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Desert riddim

Desert riddim

The last original Wailer steers his ship to Dubai and sits down with Maya Khourchid. The National / Abu Dhabi

A cool take on the weather

A cool take on the weather

Looking at fashion designer Lara Khoury's collection spun around global warming. "Fifty percent is not wearable," she said. "I work conceptually." And with no qualms on not selling either - according to Khoury, the best pieces end up archived. Le Cercle Magazine / Beirut

Sia / Lady Croissant

Sia / Lady Croissant

A review of live Sia album Lady Croissant and an exploration of my own relationship growing up to a soundtrack composed by the singer. F/I/M/P Magazine/ Beirut

Shut up & Give Me Kaak

Shut up & Give Me Kaak

An essay about never eating breakfast. With one exception. Being Lebanese / Blog

This year's models

This year's models

Behind the scenes at Dubai Fashion Week: Low pressure, good money, tasty food and lots of it. The National / Abu Dhabi

Justice: Access All Arenas

Justice: Access All Arenas

A personal look at the Justice album, Access All Arenas and what it meant at the time. F/I/M/P Magazine

The next beautiful generation

The next beautiful generation

Lebanon is openly image-obsessed, and now the next generation can get a head start. Introducing spas for children, and what it means for women and the country's social norms. Now Lebanon / Beirut

A history lesson for Lebanon

A history lesson for Lebanon

Who are Lebanon’s enemies? Who are its historical allies? And what is the most important date in the country’s history? With no unified history book, no one really knows. The question is; does it matter? Now Lebanon / Beirut

Lady of the manor

Lady of the manor

Much of Beirut’s contemporary social scene plays out in the Gemmayzeh district. Unknown to many of the new generation is that right behind this ever-trendy street lives the gatekeeper of time-honoured high society, Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane. Bespoke Magazine / Beirut

Operissimo

Operissimo

Well before the Dubai Opera opened - the Met was beaming it in live from New York. In 2009, I was front and center for the first screening of Salome in the Emirates. The National / Abu Dhabi

A fur deal

A fur deal

Bargain-seeking Russian tourists support a fur district in Dubai. Maya Khourchid checks out the thick skins. The National / Abu Dhabi

Dreams made of vintage

Dreams made of vintage

Deconstructing Madame Reve, a Beirut jewellery brand that weaves together European vintage items and Lebanese design and taught Beirut that old is actually valuable. Le Cercle Magazine

Lebanon's Dirty Diamonds

Lebanon's Dirty Diamonds

One of the founders of the Kimberly Process, that certifies diamond origins and was popularized in the movie Blood Diamond, resigned. In part because there's something very odd about Lebanon's diamond trade. I talked to him find out more. There is indeed something quite odd. Now Lebanon / Beirut

The hype & the hamburger

The hype & the hamburger

A review of the deliciously inaccessible burger at The Happy Prince in Mar Mikhael - after hearing one too many sputtering reviews crowning it Beirut's best, as the city jumps on the global bandwagon and a never-ending quest for The Perfect Burger. Being Lebanese / Blog

Before Marzouki was president

Before Marzouki was president

Before Marzouki was president he was a Tunisian dissident banned from Beirut that called me from a pay-phone in Paris. Now Lebanon / Beirut

A free restaurant

A free restaurant

The owner of the infamous Music Hall clubs in Beirut and Dubai was planning to open a completely free restaurant. It never opened. But I none the less got a one-on-one look into the one-of-a-kind mind of Michel Elefteriades - club owner, acclaimed music producer, founder of the state of Nowheristan and so deeply tainted by the civil war he built a replica of the room in which he was tortured as a form of catharsis. The Daily Star / Beirut

The High Price of Security

The High Price of Security

How I spent my summer in 2006: The fear, desperation and opportunism of fleeing the bombing of Lebanon. The Link / Concordia University / Montreal

Two Cups of Reality

Two Cups of Reality

A narrative on different perspectives and the tangible realism of the landscape, architecture, objects and weather anchor our individual perceptions into the world that we share. Being Lebanese / Blog

Sorry, wein il toilette?

Sorry, wein il toilette?

On Lebanon's mishmash of three languages and whether or not the Lebanese quite literally understand each other. Now Lebanon / Beirut

Charlie & I

Charlie & I

A modern love story about a picky-eater and a little Beirut hotdog stand. Being Lebanese / Blog

Children on the streets

Children on the streets

There are too many children on Lebanon's streets. How do you solve the problem when many are put on the streets by their own families, almost none have any legal identification papers and there is only one badly-funded rehabilitation center in the entire country? Now Lebanon / Beirut

Cupcakes are chic and so is Beirut

Cupcakes are chic and so is Beirut

The cupcake craze hits Beirut - a few years behind the rest of the world, but with full fervor. Now Lebanon / Beirut

Over The (Roof)Top

Over The (Roof)Top

An ever-so-slightly over the top dinner in the sky in the Dubai. CNN / Inside the Middle East blog

Kissproof & Tell

Kissproof & Tell

Getting down and dirty with the bar at the center of the suddenly hip Badaro neighborhood of Beirut - a tiny city with a continually shifting social center of new and unfamiliar neighborhoods. Being Lebanese / Blog

Rising stars

Rising stars

Beirut’s young designers are well on the way to gaining the international reputation they deserve, says Maya Khourchid SHOP magazine / Global Blue / Geneva

Saifi Village: Perfect Day

Saifi Village: Perfect Day

A day well spent in Beirut's arts quarter. SHOP magazine / Global Blue / Geneva

Avant-garde in Beirut

Avant-garde in Beirut

Exploring the cutting edge of culture in Beirut, from handmade crafts to the latest restaurant openings and then going behind the scene with the city's own celebrity chef Hussein Hadid. Le Cercle Magazine / Beirut

"Je soutiens Hezbollah et je bois"

"Je soutiens Hezbollah et je bois"

Le Parti de Dieu a interdit la vente publique d’alcool dans son fief. Mais il ferme les yeux sur sa consommation. Article translated from English and republished. Courrier International / Le Monde / Paris

Political and Politicized

Political and Politicized

An exhibition merges pop-art, Middle Eastern history and controversy. Now Lebanon / Beirut

Magical mystery tour

Magical mystery tour

Project brings an outlandish bus and a mobile movie theater to an outdoor square near you for cinema culture and public safety. Daily Star / Beirut

The strangest restaurant in Beirut

The strangest restaurant in Beirut

For some, the point of dining out is to try something new. For others it might be the complete opposite, as the escalope - a staple on every Beirut households weekly menu - gets its own restaurant. Being Lebanese / Blog

Lebanon Loves Online

Lebanon Loves Online

Way before the days of Tinder and far before match.com made its way to the Beirut side of the Mediterranean, in 2007 amid emigration and insecurity Lebanese turned to Internet dating. Sometimes in unlikely ways. The Daily Star / Beirut

Hizbullah & Goskel

Hizbullah & Goskel

25 years on, Hizbullah's escapades still amaze Goksel The Daily Star / Beirut

Art & Taxis

Art & Taxis

Finding a way back home through art and taxis The Daily Star / Beirut

Tough to be artisan

Tough to be artisan

Lebanon's cooperatives face tough market The Daily Star / Beirut

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