabic books, Arabic Compact Discs, Arabic Calligraphy, Posters, Postcards at very reasonable prices. If you are interested in getting catalogs of their products you can contact the company at the following address: Beit Al-Fikr Booksellers P.O.Box 426 Watertown , MA 02172 U.S.A. If you have any specific questions or comments you can send mail to: jadi@world.std.com ** Recently (late Oct 1994) a CD ROM about Lebanon was annouced on SCL here it goes the annoucement: Many CD ROMS for the Macintosh and for Windows are available here in the US and Canada now. here is a description of the SoftWare: Lebanon - Pearl of the East CD: It is an exciting interactive encyclopedia about Lebanon that covers History, culture, traditions, geography, economy and much more. The CD features more than 500 photos, 200 movie clips, sound and arabic music clips. Retail price $69.95 Special $39.95 Arabic and English version available on both Mac & Windows Syria - History & Culture: AN interactive encyclopedia about Syria, similar to lebanon CD, it covers wide range of information about Syria. It include hundreds of movies, text, speach and arabic musoc clips from Syria Retail Price $69.95 Special $39.95 Arabic version available on Mac. Views of Islam - A multimedia tour of the Islam religion. It covers history, beliefs, traditions, arts and more. It features hundreds of pictures, movie clips, speech and text from the Koran and more. Retail Price $99.95 Special $54.95 English version available on both Mac & Windows Also available other CD such as Lamp of Aladdin, and more... Call 1-800-381-1242 or fax to 1-408-281-3666, or e-mail me back if you are intersted. Visa, MC, and American Express are accepted for orders. Future Publishers, USA 1-800-381-1242 ******************************************************************************* 19. Are there Arabic word processors ? Bassem Medawar has compiled a large FAQ on the subject of Arabic on computers. It is very comprehensive and is available on the SoL archive in rama.poly.edu in /pub/reader/text/faq2 (notice the 2 in faq2) There is Arab TeX. A message was posted about it on scl and Leb-Net some time ago. It is public domain, based on TeX which is also public domain. TeX is NOT user friendly -as compared to the Macs. ArabTeX 3.00 is available by anonymous ftp from ftp.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de The directory is /pub/arabtex, the "README" file gives details. The identical package is also available from the CTAN server network: Aston (ftp.tex.ac.uk, /pub/archive/languages/arabtex/), Huntsville (ftp.shsu.edu, /tex-archive/languages/arabtex/), Stuttgart (ftp.uni-stuttgart.de, /pub/tex/languages/arabtex/) A new public domain release of my X-Windows based text editor for arabic and any other Right-to-left language was recently announced. The system was designed with flexibility in mind and ease of configuration. Any one can configure the keyboard and font mapping to suit their language and the keyboard they are used to. The system can also be instructed to generate TeX files suitable for the language in question. The System was tested on ArabTeX with satisfactory results. The README file provides more information. The archive containing all the source code needed is available from: ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk /pub/incoming/xaw.tar.Z rama.poly.edu /in.coming/xaw.tar.Z (it was not possible to find xaw.tar.Z on the two server mentioned above, maybe the best way is to get in contact with the author directly) If you have any problems or queries and suggestions please contact: A M Shihab <ams90@ecs.soton.ac.uk> There are Arabic word processors. But the solutions are a little more complicated than we would want them. There is one program which runs on any Mac operating system, i.e. any language. I produces text that can directly be pasted into other word processors. This program is called AlKatib, but is very old and has very many restrictions. Don't expect much from it. Otherwise the way to go is to use the Mac's Arabic Operating system (AOS). This system is designed to work with any program. Yet again this is not completely true. Most programs that are worth their price, are not compatible with AOS. Only very primitive programs that uses the editor routines of the operating system correctly and are very limited in their features. There are however a few programs that work correctly with AOS. There are the products of a company called WinSoft (based in France?). They have a word processor, WinText and a database WinFile. I use the word processor and am sort of satisfied. It is not very expensive either. On the other hand, there is an Arabic (and a Hebrew) version of Nisus. I have not used it, but some colleagues who did are satisfied. I am not sure of the price. For those who need a useful and cheap database, you could opt for FileMaker Pro. It is not completely compatible with the AOS (you can not search Arabic text) but is useful and quite efficient. Another program that I used earlier was SuperPaint 1.xx. It is a paint/draw program which is compatible with AOS. For those interested in Islamic studies, there is also Qoranic software. The Alim is an "Islamic Study Toolkit". It offers the entire text of: - The Qur'an in Arabic - Transliteration of the Qur'an - Yusuf `Ali's translation - Yusuf `Ali's commentary - M. Pickthall's translation - All nine volumes of Sahih Bukhary - Islamic Subjects Database - Maududi Sura information - Chronological History of Islam - Biographies of Companions - Islamic terms dictionary The Alim runs a clean and powerful text based windowing system. Several windows can be run at once. It also has a powerful pattern searching feature. The databases are cross-referenced. Separate modules can be purchased, they include Sahih Muslim, Tirmizy, Al-Muwatta and Assad's translation among other volumes. The standard package has an introductory price of $99.00 and costs $149.95 in retail. Macintosh, Windows, OS/2 and OSF/Motif support is expected in the first quarter of 1993. I saw the package and it is EXCELLENT. It is certainly worth the price. If were to buy the books in paper form it would cost more than $100, plus you would not be able to cross reference or search. The current version is distributed on 7 high density DOS disks and when decompressed takes 15Mb on a Hard Disk. You need at least 1.5Mb on your Hard Disk to run the Software and you can decompress the components you need. You also need EGA graphics or better. It also runs on a Macintosh with Soft-AT. The Software was developed over six years by a two person company called ADVENT (800-397-5561). It is distributed by IQRA Bookcenter: 800-521-ICRA or 312-274-2665. For users of Wordperfect, there is an Arabic module that can be added to Wordperfect. The module enables one to write in English and Arabic. It's extremely user friendly! The regular price is expensive but the educational price is about $135 (with student or faculty id). However that you need to have/buy the standard version of Wordperfect in order for the module to run. So it's great for those who already use Wordperfect, but it may be too expensive for those who don't since they would need to buy both the standard version and the Arabic module. Recently Arabic text editors for the Mac have undergone some major upgrades, here is a critique of threeMac Arabic text editors that have recently been published. These are: Tex-Edit, MuEdit and Style. The problem with using Arabic on the Mac is that, while the Arabic system itself is free and available, you can't use your standard word processor properly with Arabic, and the Arabic-compatible programs like WinText and Nisus Int. are expensive and always copy protected. The only alternative has been to use small and fairly primitive "text editors", program-lets that allows you to type text, but not very much more; not very useful. However, recently some new text editors have appeared that makes this option more attractive. How do they handle Arabic? I have looked at three of these new text editors, Tex-Edit, mu-Edit (formerly Quill), and Style, to check how useful they are for the Arabist Mac user. These are some brief remarks, based mainly on typing, editing and printing a couple of pages in each. A general remark first: These are still text editors. That means in particular that they are limited in size, you can only write up to 32K (about 10 pages) per document; any they may slow down when you approach this limit. They do not have things like footnotes, style sheets, and formatting beyond what is explicitly stated; none of them have rulers. But they are free. Evaluation: Tex-Edit A capable text editor. Has standard text styles like bold, italics, outline, shadow, condensed and extended, as well as color. You can freely choose font and size and mix several in a document. All these three allow multiple documents to be open at the same time. Tex-Edit has find/replace, with functions for finding returns, tabs, linefeeds, whole word only, match case, and Replace all. Like Word, if you select a word by doubleclicking, it will include the space after the word. Useful detail. Triple-clicking selects a sentence. It can strip unwanted control characters, and can paste time & day and page number. It does not have a ruler, but when printing will ask for margin sizes and may include page numbers. This does not work properly, however, if you try change the margins on a document about a page or two, the program hangs, and then crashes on command-period. You can justify left, right and center, but this will relate to the whole document. Works under system 6.0.3 and newer, and with Macintalk will read out typed text for you. (The name, incidentally, seems to refer to Texas, not TeX.) Handling of Arabic: Text entry and editing is acceptable, with a caveat below. There are however some cursor problems with line breaks. Sometimes when it should position the cursor at the beginning of a line, it is put at the end instead. Eg: Moving back one step from the beginning of line 4 to puts the cursor at the beginning of line 3; and typing will put new text before the text in line 3. You can set the justification to right-oriented, but this is not saved and has to redone every time you open the document. All these three editors link fonts and script, thus changing script also automatically switches to the previously used font in that script. Find/replace works with Arabic, but the dialog box shows only Chicago, i.e. Roman characters (like Word would). However, what is inserted into the text appears in the correct font. Positive: You can set the default font to an Arabic one, like Geeza 12. The editor will then start up with the Arabic script active. Negative: Actually, you have to do this. If the default font is a Roman one, cutting and pasting will not work correctly. On pasting in the middle of an Arabic block, the default will switch to Roman, and the Arabic block will be split; the first part coming the left of the last. This can be repaired, but is a nuisance. Also, if you write an English text, Arabic is still default, so if you click somewhere in the English text, the script often (not always) reverts to Arabic. MuEdit MuEdit appears to be designed for Arabic, thus it has a menu option for "Orient left to right" and "Orient right to left". Generally, it has capabilities similar to Tex-Edit: Multiple fonts and styles in a document; multiple windows, text styles include extended and condensed; find & replace. It has "find previous", but only options for whole word and case sensitive searches. It allows changing case, has a word count, and can strip/add linefeed and carriage returns, but not as Tex-Edit, all control characters. Like T., it has color, but not "smart quotes". Print margins are set in the Page Setup dialog box. It works under System 7 only. Interestingly, cut and paste between these two editors work better than between standard word processors: Script, font and size information is remembered from one to the other. Both read each other's files; Tex-Edit can read font and style (but not justification) of a MuEdit document; MuEdit can only read the text of the Tex-Edit. Handling of Arabic: Typing and editing Arabic text is unproblematic. Selection, cutting and pasting work as they should. Justification does not automatically follow script, but both are saved with the document. It has a couple of bugs, though: -- When you open Mu-Edit by double-clicking on a file, the line breaks do not appear properly. However, if you open MuEdit first and then the document, they appear as they should. There is an option for "word wrap", what happens is probably that it is improperly set "off" when you open document and program together. -- Find-replace does not work properly: It finds the Arabic, but the "replace" string is inserted in Roman, i.e. as garbage characters; breaking the line in two and reversing their order, in spite of the Right-Left general orientation. Instead, you have to copy the correct text, and then use Find-Paste instead. -- Another peculiar bug when I use MuEdit with other text editors: If right-left orientation is chosen in the MuEdit window; and I switch directly to another editor, the text window there appears (incorrectly) right-adjusted. Only by switching through the Finder is this corrected, and the editor's window redrawn. This happens when I switch both to Tex-Edit and to Eudora, but not to Word. Either it is problem in MuEdit, or in the Arabic resources themselves. Style: Style, an Italian offering, is the least capable of the three, and is not really adapted for writing Arabic. It has the standard styles, and Find/Replace, but no options for setting page width in printing. More seriously, the word wrap does not break at the edge of the window, but at a predefined length that seems to be calculated from a 13 or 14" monitor. Thus, on my SE/30, I cannot see a full line, and I have to scroll horizontally manually in order to see what I am writing. This is clearly not acceptable. You can, however, mix styles and fonts in a document. Style does not save in TEXT format, as the two others do, but has an XTND file, so you can use it with MacWrite and other XNTD-programs. In version b.3, the Open command did not work, perhaps due to a conflict with Super Boomerang. In handling Arabic, another problem is that you cannot set justification; it is stuck on left-adjusted. Thus you are always writing 'backwards', as it were, and printing will also be left-adjusted. Also, I have been unable to add anything at the end of a line. The cursor will then, whatever I do, place the correction at the beginning of the line. Further, the cursor moves incorrectly. The left-arrow keys moves the cursor forward, as it should, but at the end of the line, it jumps up to the previous, rather than down (and vice versa for the right-arrow key). I.e., as in Roman text. Although Style handles Arabic text entry and editing, it is thus not useful for Arabic; and hardly for for European languages, at least if you don't have a 12"+ monitor. Summary I will not recommend Style in its current version. The two others are, however, very useful contributions, although both have some drawbacks. Each has a bug; Tex-Edit the incorrect placement of the cursor at the beginning of the line; MuEdit defaulting to no word wrap when you open the program with a document. You can live with both, however. Tex-Edit can be set to Arabic as standard script, so you can open it and just start typing Arabic. MuEdit has an orient right->left option that makes it apt for Arabic, and which is saved with the document (unlike Tex-Edit's justification). As it currently stands, I have problems choosing between them. If you use System 6, you have to choose Tex-Edit, as MuEdit requires System 7. Otherwise, the printing bug in Tex-Edit, if it is general and not just on my machine, would tip the scales against it; I do not fancy being stuck with a half-inch margin. On the other hand, the Find-Replace bug in MuEdit is serious, but can be circumvented using Paste instead of Replace. Thus, with the faults I have found to date, I would choose MuEdit; but both are very useful, and to be recommended. If you want to include Arabic in a major work, like a book, you must still buy a commercial Arabic-compatible word processor. But for simple things, these editors are now almost as capable as the standard word processors; and they are free. Versions tested: Tex-Edit 1.8.1 (8 April 1993). Freeware. Recommended memory: 390K MuEdit 1.0d0 (9 May 1993, formerly Quill) Freeware. Recommended memory: 360K Style 1.1b3 (US) (5 April 1993). Freeware. Recommended memory: 256K Tested on a Mac SE/30, 8 MB. All are on Sumex, in /info-mac/app. ******************************************************************************* end of part 2/5 _____________________________________________________________________ Alaa Dakroub | 'al-'arD waTanI wa al-'insAnyah 'usratI Sophia Antipolis | La terre est ma patrie et l'humanite' ma famille France | The earth is my fatherland and humanity my family | (Gibran Khalil Gibran) ------------------ http://www.eurecom.fr/~dakroub/ ------------------ User Contributions: |
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