Qifa Nabki
Archive for
Favorite Books, Articles, Films About Lebanon
I get a couple of emails each month from readers asking for recommendations for further reading about Lebanon. I typically write back with a brief list of the old standbys even though this has always struck me as rather unsatisfying. What I’d like to be able to do instead is to compile a robust list … Continue reading
Upcoming Political Events in Beirut
Here are a couple of noteworthy events for political buffs in Beirut. Some of you may have seen the announcement a couple of months ago for the 2009 Emerging Leaders for Democracy Conference Series, organized by the Project on Middle East Democracy and several other institutions. There are three conferences in all (Amman, Beirut, and … Continue reading
Fighting Climate Change on the Corniche
Feast your eyes on Rami Eid, an environmental activist who is staging a protest about climate change by spending three days ankle-deep in water in a glass cube on the Corniche, Beirut’s busy seaside thoroughfare. Follow him on his blog here, and check out +961’s photos here. My hat goes off to the guy for … Continue reading
Maronites, Arabs, Phoenicians, Klingons…
I’ve been on the road for the past week, conducting dissertation research at the wonderful collection of Arabic manuscripts at Leiden University. A note: when in Holland, eat Indonesian food. Nothing seems to be happening in Lebanon these days, so allow me to take this opportunity to wax ascerbic about one of my favorite subjects: … Continue reading
When Bashar Met Abdullah
The news is full of speculation about the potential consequences of yesterday’s meeting between King Abdullah al-Saud and President Bashar al-Assad. The Saudi king paid a landmark visit to Syria this week, commandeering two of Damascus’s largest hotels for his entourage, and sitting down with the Syrian president to discuss important matters such as the … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…