WHEN DID YOU GET INTO CLIMBING? I grew up in Saudi until I was 16 at which time I moved to the UAE to go to university. I then got a job in Dubai at an advertising agency and it wasn’t until I was 25 that I got into climbing.…
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Culture
WHEN DID YOU REALISE YOU COULD BE A PROFESSIONAL SINGER? -I never realised I could be one, I just followed my heart and my intuition. I always loved music and the arts and it is something I grew up learning and nourishing culturally and technically. The turning point though was…
WHEN DID YOU REALISE YOU WANTED TO BE A JOURNALIST? I’ve always been that kid who asked questions, only to get answers that would prompt ten more questions. In the summer of 1990, my family flew from Kuwait to Berkeley, California for a summer vacation. A few weeks later, Saddam…
Many of us romanticise the lives of writers, that is, until we try being a writer ourselves. It was the Slovenian philosopher and cultural theorist Slavoj Zizek who said that writing is a form of self-torture, which immediately brings to mind those incredibly frustrating moments of writer’s block or self-doubt…
The Caracalla Dance Theatre is the leader of its kind in the Middle East. Established over 45 years ago by Abdel-Halim Caracalla, it is now run by his children Ivan and Alissar who maintain its cultural message of transforming Arab heritage through the international world of dance. Step into the…
The film on everyone’s lips these days is Julian Schnabel’s Miral. I finally watched it during the Doha Tribeca Film Festival where it received a standing ovation from an audience of Qataris, world cinema buffs, filmmakers and the media. The story of this extraordinary film is from a book of…
An old and established family, the Sursocks have been a cornerstone of Lebanese affairs for generations. Lady Sursock Cochrane was born the only daughter to Alfred Bey Sursock and his Italian wife Donna Maria Theresa Serra di Cassano, yet she is far less interested in talking about her own heritage…
Gabriel Yared had me at “hello”. For a world-renowned multi-talented musical genius, Oscar-winner, international award winner, composer, captivating conductor and self-taught pianist, Lebanese-born Yared is modest, courteous, warm and an extremely likable individual. In short, this genuine human being is arguably one of this era’s most influential composers. Through his…
Rifaat Sheikh El Ard is unique amongst collectors of art from the Middle East. In an exhibition currently in show at the Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris, he and the Furusiyya Art Foundation have covered new historical ground and established original areas of interest and study of the arts…
Normandy is famous for the D-Day landings, the Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel and horse breeding. Issam Michael Fares’ breathtaking property ties all three together in just one place. Nicolas Shammas takes a closer look. What do the Battle of Normandy, horse breeding and the Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel have in common? The…