Tag: Lebanon

  • Briefly in the elevator

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    The guy managed to tell me his autobiography from the ground to the 14th floor. It was interesting and I felt it’s really a Lebanese superpower to be able to converse deeply with anyone you face, in any situation, at any time!

    Today’s song is Tarzan Boy’s Baltimore. This tune is full of positivity! Have a great day/weekend my darlings! ๐Ÿ™‚

  • CC Beirut highlights

    To those who don’t know, Friday April 16th was the 1st Creative Commons Salon in Beirut. Creative Commons in a type of ‘flexible copyright’ that allows you to share your work with less restrictions than the classical coypright. All the content of this blog is under a CC license [see bottom of right sidebar], which means you can take the comics, use them and abuse them, as long as you mention the source without making money out of them.

    You can check photos of the event here and here.ย You can check a video here [thanks to Hyperstage.net].ย For more details about the presentations lineup, check the Facebook page ‘description’.

    A big thank you to Donatella, Mohamad, Naeema & Habib with whom I worked closely to make this event possible. Here’s Donatella’s announcement of the Salon.

    In short, it was a fantabulous event. Thank you to all who helped and attended! Hopefully this will be the first of many! Let’s spread the spirit of sharing our work ๐Ÿ™‚

    In the spirit of Creative Commons and sharing, Slutterhouse just released their first single EP “Inside the Station – remix EP” in all digital stores worldwide, AND for download. For more about this Lebanese ‘electro-rock with a twist’ band [whose music I love!!], ย check their website www.slutterhouse.com, or start your Monday with their song ๐Ÿ™‚

    Slutterhouse – Inside the Station (Pushtronic mix)

  • A day in Hasbaya

    During this long week-end, I visited Hasbaya, the village I come from South of Lebanon

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    Of course, after the classic stop at al baba sweets in Saida. I'll have the honey and pine nuts ice cream

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    Hasbaya is a village full of history, a perfect example of Lebanese diversity

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    In the village, people visit each other everyday. This is abu assaad.

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    In the house, I found a box of old images

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    Why were oldies so much more elegant in the old days?

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    Then, I picked up flowers and made 2 bouquets

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    Watching granma in the kitchen

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    But in all this serenity, one thing broke my heart...

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    the chehabi citadel is crumbling down and noone seems to care!

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    this citadel is a historical, architectural and cultural treasure

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    This boy is a prince by blood, he lives in the citadel. His family cannot afford to maintain it, leaving most of it falling apart. They are willing to let go of the property for someone who could take care of it... but nothing has been done about it!

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    Wish box: I HOPE THAT THE CHEHAB CITADEL IN HASBAYA WILL BE WELL PRESERVED BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, THAT IT WILL BE DOCUMENTED AND PROPERLY ORGANIZED TO WELCOME PEOPLE INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT THE AREA'S HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURE. IF ONLY SOMEONE COULD HEAR AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

    If anyone of you knows a path that could lead to the realization of the above wish, please let me know. I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend & easter vacation! Now it’s back to work, and when we say work, we say music to compensate! Here’s Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong singing ‘Our Love is Here to Stay’. Have a wonderful day! ๐Ÿ™‚

    12 Our Love Is Here To Stay

  • Mini-vacation

    Guys! I’m heading South [Hasbaya] for the next three days, with no internet connection [how will I survive that, do not ask!].

    Meanwhile here are the latest illustrations for ELLE Oriental to keep you entertained ๐Ÿ˜‰

    In French:

    And in Arabic:

    Have a great long weekend and see you soon! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • Here’s the thing…

    [If you can’t see Youtube, download the video here]

    As we say in Lebanese, ุชุนูŠุดูˆ ูˆ ุชุงูƒู„ูˆ ุบูŠุฑุง! [hope you’ll live to see more pranks ๐Ÿ˜‰ ]

    Thanks a lot for the AMAAAAZING reactions that you guys sent out regarding the TV show… I was so happy that I actually put them all into a collage [from FB, Twitter and the blog] and you can check them below!! [click to enlarge]

    A big big thank you goes to the brilliant Habib who brainstormed this with me yesterday last minute when I still didn’t know what today’s prank would be ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Last but least, let’s end it with a beaaautiful tune by Pat Metheny, “New Chatauqua”

    03 New Chautauqua

  • Special gathering

    it's that time of the year again.

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    The annual socio-religio-politico-fashiono-masquerade gaterhing of all 5 family generations

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    Palm Sunday - Les Rameaux - Sha3nineh

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    But I nag not, for the true victims of this are the children (this year I did not wear heels)

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    Yalla mami wlek smile pour la photo!

    In comparison to last year, it was a much easier experience & I spent the occasion observing others – something I very much enjoy doing [in case you haven’t noticed yet] ๐Ÿ˜‰

    It’s Monday, and I have a beautiful tune for you. This is another Joe Hisaishi, from the soundtrack of Howl’s Moving Castle. Enjoy and have an amazing week! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Ending_ The Promise Of The World_ The Merry-Go-Round Of Life-cut

  • Illustration for self-expression

    I was very happy to give a workshop at Nasawiya about using illustration to deal with your frustrations. I had a great time, met lovely people, and we all drew and chatted about illustration. Add to that cake and juice, how better can it get? ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’d like to thank Nadine Moawad and Joelle Hatem for helping me to organize it, Jessica Dheere from SMEX for the projector, and everyone who attended for their participation and making this fun!

    Here’s the outcome of the workshop, for more photos, check out the Facebook photos.

    My illustration of the event:

    Maya Zankoul workshop at Nasawiya

    Nadine‘s funny -true story- comic: [click to enlarge]

    Joelle‘s existential cartoon ๐Ÿ˜€ [click to enlarge]

    A 12-year old girl, Alice El Asmar, surprised us all with her AMAZING TALENT, she’s a real pro [wacom and blog and all!]

    Jessica‘s cartoon who looks just like her!

    Nadim’s also kind of existential cartoon

    Abeer‘s drawing against photography restrictions in Leb – She’s right!

    Ali’s Gemmayze demonstration:

    If your drawings aren’t here, please send them to me at maya.zankoul [at] gmail [dot] com!

    Have a lovely weekend all ๐Ÿ™‚ I’m off to play some piano…

  • History repeats itself

    True Story: They FINALLY removed the "iso and elissar" poster from dbayeh highway! Joy! Happiness!

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    I'm sure they will replace it with a cultural event!

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    Or environmental! Or educational! Or even artistic!

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    BUT NO.

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    Presenting... Elianor & Elissar!

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    NOOOOOOO!!

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    I'm left with drinking it away.

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    Believe it or not, this story is 100% true! [Well, except the drinking part, it’s not true just yet.] I wish you all a lovely Monday, with today’s song ‘Wild Horses’ & I’m not exactly sure who sings it… Enjoy! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Wild Horses


  • A miracle at Lebanese banks

    Breaking news! Lebanese banks & postal services implement numbering system to avoid waiting in line and to save time!

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    BEFORE: we had to wait in line.

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    THEN, THE MIRACLE: Numbering system

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    2- Get informed of "THE MIRACLE".

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    3- Nag about it and try to negotiate a faster deal. "But my transaction is fast!"

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    4- Resignedly go to miracle and not know how to use it. "Hmm. This looks like toilet paper!"

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    5- Have someone explain the "right" way to use it. "you only get one ticket!"

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    6- go back to waiting in line

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    7- When your turn finally comes 40 minutes later...

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    When your turn comes, lady interrupts

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    "Madame get a number, please!" "But my transaction is fast!"

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    Take the lady to step 4 and repeat to fade

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    If you’ve been at a bank [that I won’t name] or at Liban Post lately, then you have surely noticed the new “numbering” system. I had to wait about 40 minutes for my turn to come, so I thought that I might as well observe and analyze the different interactions happening there! ๐Ÿ™‚ I wonder how long it will take for the new system to be understood by people coming for transactions!

    I’ll now leave you with this beautiful song, covered by Eva Cassidy “Song Bird”. Have a beautiful day! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Songbird 2

    That this post is being added live at LAU social class!

  • Visiting Zahle #2

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    I know one or two who will recognized themselves in the comics ๐Ÿ˜‰ I have very beautiful memories from those 2 days spent in Zahle, thanks again to all of you who showed up at the exhibition, and who gave me feedback, I really enjoyed it! To those who missed it, here are the photos of the event, tag yourselves and your friends. Tomorrow, I will be giving a presentation in Ayman Itani‘s class at LAU, and will be posting live from there! ๐Ÿ˜‰ See you then!

  • Visiting Zahle #1

    Last week, March 8 [International womenโ€™s day], was the opening of โ€˜Amalgameโ€™ exhibition at the French Culture Center [CCF] of Zahle. It was a chance to discover a beautiful town far from Beirutโ€™s chaos...

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    Zahle is a gorgeous town that was nicknamed "bride of the bekaa" by poet said akl

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    It's located right behind the mountains, in the Bekaa valley.

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    The area is full of blossoming almond trees

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    … That was the “touristic” aspect of the Zahle visit! Isn’t Lebanon just beautiful? You can see some photos of the visit on the Facebook page. Tomorrow, I will tell you about the “serious aspect” i.e. exhibition, book-signing and encounters with lovely local schools & university students.

    And before I leave you to your busy days, here are 2 Lebanese songs that I love [for a change!] byย Fairouz: Al Bint Al Chalabiya & Shayef El Bahr Shou Kbir. Enjoy & have a beautiful day ๐Ÿ™‚

    AL BINT EL CHALABIYA

    09 Shayef el Bahr shou Kbir

  • Carlos Slim visits Lebanon…

    Everytime I get an email from Qifa Nabki with his latest idea for a collab, I get very excited about illustrating it! Here’s our latest! [Click on the image to view the full post]

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    CONTINUE READING…