Tribute to a Big Maghdouche Musician

During the days of "Kroum e Shams" festival, the "Shabibat el Moukhalles" choir (the Saviour's Youth choir) conducted by father makarios Haidamous, will be performing a tribute consert to the big local musician Elias el Nachef (the photo) who passed away few years ago.
Elias el Nashef was an intellectual school teacher and a talented musician. He is known for his bizantine hymns and psalms music which is performed in many roman-catholic (melkite) churches arround the arab world.

Date: Thirsday the 4th of september 2008
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Basketball playground - opposit of Maghdouche church

I love Maghdouche from Denmark !

I opened my email box after coming back from a hard day at work...... I couldn't but smile.

In my box, there was an email from a painter from Denmark. Her name is Anne lildholdt Jensen, a very talented and dynamic artist that we love so much. She has been into our blogg and read about the art lottery so she decided to participate by offering the lottery a watercolour.

Here she is, holding the " I love Maghdouche " board in one hand and the offered aquarelle painting called " Slimane " in the other hand.

Anne, we thank you so much. This melted our heart !!!

Koussa bi Tahineh - Squash in Tahineh

(Squash is also known for zucchini or courgette)

Ingredients:
2 big norwegian squashes (6 to 8 lebanese small squashes)

1 large clove garlic
1⁄4 cup tahineh (sesame paste or sesame cream)
1⁄4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp. salt
3 tbsp. olive oil
few minth leaves for decoration or 1 tbsp. chopped parsley

Preparation:
Boil the squashes in water until they are done.
Remove squashes from water and allow to cool enough to handle.
When they have cooled sufficiently, remove the stems and slice them (if you are using the big squash) let them drain for 10 minutes more.

Place the garlic and the salt in a food processor and process until the garlic is thin.

Add the squash and process.

Add tahineh and lemon juice and process until mixture thickens.
Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Serve in a plate, garnished with fresh minth leaves or shopped parsley in the middle.
Pour olive oil arround the minth.

Back to the House...Tilbake til huset.....

Things are moving on...
The electric board was upgraded to 20 ampers instead of 5 ampers, so "Maallem Maurice" was able to connect the stairs together. Now we have a descent access to the roof terrasse.
The electric installation has been completely changed in the basement floor and will be accomplished in the first floor, in the next few days. We thank "Simon Bou Ali" for all the effort he is putting there.
Yesterday, the procedure of putting panels on some of the walls of the house has started. As the house is built in local stones, these sand stones absorb the rain water in the winter and spit it out in the sommer, which takes out the paint from the walls. According to "Tony Hourani" the paint guru of Maghdouche,these panels are the best solution for this problem.

We will keep you updated...Keep tuned...

På norsk i kortversjon:
Strømmen var 5 ampere i huset, og den er nå oppgradert til 20 ampere. Trappen fra 2 etasje og opp til takterassen er ferdig og montert. Alle elektriske ledninger er skiftet i første etasje og i løpet av noen dager er det i orden i hele huset. Nå legges paneler på innerveggene for å hindre fuktgjennomslag. Huset er bygget i lokal stein og er porøs, panelene vil løse dette "problemet".
Vi skal holde dere orientert..........................................

I Love Maghdouche

Kaare Stang, norwegian art historian and the writer of the book "Art Deco in Norway" was there supporting our weekend market. He was our shop keeper and was serving refreshments..... Thank you Kaare !!!

From Gubransdalen to Maghdouche

The weaving tradition is almost disappearing from Lebanon...
Except from few weavers in "Zouk Michael", "Aarsal" and "Fekhe", machines have replaced an old tradition that Lebanon had since the phoenicians times... Will our "Dignity" project be able to revive such an old heritage? Can Maghdouche save hand weaving from extinction ?

Eight "Grinnvev" looms were offered to our project by some kind norwegian people. We will bring them with us to Maghdouche when we head there.

"Grinnvev" loom is an old norwegian loom that is easy to use and to transport, very similar to the bedouin loom. It will be exciting to see how our Lebanese patterns will look when made on "Grinnvev".
På norsk i kortversjon:

Veving er nesten forsvunnet i Libanon. Vi skal gjøre vårt for å skape interesse for det igjen. Åtte grindvever er gitt til oss for bruk i prosjektet, noe vi er veldig taknemmelig for. Grindvev er en gammel norsk vev og ligner på beduinenes vever. Det skal bli spennende å se hvordan libanesiske mønstre vil bli.

Inspiring Experience - Inspirerende opplevelse

Why do I choose to visit Maghdouche as a norwegian visual artist?

First, it is the atmosphere in the village and the big contrasts. Second, it is the friendliness of the people, the scenery, and last but not least, it is the history of the country as a whole. From the Phoenicians, to the Ottomans, passing by the Romans and many others, all influenced the culture of today which is a mixture of everything. There, I have the possibility to travel in so many different cultures and sceneries, from the coastal areas to the mountains, among small pittoresque villages and big cities. I have always a possibility to learn and to develope my artworks.

In the house of art "Beit el Founoun" in Maghdouche, I will have my studio, and if you would like to join for painting, drawing etc, just take contact.

For me, as a nordic painter, being there is a challenge. The colour palette is different from what I am used to.

(Since I am a member of the Norwegian Visual Artists Copyrights Society Bono, it is forbidden to copy or to use the photos published in this article)

Drawing from Maghdouche, from the turn nearby "Helweh" kiosk
Tegning fra maghdouche, fra svingen ved "Helweh" kiosken


View to Maghdouche from Baydar el Maassara
Utsikt til Maghdouche fra Baydar el Maassara

På norsk:
Hvorfor velger jeg å være i Maghdouche som bildende kunstner?

Først og fremst er det atmosfæren i landsbyen, de store kontraster. Innbyggernes vennlighet, landskapet, historien og kulturen i landet. Fra Fønikerne, til Ottoman og den Romerske kultur, til dagens kultur som er en blanding av alt. Muligheten av å reise i så mange ulike kulturer og landskap, fra Middelhavets kyst til fjellene. Små idylliske landsbyer, store byer. Alltid en mulighet for å lære og utvikle min kunst. I kunsthuset "Beit el Founoun" har jeg mitt verksted, og hvis du ønsker å bli med dit for å male, tegne etc, kontakt meg.

For meg som en nordisk maler, er det en utfordring, fargepaletten er annerledes og mer begrenset.

(Jeg er medlem av Bono, det er ikke lov å kopiere eller bruke tegningene jeg har lagt ut i denne artikkel)

10 Favorites - 10 Favoritter

TrondE managed to mention Beit el Founoun blog in the newspaper, when the journalist asked him about his "10 favorites". No need to mention that his favorite travel place was Lebanon.

We Love Maghdouche

We got support from the norwegian writer and poet Per Olav Kaldestad and his wife, they came all the way from the west coast of Norway to our place together with Rolf and they enjoyed the market.
Vi fikk støtte fra forfatteren Per Olav Kaldestad og kona, de kom fra Stord på Vestlandet sammen med Rolf.

"Dignity" in the Center - "Dignity" i sentrum

With Dignity project in the center, the weekend market took place on the 2nd. and 3rd of August, outside our gallery.
Med verdighet i sentrum, vår "torgdag" startet 2 og 3. august utenfor vårt galleri.

The day started with a welcoming little speech from TrondE, then he introduced the painter Rolf Monsen and his work to the public and then declared the opening of the exhibition in the gallery as well as the market.
Dagen startet med en liten velkomsttale, og kunstneren Rolf Monsen ble introdusert og overrakt blomster. Utstillingen ble åpnet og publikum kunne se hans kunst i galleriet.

People moved to the first floor where a wonderful music piece was performed by the 2 young artists: Gyrid Nordal Kaldestad and Are Lothe Kolbeinsen . Such an intense performance...
Publikum gikk opp i andre etasje hvor de ble møtt av vakker musikk av to unge musikere, som hadde komponert et stykke til ett av maleriene "Laika" .

Despite the unstable weather, people enjoyed the open market. Shoppers were happy, sellers were satisfied. There was a variety of things on dispay: ceramics, glass, jewelry, plants, herbs, pelargoniums and pelargonium muffins, honey, lebanese spices, seeds etc etc etc.
Tross i veldig ustabilt vær, publikum kom og nøt både utstilling og marked. Det var stor variasjon av produkter, alt fra keramikk, glass, smykker,planter, urter, pelargonium, pelargonium muffins, honning, libanesisk krydder, frø mm......

Here is our "svele" queen: Mona Nygaard left the politics for a day and ran our coffee and "svele with jam" kiosk... delicious... She offered the whole income of the weekend to our project... We thank you Mona!
Og her....er vår "Svele" dronning, Mona Nygaard, hun forlot politikken for en dag og deltok i koking av kaffe og steking av svele med syltetøy. Hun ga hele overskuddet av salget til prosjektet. Tusen takk til Mona.

All in all, the day was wonderful. It is an event that we will be keeping on with, every year, on the hope that next year there will be a stand for Dignity products there.
Alt tatt i betraktning, dagen var vellykket, og vi har bestemt oss for å gjennta "torgdagene" neste år. Vi håper da å kunne tilby noen produkter fra vårt Dignity prosjekt.

Laban Wou Khyar - Cucumber in Yoghurt - Agurk i yoghurt

Ingredients/ du trenger:
4 peeled lebanese cucumbers (or 1 big norwegian cucumber)
1 stor slangeagurk
2 glasses plain yogurt - 2 glass yoghurt naturell eller kesam
1 teaspoons salt - 1 teskjed salt
1 tablespoon dried mint - 1 spiseskje tørket mynte
1 clove garlic - 1 hvitløk kløft

Preparation/ Slik gjør du
Crush garlic and mash together with salt. Knus hvitløken og bland i salt

Quarter cucumbers lengthwise and then chopp into thin slices (as shown in the photo).

Del agurken i fire på langs og skjer skiver ( se foto)

Add yogurt and mint on top of the garlic and cucumbers.
Stir well.

Tilsett yoghurt, strø over mynte, bland det hele godt
You can serve in one big bowl or 4 small bowls.

Server i posjonsskåler eller i en stor bolle
Add fresh mint as a garnish to the top.

Legg på noen blader av frisk mynte på toppen, hvis du har.

Josephine's house - Josefines hus

Here are two great pelargoniums that we found in Maghdouche. The red one is called Josephine's house (Josefines hus) since we got it from the house of Elias Bassoul and Josephine Cattan. The second is called Hatem's house (Hatems hus) named after Hatem Khoury who lives in the old part of Maghdouche. In the third photo, you can see the special leaves with a lighter shade in the middle.

På norsk

Her er to flotte pelargonier som vi har samlet i Maghdouche. Den røde (for rød på fotoet) som er fylt heter Josefines hus den hvite kalles Hatems hus og er en fylt hvit, nesten mot det grønne.

Art Lottery - Kunstlotteri

We got to find ideas to finance the atelier of our beloved Dignity project. People have offered sewing machines, looms and different equipments but to ship these heavy things to Maghdouche would cost us more than buying new ones.That was where the idea of an art lottery saw the light.
Vi trenger ideer for å finansiere arbeidsrommene i vårt Dignity prosjekt. Folk har tilbudt oss symaskiner, vever og andre større ting, men å få transportert dette til Maghdouche vil koste oss mer enn om vi kan skaffe rene penger og kjøpe det vi trenger der.
Det var da vi kom på ideen om et kunstlotteri...

Artists were positive. The first artwork we got was from Jon Olav Helle: a beautiful graphic landscape.

Kunstnere var positive til ideen og det første kunstverket vi fikk var fra grafikeren Jon Olav Helle

Rolf Monsen from Bergen offered a little charming painting from the exhibition he was opening in the gallery.

Rolf Monsen fra Bergen har gitt oss et vakkert og sjarmerende maleri fra utstillingen som åpnet 2 august.

Liv Kristin Espelien participated with one of her ceramic sculptures: The Frog Prince.
Keramikeren Liv Kristin Espelien har gitt en av sine flotte skulpturer: Froskeprinsen

TrondE (http://www.tronde.no/) offered a collography print and the painter Ole kristen Solberg gave an beautiful watercolour.

TrondE har gitt et collografi trykk og maleren Ole Kristen Solberg ga en vakker akvarell.

All our respect goes to these artists and to all the norwegian people who are reacting so positive to our project by offering generously and by giving us the trust that the money that we will collect will be used in the best and proper way possible.
The lottery will continue till the 5th. of december (our gallery's 5th. anniversary) and the draw will take place then. You can see the artworks in our gallery.

Med all respekt for kunstnere som har bidratt til lotteriet og til innbyggere i Løten og omegn som har vist velvilje og støttet vårt prosjekt. Og som har vist oss tillit til at innsamlede penger vil gå i sin helhet til Maghdouche og vil brukt på best mulig måte.

Lotteriet vil gå fram til 5 desember 2008 og kunsten som er innlevert kan sees i galleriet

I Love Maghdouche

Here is Anne, she was like a big smile all day long helping Mona with the coffee.
Her er Anne, hun var et stort smil hele dagen og hun hjalp Mona med kaffen.

In the News Again !

"Market days are there to remain".

That is how "Hamar arbeiderblad" newspaper titled the article dedicated to put the light on the weekend market that we had outside the gallery, in order to raise money for our Dignity project. With a successfull market for the second year in a raw, the weekend market is becoming a tradition that we will continue with, every year.