The Situation in Tripoli

Most of you have heard of the degrading situation in Tripoli, after the Death/Murder/manslaughter of the Sunni sheikh Ahmad Abdel Wahed and his companion. The details of the accident, as far as I'm concerned are of little importance. The Lebanese army never shot at citizens (even when sometimes, citizens had to be shot at :p). It is quite obvious that what happened was deliberate. What intelligence agency is responsible for this is still to be determined, but it has accomplished its goal: The Lebanese army is no longer a subject of national consensus. The incident bears striking resemblance to the assassination of Maarouf Saad back in the 70s. Will it be able to achieve what that murder has achieved? Will it drag the country into a sectarian war, or worse the middle east into a Sunni/Shiaa bloodshed?

The Arab Sunnis, historically, were never into wars. They almost always relied on mercenary (Turks, Kurds...etc.) to fight their battles. Does this mean Turkey (while it aspires to restore the glory of the Ottoman Empire) will be called upon to assist them? Will they sign peace agreements with Israel to protect their backs while engaging their enemies?

As far as I'm concerned, it is in the hands of Turkey or Israel that lies the true reason for the assassination of the Sheikh. Let's hope the Lebanese Sunnis are wise enough not to fall into this trap.

La Posta - Achrafieh

A few days ago, I was invited to dinner at La Posta - Achrafieh.

I gotta say, I was amazed by the beauty of the place. It's an Italian restaurant set in a renovated old Achrafieh house.  The food was awesome, and the (Italian) wine was even better! However, that 10$ Italian mineral water tasted like our good old Soha.

It was actually one of the best restaurants I've ever been to (bare in mind that I'm not a connoisseur). 

It's fancy enough to serve as a romantic destination. I'm sure any (normal) girlfriend would appreciate it if you take her to such a nice place. 

Nonetheless, your credit card is sure to suffer :p. I didn't have a chance to see the check, since it was an invitation, but my sixth sense tells me it's about 50$ per capita, plus the wine.
If you have a girl to charm, a few bucks to waste, it's a highly recommended destination!

Lebanese Weddings

Can someone explain to me how we moved from the wedding in the yard, under the 3arishe, to the expensive wedding in an expensive hotel, with all the extravagant additions. 

A typical, middle class, Lebanese wedding costs no less than 30000$ nowadays. From the fireworks, to the "zaffe" (oh God, how I hate the stupid zaffe), to the flowers, to the cars, to the fake cake. Apparently, there are rules, defining what should be done in a typical wedding. For example, I recently learned that one must rent three cars for a wedding. One for the bride, one for her parents, and one for the groom's parents. How silly is that? Who defines what must, and what must not be done? My parents rented one car, and they were fine. The parents came in their own cars. My grandmother rode a donkey to her marriage!

Even the church costs no less than 500$.

This has gone out of control, especially for the typical Lebanese guy who can no longer afford to pay for the requirements of such weddings, and the typical Lebanese woman who always compares what she has, to what her neighbor/friend/cousin/acquaintance got in her wedding.

People, why can't we just stick to our traditions, go back to the weddings in the town church, with a party at the house, Dbi7a, Arak, and all the simple things that our grandparents used to enjoy!