Heritage of risk: An (eastern) Mediterranean perspective

Heritage of risk: An (eastern) Mediterranean perspective

22/01/2023 by Elie Saad It’s not a typo. We will be talking about the heritage of risk(s) and not the heritage at risk. We will save the limited characters that we have in the hope that everything will make more sense as the article progresses. For now, let’s start by defining what “risk” is in general, and specifically in the Mediterranean context, and by depicting the influence of this risk on the Mediterranean architecture accompanied by some examples. What is “risk”? From waking up in the early morning, preparing our coffee without spilling it on ourselves to a nuclear Armageddon...

Miryam Haddad : Beyond the Artistic Confines

Miryam Haddad : Beyond the Artistic Confines

22/09/2022 by Syreen Forest After years of drawing statues from the collection of the National Museum in Damascus, the artist realised that this heritage could disappear. She then felt the need to represent this endangered heritage in order to « protect these sculptures, in one way or another, on the canvas ». Artistic awakening[1] Miryam Haddad is a Syrian painter who was born and raised in Damascus, Syria. After studying at the Damascus School of Fine Arts, Miryam entered the Paris School of Fine Arts (Beaux-Arts de Paris) where she devoted herself to painting. Her work has since been exhibited in multiple...

The Iran Pavilion project at Dubai Expo 2020: a spotlight to the Iranian heritage

The Iran Pavilion project at Dubai Expo 2020: a spotlight to the Iranian heritage

09/09/2022 By Mohammad Shirkavand and Mobina Shirkavand  Dubai expo 2020 is a global event with a socio-cultural approach that opens a worldwide window for countries to reinvent their heritage in a scene where world citizens are the audience. Iran, a country with a written history of more than 3000 years and narrations from epics and love stories, has preserved its identity. The identity is best expressed through authentic Persian costumes, traditions and textile patterns  which have been put on display for decades at international events. Love stories, epics, and historical narrations have been passed on to us over millennia. Such...

Oman’s Maritime and Shipbuilding Heritage

Oman’s Maritime and Shipbuilding Heritage

12/01/2022 by Jonathan Bentham The Sultanate of Oman has a notable maritime tradition. Situated at the south-eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, it is isolated terrestrially from the rest of the Asian continent. Despite this, its advantageous location at a maritime crossroads has influenced its development significantly. Its access to the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the wider Indian Ocean has shaped it and its people for centuries. Historical Maritime Activity There is evidence of maritime travel between Egypt and the Dhofar region of Oman in the southern part of the country that stretches...

The Rachid Karame International Fair in Tripoli

The Rachid Karame International Fair in Tripoli

05/01/2022 by Elie Saad and Edmond Mickel Rahme On 3rd September 1962, Rachid Karami, the Lebanese prime minister, presented an architectural mode l at a press conference. It was made of cardboard, stitched with various curvilinear shapes and forms, united by a flat surface that joined the two extremities of the drawn plot at the base. Little did the minister know that this project would hold his name in the far future, and that it would take part in the history of modern architecture of the Middle East. In 1958, under President Camille Chamoun, it was decided to build an...

Morocco, reweaving yarns of a faded embroidery

Morocco, reweaving yarns of a faded embroidery

16/10/2021 by Nassima Chahboun Introduction: Al Matrouz (from Arabic: المطروز, literally: the embroidered) is a Moroccan musical concept that is no longer widely performed.[1] Its poetic name is in reference to the artistic intertwining of components from four distinct cultures: Stanzas from Moroccan Darija, which is a mixture of Arabic vocabulary and Amazigh syntax, are harmoniously inserted into Hebrew poetry, and performed to the tune of Andalusian melodies.[2]  Therefore, every Matrouz song is a colourful embroidery in which some yarns are Arab, while others are Andalusian, Jewish and Amazigh.  Al Matrouz is also a reminder that the current Arabo-Islamic cities...

Master Mohammad Reza Shajarian

Master Mohammad Reza Shajarian

08/10/2021 by Mr Mohammad Shirkavand and Ms Atieh Jafar Nazari Introduction: Master Mohammad Reza Shajarian (1940-2020) sang an evolved form of Persian music as his understanding of Persian songs was deep and distinctive. He collected and integrated the old methods with his expertise and then passed them on to the next generations. Mohammad Reza Shajarian was gifted a voice that has revived traditional Persian music and played a role as influential as Ferdowsi, the Poet whose works preserved the Persian language in literature starting 900 years ago. He was a hero from the art world who elevated the country’s existence...

Riad al-Solh, a triangular square

Riad al-Solh, a triangular square

27/09/2021 par Elie Saad “Is a triangle space able to integrate the club of public squares? If so, why do we even call it a square and not just a space or why don’t we call every space by its geometrical shape? Maybe this is why the Riad al-Solh Square isn’t really a living public space, maybe the real reason is its triangular shape” – Elie Saad Currently known as a place of major protests, especially due to the 2019 uprising, the Riad al-Solh Square is nevertheless one of the oldest squares and public spaces in Beirut dating back to...

HERITAGE BUILDINGS IN  DHI QAR AND MAYSAN

HERITAGE BUILDINGS IN DHI QAR AND MAYSAN

17/09/2021 par Muntadher Aloda The summary This article sheds light on the most important challenges facing heritage buildings in southern Iraq, especially in the Provinces of Dhi Qar and Maysan that account for a number of historical buildings that belonged to Jewish and Mandaean families. Others belong to Christians and Muslims, similar to the buildings in the areas of Baghdad, Babylon, Basra, Diyala, and elsewhere. Heritage houses, or historical houses as they are called in different languages, survive despite the migration of their original owners, and the various obstacles and challenges that stand in the way of the sustainability of...

Taza, the Medina of shimmering words and pale stones

Taza, the Medina of shimmering words and pale stones

10/06/2021 by Nassima Chahboun The city of Taza lies at the saddle between the Atlas and the Rif mountains, in the north of Morocco. The medina (from the Arabic word madinah, meaning “city”) is the historic part that dates back to the pre-Islamic era and represents an urban and architectural palimpsest illustrating the succession of several Islamic dynasties.[1] Due to its strategic location at the crossroads between the east and the west, Taza played a key role in the geopolitical transformations of the Moroccan kingdom until the start of the French protectorate.[2] After independence, the epic of this city came...

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