I wish I could stay in the wilderness

I was in the Bekaa during the week end with the graphic design class of my friend Daniel working with the Bedouin community of Hawsh Sneid. They are looking, among others, at patterns and design created by women. Belo is my friend Hamra (regular veil) with her sister in law Umm `Ali who is wearing the `isba, which is a crown-like veil worn by Bedouin women. Um `Ali made the zirb behind them from reeds and colored thread. She has rolled different colored threads in patterns on each reed (qasab, diameter 2cm) and then arranged tied them all together vertically. If you enlarge you should be able to see the individual reeds. The zirb is used as walls or partitions in the tents. Zirb is used by other nomadic people in the region. Below is a photo of a zirb I took last month in Erbil, Kurdistan, but Umm `Ali's is prettier.
My daughters Suha and Thurayya learned how to milk the sheep. Thurayya is the eldest.

It was also the time of the year where we say farewel to the spring. The wheat is turning golden and the snow on Sannine is almost gone. The rains of last Tuesday extended the life of the late blooms of poppies.

Back to Beirut, with Future Movement electoral rally next door: a weird mixture of military sounding songs, old partisan songs from the civil war and the Lebanese national anthem.