Despite modernization, many crafts and traditions are still a part of daily life, even when their form adapted to new needs and conditions. Here's a patchwork-like overview of this facet of Lebanese culture.
Scroll right to browse the gallery.
Above: Traditional round soap made with a base of olive oil with the method described in my article Souk, Soaps and Scents.
Right: These wooden molds are used int he making of sweets called ma3moul, prepared for Easter in particular. They are beautiful enough to be used as ornaments themselves!
Making marqooq bread.
This traditional bread is largely displaced by the "city bread" (NOT pita! there's no comparison except in the general shape!) which is much easier to make: marqooq, so thin that the French
called it "drum skin", requires an artisanal process and cannot
be made industrially. You can see here the different stages of
its preparation:
- The dough is prepared in balls.
- The balls are flattened on a wooden surface.
- The baker spins each cake between her hands to stretch the dough until it's nearly paper thin.
- She slaps it onto a round cushion and uses the latter to put the bread on the saj -- a half-dome of metal inside which a fire is lit.
- The bread is removed from the saj and set aside in the large plate behind the baker.
The old man in the picture on the right, himself irresistible in his old-style local dress, has just bought a stack of regular bread, which as you can see comes in large round pieces in a nylon bag. For easy storage at home it is cut into triangular pieces (much like pizza slices) with scissors, that are distributed in several smaller bags.
Above: A maker of coal takes rest from his labour. By gathering wood this way and making it burn in the absence of air in the center of these pyramids, coal is formed that can then be sold to mountain houses.
Right: Every year when springs returns, the hassiri makers get busy: these reed mats are demanded all over the country. They are used both as floor mats and as parasols for beaches and restaurant patios.
Left: A troupe of musicians armed with drums and trumpet wait to lead the way for the bride and groom during a wedding.
Above: The newlyweds and their family dance with the sabres, an alternative to the traditional sabre dance which requires professional dancers.
Above: Anytime is a good time for the sacrosanct Turkish coffee.
Coffee waiter dressed up at a restaurant.
Right: Washing the cups!
Next few pictures: No less sacrosanct is the arguileh break (narguilé in French). Again the arguileh-waiters usually dress up to present it fittingly. You are offered a choice of tobacco (honey and apple are popular), and someone specially assigned to that task will place glowing embers on the spout for you. Laying back with an arguileh is the gourmet's way of ending a meal, but men can also gather around it the way others would gather around a drink.
A vision of fading days: the tarboosh (going) and the masba7a (rosary) to keep one's hands busy (still popular).
