Tag Archives: lebanon
Lent: 40 days of Prayer and Fasting Posted by jesa on Feb 18, 2013
Marhaba (مرحبا)! Last Wednesday, February 13, millions of Christians around the world marched around with a large black cross (صليب) on their foreheads. What is recognized as Ash Wednesday in Western societies is called Ash Monday or Clean Monday(إثنين الرماد) in Levantine societies, where millions celebrated the same symbolic tradition on Monday February 11 –…
Zajal el Zajjalin Posted by jesa on Feb 6, 2013
Marhaba (مرحبا)! As promised in an earlier post, today I would like to introduce you all to Zajal (زَجَل), one of the most popular iconic and cultural traditions of many Mediterranean countries. In a nutshell, zajal is a traditional form of oral poetry (شعر) in colloquial dialect (اللغة العاميّة ) . Most notably this form…
Meet Mashrou3 Leila Posted by jesa on Jan 30, 2013
Marhaba (مرحبا)! In this post, I want to introduce you all to one of my favorite Middle Eastern bands: Mashrou3 Leila (مشروع ليلى). By all means, this band is one of the most innovative and upcoming groups in the Middle East and with their progressive and enlightening music they have captured the hearts and minds…
Nassam Alayna el Hawa Posted by jesa on Jan 28, 2013
Marhaba (مرحبا)! In a previous post, I introduced you all to one my favorite Arab artists Fairouz (فيروز). Given the fact that I know many of you enjoy listening to her songs and are captured by the beauty and depth of the lyrics and music, I have decided to post a video of one my…
The Voice of Lebanon Posted by jesa on Jan 7, 2013
Marhaba! In this post, I would like to introduce you all to an iconic music legend and legendary artist Wadih el Safi (وديع الصافي), known as the ‘Voice of Lebanon’. He is an accomplished musician, talented songwriter and recognized actor. I will also post one of his most famous musical masterpieces: an old song from…
Ahlan wa Sahlan 2013 Posted by jesa on Dec 30, 2012
Ahlan wa Sahlan 2013!! (أهلاً وسهلآً سنة 2013) We bid you farewell 2012 and we dearly welcome 2013!! At this point every year, nearly everyone around the world rushes to make sense of the important highlights that took place in their lives in the last 365 days. Some of these moments bring happy memories, while…
Meet Julia Boutros Posted by jesa on Dec 9, 2012
In this post, I would like to introduce you all to one of my favorite musicians in the Arab World. I will add two YouTube videos: one of her most famous songs ‘Ghabet Shams el Haq’ (غابة شمس الحقّ)and given the holiday season, her latest single called ‘Jayi’ (جايي) which is featured on her upcoming…