Subject: soc.culture.lebanon FAQ, part 1/2 Newsgroups: soc.culture.lebanon,soc.answers,news.answers From: dakroub@eurecom.fr (Alaa Dakroub) Date: 24 Apr 1994 15:16:25 GMT Archive-name: lebanon-faq/part1 Last-modified: 1994/04/24 Version: 2.4 _______________________________________________________________________________ Many FAQs, including this one, are available on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The names under which this FAQ is archived are "lebanon-faq/part1" and "lebanon-faq/part2". If you do not have ftp, you can request messages from rtfm by using the local mail server. Send mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu containing the line "send usenet/news.answers/lebanon-faq" to get this file. Send a message containing "help" to get general information about the mail server. This FAQ could also be obtained via regular anonymous ftp at the sites: eurecom.cica.fr (192.70.34.200) in /SCL, rama.poly.edu (128.238.10.212) in pub/scl/ and ftp.u.washington.edu in /public/scl filenames lebanon-faq/part1 and lebanon-faq/part2. Version: Version 2.4 Changes since last posting: The ISBN number of Charles Glass's "Tribes of the Flags" (Question 16), Information about the Freinds of the Cedar Forest (Question 13), The Lebanon Report address (Question 14), The Value of the Lebanese Pound (Question 3), The new home WWW page of the the Multimedia Levant Servers (Question 26), The phone number of Lina's Makhlouf new travel agency (Question 7). Here is a listing of questions : 1. Can I post/receive to/from this newsgroup or other newsgroups if I don't have the permission or I don't have a direct access to a news server ? 2. Are there any rules or conventions to post into this news group? 3. What is the value of a Lebanese pound in terms of US$, Can$, UK lb, etc.? 4. What is the address and phone number of the Lebanese Embassy and/or Consulates in the US, Canada, France, etc.... and how can I contact the American University of Beirut, How can I contact Hariri Foundation office in Washington ? 5. How can I phone Lebanon and which carrier gives the cheapest rates? 6. What are the airlines servicing Beirut ? 7. Where can I find tickets for Lebanon at a good price ? 8. What are the e-mail and telnet IP addresses for sites in Lebanon ? 9. What are the phone numbers to call to get Lebanon news ? 10. What are the radio frequencies and broadcast times of Lebanese related radio programs ? 11. What are the various Lebanese organizations and how can I contact them ? 12. What are the projects you can contribute to help rebuild Lebanon ? 13. Are there any information about The Cedars of Lebanon and/or organizations that deal with this matter?? 14. What are the various Lebanese magazines and newspapers ? 15. Where can I find Lebanese magazines and newspapers ? 16. What has been written by Lebanese and/or on Lebanon ? 17. Where can I find works written by Lebanese and /or on Lebanon ? 18. Are there Arabic word processors ? 19. Is there a standard Arabic alphabet representation in Latin ? 20. Are there any availble sources to learn Syriac ? 21. Where can I find Lebanese songs and music ? 22. Where can I find a Lebanese restaurant ? 23. Where can I find a Lebanese grocery store? 24. Is there a good Lebanese recipe book ? 25. Are there recipes available on the net ? 26. Is there an ftp archive site for Lebanese art works ? 27. What is the best way to deal with multiple system TVs and VCRs and where can I get my VCR tape converted to a format that works in Lebanon ? 28. What are the Arabic TV channels that can be received in Northern and central America 29. What are newborn names that could be used for Lebanese children living abroad that would work in both Lebanon and Western societies ? 30. I plan to go home soon and I have heard rumors that the draft will be re-instituted, do you have any additional information about this ? I was born in 1923 and I am afraid that I would be subject to the draft !!! 31. Where can I get a copy of the English translation of the Lebanese Constitution ? 32. Where can I get a copy of the English translation of the Taef Agreement ? 33. I need to ship a car/ or some merchandise to Lebanon, do you know of a shipping company that handles this ? 34. I suddenly 0 an urge for Middle-Eastern cuisine, can you help me quench this horrifying thirst ? 35. Where can I find information about US State Department visa regulations for foreigners. 36. Where can I get the latest travel advisory for Americans wishing to visit Lebanon or the Middle-East ? 37. Are there available statistical and basic general information about Lebanon, and what are they ? Thanks to all contributors to this FAQ, namely: Naji Mouawad (who started the effort), Basil Hamdan (who maintained this faq before me and and must of this faq is his work) Bassem Medawar, Samir Fahs, Mazen Saghir,Edmond J. Abrhamian, Alex Khalil, Olivier M.J. Crepin-Leblond, Hassan Hammoud,Mazen Mokhtar, Barre Ludvigsen, Ghassan Semaan, Elie Wardini, Fady Harfoush,Debbie Masri, Pauline Homsi Vinson, Youssef Fawaz, Mike, Nasri, Rached Zantout,May Nasrallah, Khalil El-Khoury, Danny Chahal, Haidar Harmamani, Wadih Shaib,Walid Nasrallah, Kamie Kitmitto, Ibrahim Ballouz, Nadim Maluf, Fadi Andraos, Boudi Sahyoun, Naji Rizk, Berthe Choueiry, Jamal Zemerly, Wassim Alami, philo, George Fisher, Roger Adbel-Hay, Knut Vik|r, Walid Keirouz, Jihad Kawkabani,Joseph Mouhanna, Ayman Kayssi, Hayssam Taha, Elie Mourad, Jihad Daba, Salah Sadek, Chaabouni Moez, Rania Masri,Samer Faraj, Kamel Saidi and Ala'a Dakroub (sorry if I missed anyone). This FAQ file was compiled and edited by Alaa Dakroub. ****************************************************************************** DISCLAIMER: This FAQ is presented with no warranties or guarantees of ANY KIND including correctness or fitness for any particular purpose. The author(s) of this document have attempted to verify correctness of the data contained herein; however, slip-ups can and do happen. If you use any information included in this FAQ, you do so at your own risk. The FAQ authors cannot and have NOT used all the the services suggested in the FAQ, nor have they checked them for accuracy. They were all included mostly verbatim at the suggestion of contributors to this FAQ. You can reprint any FAQ posting of mine anywhere you want, as long as the following conditions are met: 1. You use as recent a version of the FAQ as possible. 2. My name (as well as the "credits" section, if any, listing other people who have contributed) stays on it. 3. Any modifications (other than typesetting changes) you make to it are clearly designated as your modifications. If you are significantly reformatting the information in the FAQ, then you don't have to explicitly show every change from the original, but you make clear that what you are printing is derived from my FAQ rather than a direct copy of it. 4. You tell people where to find updated versions of it, i.e., what newsgroups it appears in. ****************************************************************************** _______________________________________________________________________________ First of all, for the patriotic among you, here is a uuencoded Lebanese flag gif file, with instructions on how to display it using xv, all provided kindly by Naji Rizk. A nice way to use this flag is to have it displayed in the background of your workstation. Here is the procedure: 1) Cut the file out (between Cut Here signs) so that the following line be the first line in the file: begin 400 flag.gif and save on your 3 as a file named say, "leb.uu". 2) Once the file leb.uu is saved after these modifications, type under the unix prompt: uudecode leb.uu, this procedure will automatically create the Lebanese flag gif file "flag.gif".on your 3. 3) If you are using xv as a gif viewer, type: xv flag.gif & In order to have the flag in the background (tiled), type this: xv -rmode 1 full-path-name-of-flag.gif & xv -rmode 1 full-path-name-of-flag.gif & ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If the file is in your home directory called /users/lebanese then the full path name is: /users/lebanese/flag.gif ___________________ Cut Here ______________________________ begin 400 flag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end ___________________ Cut Here ______________________________ ******************************************************************************* 1. Can I post/receive to/from this newsgroup or other newsgroups if I don't have the permission or I don't have a direct access to a news server ? First case: you have newsreader on your machine and a connection to a local news server just read man pages or ask and you can read and post to scl :-) Second case: you can read the news but you don't have the permission to post: there is two way to do it: - You can send a mail to soc-culture-lebanon@cs.utexas.edu and your article will be posted on scl(please notice hyphens instead of periods). - you can connect to remote news server that allows reading and posting news articles such as : aiai.ed.ac.uk, 192.41.104.6 (posting OK) aiai.ed.ac.uk, 192.41.105.5 (posting OK) edfder1.edf.fr, 192.54.193.133 (posting OK) hagi.noguchi.riec.tohoku.ac.jp, 130.34.202.42 (posting OK) news.fu-berlin.de, 130.133.4.250 (posting OK) newsserver.rrzn.uni-hannover.de, 130.75.2.1 (posting OK) pyr.swan.ac.uk, 137.44.1.1 (posting OK) shakti.ncst.ernet.in, 144.16.1.1 (posting OK) or you can use the following for reading only: bert.eecs.uic.edu, 128.248.166.25 (read only) gaia.ucs.orst.edu, 128.193.2.13 (read only) gateway.iitb.ernet.in, 144.16.96.2 (read only) iti.gov.sg, 192.122.132.130 (read only) news.belwue.de, 129.143.2.4 (read only) news.nodak.edu, 134.129.107.194 (read only) news.ucdavis.edu, 128.120.100.1 (read only) news.ucdavis.edu, 128.120.101.1 (read only) news.ucdavis.edu, 128.120.2.150 (read only) news.uni-hohenheim.de, 144.41.2.4 (read only) nic.belwue.de, 129.143.2.4 (read only) raven.alaska.edu, 137.229.10.39 (read only) trdsvr.tradtech.co.jp, 133.130.1.1 (read only) wsu-cs.cs.wayne.edu, 141.217.16.41 (read only) under the Unix shell you have to set the environment variable NNTPSERVER to the correspondent host and after you invoke you news reader* for example (under C shell): $ setenv NNTPSERVER bert.eecs.uic.edu $ rn or trn or xrn or whatever you want .... ******************************************************************************* 2. Are there any rules or conventions to post into this news group? Rules of thumb for posting on Soc.Culture.Lebanon Date of last revision: 02/20/94 This post proposes some rules of thumb for posting on this newsgroup, Soc.Culture.Lebanon (scl). The purpose of the rules is to maintain the friendly atmosphere and to encourage quality posts. - Use descriptive Subject headers and change the subject when replying if necessary. Remember that people are not interested in a vague or unfocused subject. For example, from recent posts, a Subject that reads "None" does not convey any useful meaning. "Tfouh" seems like a flame, but is it worth reading? A person, replies "Tfouh 3ala min? :-) Re: Tfouh." Now that is more interesting, it peeks the curiosity of the reader. "avant de partir" could've been "[French poem] avant de partir (before leaving)." - Quote text from the article that you are replying you to provide context but keep quoted text to a minimum (that which is absolutely necessary). Most people prefer a short and focused message to a longer and diluted post. - Avoid cross-posting to other newsgroups. Good reasons to cross- post are: - if you are posting a periodic message (such as a FAQ) - if you are required by net rules to cross-post as in the case of newsgroup creation announcements There are rarely any additional good reasons to cross-post. - Do not use abusive language in your posts. Pretend you are addressing your mother. :-) - Avoid posting messages that are not related to Lebanon or to the culture of the Lebanese people. In other words, Middle East discussion belongs in talk.politics.mideast, soc.culture.israel, or soc.culture.palestine, whichever is more appropriate. Religion discussions belong in the appropriate religion group (soc.religion.islam, soc.religion.christian, talk.religion.christian, soc.culture.jewish, talk.religion.misc, or even alt.religion.emacs :-) Posts on scl should really pertain to Lebanon. - Flaming gives a poor image of yourself, and you are likely to stay on your own in the garbage bin. If you chose to ignore these rules of thumb, you're likely to find your mailbox full with advice urging you to read this post. I am confident that we will manage to maintain a high level of maturity and respect in our posts. If you don't wish to see this message again, put it in your kill file. If you have a bone to pick with these rules of thumb, reply to this message BY EMAIL. This message will repeat every week. It is archived for anonymous ftp on rama.poly.edu (128.238.10.212) as /pub/scl/The_Rules_Of_Thumb. ******************************************************************************* 3. What is the value of a Lebanese pound in terms of US$, Can$, UK lb, etc.? It in a steady state since several months, and it's gaining slowly Typically, a good way to keep a view of the 'latest' figures is to: - Look at the Wall Street Journal - Look at Al-Hayat News paper (see address in Question 13) - Subscribe to Leb-Net (Leb-Net@cumesa.mech.columbia.edu), which reports the value sometimes. Last reproted on Al-Hayat newspaper (23/04/94) was the following: | $US | &UK | DM | JY | FF | SF | ----------------------------------------------------------- | LP | 1691.5 | 2520.8 | 999.2 | 16.27 | 291.6 | 1178.3| ----------------------------------------------------------- LP = Lebanese Pound $US = US dollars &UK = United Kingdom Sterlings DM = Deutsch Mark JY = Japanese Yen FF = French Franc SF = Swiss Franc ******************************************************************************* 4. What is the address and phone number of the Lebanese Embassy and/or Consulates in the US, Canada, France, etc.... and how can I contact the American University of Beirut, How can I contact the Beirut University College, How can I contact Hariri Foundation office in Washington ? For Canada: Embassy of Lebanon 640 Lyon St. Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3Z5 (613) 236-5825 Consulate of Lebanon 40 Cote St. Catherine Montreal, Quebec (514) 276-2738 For the USA: Washington DC Embassy: Embassy of Lebanon 2560 28th Street NW Washington D.C. 20008 Phone: (202) 939-6300 Consulates: New York Consulate General of Lebanon 9 East 76th St. NY, NY Phone: (212) 744-7905 Detroit Consulate General of Lebanon 1959 E. Jefferson Suite 4A Detroit, Michigan 48207 Phone: (313) 567-0233 Los Angeles Consulate General of Lebanon 7060 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 510 Hollywood, CA 90028 Phone: (213) 467-1253 For the United Kingdom: Lebanese Councilor Section 15 Palace Garden Mews, London W8 4QQ. England UK Phone: 00 44 (0)71 7276696 For Germany: BOTSCHAFT DES LIBANON RHEINALLEE 27 53173 BONN TEL. (0228)352075-77 For France: AMBASSADE DU LIBAN 42 rue Copernic Tel: +33 1 40 67 75 75 75016 Paris Fax: +33 1 40 67 16 42 Consulat du LIBAN (Paris) 47 rue Dumont d'Urville 75016 Paris Tel: +33 1 45 00 03 30 Consulat General du Liban (Marseille) 424 rue Paradis 13008 Marseille Tel: +33 91 71 50 60 Here are the AUB NY office numbers and the Beirut AUB number: The numbers for the NY office are: Phone: (212) 319 2425 Fax : (212) 486 2867 You can now fax directly to Beirut, via a NY number: (212) 478 1995 The switch board numbers in Beirut are: +961-1-350 000 +961-1-865 250 +961-1-340 740 Here is the address of the Beirut University College : BEIRUT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE P.O.BOX 13-5053,BEIRUT LEBANON Here it the Hariri Foundation Address: Hariri Foundation 1020 19th St., NW Suite 320 Washington, DC 20036 Fax: 202-659-9228 ******************************************************************************* 5. How can I phone Lebanon and which carrier gives the cheapest rates ? Using the *local* Lebanon number 04-961345 as example, you dial: 011 961 4 961345 (to use AT&T) 10 222 011 961 4 961345 (to use MCI) 10 333 011 961 4 961345 (to use SPRINT) Note how the Metn area code 04 has been used *without* the leading zero. These calls do not require an operator. Calls have been placed to Beirut (01), & metn (04) without major difficulty. MCI has the lowest rate, if you do the following. 1- register for the $3 dollars a month international calling program. This will give you 15% discount on your calls if they were placed within the package specified time intervals. 2- You have up to two international number to register under the family and friend program. So do register your Lebanon number under family and friends, and you will get 20% discount on these numbers when called. Total saving is 35% on their already cheapest Rate. Rates to Lebanon are $1.06 per minute all day Saturday. Recently (Feb 94) the following rate for international calling program was mentioned: $1.06/minute any time from Monday morning till Friday evening, i.e. weekdays $0.70/minute any time from Friday evening till Monday morning, i.e. week-end Telephone Area codes in Lebanon: 1 Beirut 4 12 5 Al-shouf 6 The North 7 the South 8 Al-biqqaa 9 Keserwan For France : you have to Dial the 19 to get the international tone, lebanon's code, the area code and your correspondent number. To call the same number as above you will have to dial : 19 961 4 961345 the rates are as follows (time is French time +1 GMT, +2GMT summer time): Day 00:00 08:00 21:30 00:00 -------------------------------------------------------- Mon-Sat |xxxxxxxx|**********************|xxxxxxxxxxx| -------------------------------------------------------- Sun & |xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx| holidays | -------------------------------------------------------- * : normal rate : 17.51 FF/min x : reduced rate: 12.89 FF/min Manuel rate : 21.30 FF/min ******************************************************************************* 6. What are the airlines servicing Beirut ? Most European and Arab airlines are now flying to Lebanon. *Some* are: MEA(obviously), Air-France, Swiss-air, Austrian Airways, Alitalia, Sabena, Alia, Egypt Air. Recently the State Department banned MEA from operating from its NY offices, and travel from the US with MEA has become very difficult. Here is a related UPI article: Subject: Lebanese air-carrier chief urges lifting U.S. embargo Date: Mon, 24 May 93 13:17:16 PDT BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) -- The president of the Lebanese national air carrier, Middle East Airlines, said Monday that a U.S. order to suspend MEA activities in the United States has left tens of thousands of Lebanese stranded there and caused millions of dollars in losses. MEA President Abdel Hamid Fakhoury called on the U.S. Administration to exempt his company from a U.S. embargo imposed on Lebanon following the hijacking of a TWA airliner in 1985. Accordingly, MEA flights to New York and back to Beirut were suspended while all other carriers were prevented from selling tickets from its U.S. offices for destinations in Lebanon. Fakhoury said MEA abided by the embargo but its U.S. offices ``continued to issue tickets, with the knowledge of the U.S. officials, placing either Damascus or Cyprus as destination countries.'' ``But we were surprised last month of a new U.S. order to cease immediately all commercial activities, which left tens of thousands of Lebanese trapped there and inflicting losses estimated at $15 million,'' Fakhoury said. The new order was apparently in retaliation to a decision by the Lebanese Military Court on April stating that the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was covered by a general amnesty law. The Lebanese Parliament approved the amnesty law as part of a national reconciliation drive to end the Lebanese civil war. The U.S. expressed dissatisfaction with the Military Court decision and accused MEA of violating the embargo imposed during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. A month later, the Lebanese Supreme Court overruled the Military Court decision concerning the U.S. Embassy bombing in which at least six people were accused of involvement. A suicide bomber drove through the gate of the U.S. Embassy in the Muslim sector of Beirut on April 1983, killing 63 people and wounding 123 others. activities in the U.S. as peace and security were restored in the country. He said contacts with U.S. officials have so far failed to alter the order and called for launching a campaign ``to save the company and allow the Lebanese residents in the U.S. to visit their homeland.'' The following is a summary of an article which appeared in Middle East International (MEI - No. 450, p. 9-10); The background is that Lebanese investigators had recently identified 15 suspects in the 1991 truck bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, and the US government was anxious to see them prosecuted. However, on April 24, Beirut's military court ruled that the suspects were included in the general amnesty covering "political" war crimes approved by the Lebanese parliament in 1991. The US was incensed that the court's ruling would render them immune from prosecution, and warned Lebanese leaders that the prospect of normalizing relations with the US, which seemed likely following Secretary of State Christopher's March visit to Beirut, were no longer realistic. The impact on travel stems from the fact that Middle East Airlines (MEA), which had hoped that it for the way it had issued tickets to Beirut (actually entered on tth connecting flights to or from Europe. Although technically a violation of the US travel ban, this subterfuge had been used without objection for many years. Suddenly, MEA was told to stop selling tickets or doing any other business, and warned that it was subject to fines of $1000 per day for the entire period during which it had sold such tickets. The Beirut government is having a second look at the amnesty law, and may find a way out of the difficulty, but until it does so, it may be impossible to get tickets to Beirut in the US, and MEA is threatened with millions of dollars of fines, an amount which MEI characterized as "potentially crippling". The Lebanese Supreme Court has already reversed the earlier ruling making the suspects once again not covered by the General Amnesty law but the US has yet to relax its position with regard to MEA operations in the United States. ******************************************************************************* 7. Where can I find tickets for Lebanon at a good price ? Travel Agency Number(s) Contact person(s), Name location, (if available) and/or comments (if supplied) _______________________________________________________________________________ Admiral : (800) 822 2727 (located in Marietta GA) (ask for Hassan Ramadan) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Travel: (800) 344 7060 (ask for Matthew) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlantis : (212) 972 5540 TEL 141 East 44th Street #702 (212) 972 5543 FAX NYC, NY 10017 (800) 543 9362 (Alitalia and British Airways) ($ 1100 round trip ticket from San Francisco to Beirut bought in Christmas 92/93). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Mediterranean Travel : (213) 876 5601 (deals mainly with Alitalia, recommended for its good prices). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Char Tours: (800) 323 4444 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate : (800) 532 8455 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farra Travel: (213) 463 9211 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Golden Arch: (800) 749 2724 (may be out of business ?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Haddad Travel: (213) 466 4662 (experienced but beware) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Int'l Travel & (800) 248-8462 (ask for Doha Gabro ?) Trade, Inc. : (Example of price quoted for Dec '92 round trip $ 880 Travel from: Washington, DC - Beirut United: Wash <-> London, MEA: London <-> Beirut) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lotus : (800) 344 2220 (located in Los Angeles area) (deals mostly with ALIA, the Royal Jordanian Airlines, can get relatively good prices if you are willing to endure traveling on ALIA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mill-Run Tours:(800) 645 5786 (Ask for Jean Zodo. She's Lebanese, and she has been very helpful). They are located in Chicago, IL.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oxford Travel & (ask for Sami Silfani) Tours : (800) 245 7264 TEL (located in the Atlanta area) (404) 266 8783 FAX (Sami was quite informed and worked hard to get the cheapest fare possible. Strongly recommended by myself (Basil). Example of a fare: $ 1080 U.S., round trip on Air France from Cleveland, travel date: April 13, 1993). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sharif Travel: (714) 635 0837 (could be the same as the reference that shows up later as Moursi Sharif - other reference has an 800 number - Recommended as super nice and cheap) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunship : (800) 344 9428 (deals mainly with British Airways) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Travel All(??):(800) 621 4795 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Travel Corner: (800) 843 3214 (from outside Atlanta) or (404) 952 4044 (Atlanta) or (404) 924 4207 (Atlanta) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is just FYI for those interested in getting tickets overseas that Lina Makhlouf, formerly of travel corner in Atlanta, has opened her own travel agency and can now be reached at 1-800-810-0081. She received the prize as the most recommended travel agent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Travel Nework: (201) 628 7071 TEL 1581 Route 23 South (201) 628 7827 FAX Waynes, NJ 07470 (Ask for Ms. Peggy Healy) (tell her Tommy's sister recommended!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vista Int'l : (800) 228 4782 (located in West Virginia ??) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- World Express Travel: (ask for Annie - she is from Lebanon). (800) 942 4992 TEL (located in Houston, Texas) (713) 556 5700 TEL (713) 556 0895 FAX _______________________________________________________________________________ No name given for travel agency: (ask for Garbiz Askanian) (212) 685 4499 (gave the best deal to someone) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (617) 354 3399 (ask for Malek Haddad) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (800) 426 8831 (ask for Hala) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (202) 625 0770 (ask for Marwan or Maha) (located in the Washington DC area) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (514) 398 0771 TEL (ask for Pierre or Nathalie) (514) 398 0795 FAX (located in Montreal-Canada) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (800) 332 5302 (ask for Moursi Sharif) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (212) 370 5353 (ask for Ali Srour) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (904) 763 2933 (located in Florida) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No name given for travel agency: (305) 856 3434 _______________________________________________________________________________ Negative Recommendations _______________________________________________________________________________ D'International: (located in West Roxbury, Ma.) Travel agent is a Lebanese person. She booked flight on non-existing flight from Paris to Boston. The traveler had to pay a $ 100.00 penaly, and agent did not reimburse him even though she had made the mistake. Traveler also found out she had done the same thing with several other people. _______________________________________________________________________________ for 800 number directory call 1 (800) 555 1212 In France the following Travel Agency has been recommended as giving good prices for travel to Lebanon: Nouvelle Frontiere with prices ranging from 3000 to 3500 F.F., round trip, Paris-Beirut for Summer of '93 travel. No phone number was given, it is assumed that the agency is listed in the phone directory. (I was not able to get the phone number of this agency since the directory says that there is a nouvelle frontiere but their numbers are on the red list) ******************************************************************************* 8. What are the e-mail and Telnet IP addresses for sites in Lebanon ? As far as anyone can tell, none accessible to the public so far. If such is not the case, let us know. There is a service, however, similar to CompuServe that is available for a fee. To my knowledge,the closest that comes to international computer communications is LibanPac, that is modeled on the French TransPac and that regularly transfers data between Ashrafiyeh and France through the submarine cable. AUB has some MCI mail boxes but access is restricted. This is what Nabil Bukhalid, Manager of Personal Computer Support Unit at AUB says about it in a recent communication: AUB has a restricted TYMNET link and an MCI mailbox. The PC Support Unit at AUB is negotiating the implementation of an EARN node at AUB and we are in the process of testing an X.5 gateway to EARN via a C O. concentrator. Also AUB has applied to the NCI for an Internet address. A TCP/IP backbone network was planned and its implementation was scheduled for the last quarter of 1991. The project was freezed after the blasting of College Hall, the upper campus cabling ducts are badly damaged, and we are facing some budget problems. For the time being I have the permission to use the MCI mailbox for urgent correspondence.. There are efforts to link Lebanon by an X25 network, which would give email access through France. Here are some of the details: AUB now has its own IP numbers. AUB is not connected yet to the Internet. However, it will be very soon. Through the X.25 network in Lebanon, one *can* access CompuServe, MCI-mail, AT&T mail and possibly Internet (that's how AUB is gaining access). Connection cost to the Lebanese X25 network: 600$ Monthly fee for the Lebanese X25 network and the server in France: 50$ The connection to France will be used until Internet will be available in Lebanon. Each 1024 characters to the states cost 2.1 F.F (around $0.39) plus around 500 Lebanese Pounds for X25. But no Telnet or ftp can be done. However the subscription offers you a 10,000 PC and Macintosh programs to down load. They are updated on a daily basis. There are Forums and debates in French. You can also access the NEWS of the INTERNET. You will have an Easy Link, Mercury Link, X400 , Telex address as well as the Usenet one. Also you can send faxes through the net....All in one subscription. It seems that the costs for now are rather expensive, unless they are borne by a business or a corporation. ******************************************************************************* 9. What are the phone numbers to call to get Lebanon news ? There is a mailing list called Leb-Net that sends digests to subscribers every two days on the average. It is usually quite thorough. To subscribe, send a short request to: Leb-Net@cumesa.mech.columbia.edu ******************************************************************************* 10. What are the radio frequencies and broadcast times of Lebanese related radio programs ? This information is extracted from Passport to World Band Radio, L. Magne (Ed.), IBS, 1992, ISBN 0-914941-27-5: All times are in GMT, frequencies are in KHz. Voice of Lebanon, Beirut-Ashrafiyah, Phalange, 8KW, English but mostly Arabic broadcast. 0900-0915 6550 1315-1330 6550 1815-1830 6550 King of Hope, Marjayou^n, Mideast, 12 KW, English and Arabic broadcast. 0700-1100 6280 (Mideast), 11530 (Europe) 1400-1700 6280 (Mideast), 11530 (Europe) Neither one of the stations listed above were easily received in NY with a portable SW radio and an indoor antenna. The book doesn't list the government radio station which used to broadcast in the 11KHz-12KHz range from Amshit. The Amshit broadcast could not be received either. According to the 1993 edition of World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH), there are a multitude of radio stations in Lebanon, transmitting on long-wave, medium wave and FM. They apparently represent every shade of politics, religion and finance. ranging from the government RADIO LEBANON through SAOUT AL SHAB (in Rmayleh, near Sidon - I new it for it's sugar cane and lettuce!) to RADIO DUTCH-BATT (UN Forces). WRTH notes: "There are dozens of AM and almost 150 FM stations operating in Lebanon. Many of these are unlicensed , therefore available details are incomplete, and many stations change frequencies often." For listeners abroad there are 3 possible stations that may be received depending on propagation conditions. You might want to consult rec.radio.shortwave or rec.radio.broadcasting for postings on listening conditions and tips on equipment, antennas and help in finding Lebanon on the dial. The 3 stations transmitting regularly on shortwave are: 6280 kHz King of Hope, south Lebanon, 0500 - 2200 UTC 6550 kHz Radio Voice of Lebanon, 24 hours 11530 kHz Wings of Hope, south Lebanon, 0500 - 2200 UTC Only the 6550 transmission is regularly audible in northern Europe. The government-run RADIO LEBANON does not appear to have a shortwave service at present. The Voice of Lebanon has an address at POBox 165271 Ashrafiyeh, Beirut, vox +9611323458 tix VDL 23203 LE. General manager; Simon El-Khazen. The address of King of Hope is POBox 3379 Limassol, Cyprus (High Adventure Missionaries, Box 7466, Van Nuys, CA 91409), which is also the address of Wings of Hope. The WRTH, ISBN 0-8230-5924-3, also contains useful information about radio receivers, antennas, radio dealers, etc. For France: People who are living in Paris can receive the broadcast of "Radio Orient" on FM 94.3 MHz, Radio Orient provides News and cultural programs from Lebanon and the Arab world in general. They provide headline news each hour and detailed news at 7:00, 8:00 12:00 18:00 19:30 and 23:00 (Paris Time i.e +2 GMT). It is received in Lebanon as well in Syria and Jordan, and in some European countries via cable(?). It can be also received by calling +33 1 45 02 12 12, it's useful in some French cities where RO broadcasting does not reach. North America: Every night you can listen to Monte Carlo. It is transmitted by radio Canada. The program is only 15 minutes long (Panorama News). You can listen to it every night at 10 pm central time. These are two approximate frequencies: Wave Length: 49 m OR 60 m Frequency : 6 MHz Wave Length: 31 m Frequency : 10 MHz Egypt and Jordan stations transmit at frequencies close from the second one above. Their transmition is not very clear and they transmit at around 11-12 midnight. ******************************************************************************* 11. What are the various Lebanese organizations and how can I contact them. American Task Force for Lebanon 2250 M St., N.W., Suite 305 Washington, DC 20037 Telephone: 202-223-9333 Fax: 202-223-1399 This organization publishes a monthly newsletter called "Outlook", with Tanya Rahal (Exec. Ed.), and Deeb Keamy (Managing Ed.) ** There is a centre in Oxford. It is called the centre for Lebanese studies. Address: 59 observatory street Oxford. Phone: 0865 58465 ******************************************************************************* 12. What are the projects you can contribute to help rebuild Lebanon ? There is a non-profit organization for Lebanese Academics and Professionals that is working on development projects between Lebanon and North America. It is called ALPA (Association of Lebanese Professionals and Academics) to join or contact them, send e-mail to: alpa@lido.eng.uci.edu or fawaz@harrier.berkeley.edu ******************************************************************************* 13. Are there any information about The Cedars of Lebanon and/or organizations that deal with this matter?? There is two organizations that works on Cedars related matters, which are the SPNL (the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon) and the FCF (the Freinds of the Cedar Forest). Following is the breif description of the FCF Comitee and it's activities then a report of the SPNL about the cedar in Lebanon. the friends of the cedar forest committee: president: father george nakhle rahme vice-pres: antoine gebrayel tok treasurer: wahib keyrouz (who is also the conservationist of the gibran museum) secretary & official spokesman: bassam m. geagea head of the ecological team: dr. henriette tohme head of the phytopathology and plant protection team: dr. khalil melki head of the agricultural and decoration team: wajdi geagea (engineer) the committee has transformed el-arz kadicha into a natural regional park, and their work is predominately in bsharee. a good - though old- source for more info on the cedars of lebanon is : "the remnant cedar forests of lebanon" by e.w.beals of the aub, published in the journal of ecology - volume 53, pages 679 to 694. The following is a Report issued by the SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE IN LEBANON, and posted by Kamel Saidi on SCL, for addresses please read the end of the article. Here is the preliminary report on the Cedars of Lebanon that was prepared by the SPNL. I hope it helps some of you and I encourage anybody who is interested in joining SPNL to do so. If you would like more information about SPNL, I will be more than happy to send you a full brochure about them. CEDARS OF LEBANON (Cedrus Libani) PRELIMINARY REPORT PREPARED BY SPNL (SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE IN LEBANON) February 1994 A. GENERAL Cedrus Libani is a native of Lebanon, hence the name. It also occurs in Cyprus and Certain areas of Asia Minor. It is a tall evergreen tree having short dark needle-like leaves and highly prized fragrant hard wood. Cedrus Libani has been known to survive for over 3000 years and some of the existing Cedars of Lebanon are over 2000 years old. However, the great demand for its famous wood since ancient times has largely denuded most of the natural Cedar forests in Lebanon and the surrounding area. King Solomon is said to have imported the fabled cedarwood from Lebanon in biblical times to be used in the building of the temple in Jerusalem. So have the Egyptians and Phoenicians before him, as well as the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders and Ottomans in more recent times. During the first world war, the Turks decimated Lebanese forests, including a good part of the remaining cedars, to provide fuel for their railways in the area. Further damage took place during the chaos of the civil strife in Lebanon between 1975 and 1991. However, the present peace in Lebanon may cause an even greater danger than the war to the remaining cedars of lebanon. These dangers come from the following sources: a- Atmospheric pollution caused by the coastal cement plants in Chekka (which have been expanding their production to help the reconstruction efforts after the war), as well as other industrial air pollution. Although the Chekka cement plants have now been required to install anti-pollution equipment, more stringent regulations against air pollution should be enforced. b- An insect pest that has hit many of the cedars during the last few years, specially the Bsharri cedars. This requires further study and control. c- Lack of proper protection and the consequent trampling and abuse caused by goats and visitors to cedar forests. The present peace has greatly increased the number of tourists, both local and foreign to the cedars, who are now able to venture to areas that were not secure during the war. This endangers the ecological balance in areas where cedars occur. B. OCCURRENCE Despite the foregoing ravages, and the ravages of the past 16 years of chaos in Lebanon, Cedrus Libani still occurs in several ranges of the western slopes of Mount Lebanon between 1400 and 2000 meters above sea level. Some of these forests have been relatively well preserved while others, unfortunately, are still being abused and are in danger of further decimation. The areas in which the remaining cedar forests of Lebanon occur are the following: 1- Chouf Mountains a- Barouk Forest This is probably one of the better preserved cedar forests in the area and occurs on the western slopes of the Barouk mountains. It covers an area of around 100 hectares, with several thousand ancient trees still standing. b- Ain Zhalta Forest Also in the Chouf mountains, this forest covers around 110 hectares. It is relatively well preserved and as a result of this, we have noticed that parts of it have started to regenerate themselves through the natural growth of the new cedar seedlings over the last few years. c- Maasar El-Chouf Forest This is the furthest southern distribution of Cedrus Libani. It covers around 6 hectares and is well preserved. This forest is fenced and guarded by forest rangers who prevent any type of trespassing or activity in its environs, except by special permit. More work is required to protect and extend the Chouf mountain cedars. The best way to do this, in our opinion, is to declare them both national and international wildlife reserves of great significance. 2- North Lebanon Mountains a- Bsharri Although this is the most famous of the ancient cedar forests in Lebanon, it is not very well preserved, with only 375 of the ancient trees still standing. This forest has been recently reopened to visitors and is used as a tourist attraction to the great detriment of the trees themselves. Branches are still being chopped off and used to make souvenirs to sell to tourists, despite representations to the contrary. These cedarwood trinkets can be readily bought off street vendors around the Bsharri cedars. The Friends of the Cedars Committee in Bsharri has done some good work by planting several thousand new cedar seedlings in the last few years, and by trying to investigate the cause of the disease attacking many of the trees. However, these efforts are still inadequate to ensure the continued preservation of this once great forest. This requires closing it up to all visitors, except for special occasions, and putting it under the strict control of experienced and well trained forest rangers. The land of this forest is the property of the Maronite Church. However, a church is situated in the midst of the forest and a main asphalt road passes under some of the ancient trees. This situation is also detrimental for the preservation of this magnificent forest. b- Ehden Forest Also situated in north Lebanon, this forest has a great number of Fir (Abbies spp) and several other species of trees, besides Cedrus Libani. This forest has been recently declared a protected area by the Lebanese government, under law No. 121 of 9 March, 1992, as a result of pressure from several environmental organizations, including SPNL. 3- Other Stands of Cedars These are generally smaller and more scattered occurrences of Cedrus Libani than the above mentioned forests: a- Jeij, in Jubail mountains (central Lebanon). b- Tannourine, in Batroun area of north Lebanon. c- Wadi Jahannam, in Akkar area of north Lebanon. All the above occurrences still need to be properly surveyed in detail to determine their extent and present condition, before any action can be taken to preserve them. C. CONSERVATION SPNL believes that, despite the many dangers still facing the existence of the Cedars of Lebanon, if swift action is taken, the species can still be saved and may flourish again. If we can get these forests to be declared as protected areas and prevent both people and goats from trampling around, together with continuous new plantings of cedars around existing forests, then we may still be able to make them regenerate themselves. Efforts have increased in recent years to preserve and expand the existing cedar forests in Lebanon. Among the most important of these developments are the following: 1- The establishment of a new Ministry of the Environment in Lebanon in 1993, as a result of pressure from many non-government organizations (NGO's), is a good beginning. But it is only a beginning. 2- A new association called the Society for Arz El-Chouf, whose objective is to preserve the cedars of the Chouf mountains, has been established in early 1994 by Minister Walid Junblat. 3- SPNL and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) have proposed, in late 1993, a project to be funded by the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Global Environmental Facility (GEF), in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, to establish a new department of wildlife and protected areas in Lebanon. The objectives of this department will be to safeguard biodiversity and natural ecosystems in Lebanon through the establishment of a system of national parks and protected areas. Three areas have been selected to start this project, namely: a- Barouk Forest b- Ehden Forest c- Palm Island (off the coast of Tripoli) The Ministry of the Environment still has to make a decision and take necessary action to make this project reality. 4- SPNL and the Lebanese government have requested the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO to nominate the main cedar forests of Lebanon as historic sites of international importance. A visit to Lebanon by Mr. Jim Thorsell of WHC was sponsored by SPNL in April 1993 to study this proposal. But we still await further action by The Ministry of the Environment to bring this idea into actuality. 5- In the meantime, SPNL is conducting a campaign to plant new cedar trees. To this end, SPNL welcomes financial contributions for planting cedar trees in various areas where Cedrus Libani already occur in Lebanon. SPNL will plant one cedar tree in your name against a contribution of only 30 U.S. Dollars. Please contact us at the following address for further information: SPNL P.O. Box 11-5665 Beirut, Lebanon Tel.: (01)-343740/342701/344814 Fax : (961-1)-603208 Telex: 20179 SARI LE ******************************************************************************* 14. What are the various Lebanese magazines and newspapers. Some of the newspapers are: Al Hayat (published in London, New York as well as in Beirut)* Al Nahar Al Safeer Al Anwar * addresses of al-hayat: Main office: London KEINSIGTON CENERE, 66 HAMMERSMITH ROAD, LONDON W14 8YT UK tel: 071-6029988 Fax: 071-3714215 071-3714225 Telex: 925746 Administration: tel: 071-6029988 Fax: 071-6024963 Telex: 925751 Distribution: tel: 071-6052122 Fax: 071-6024514 Advertising: Media Force London : tel: 071-6027383 Fax: 071-6025023 Jeddah : tel: 02-6608458 Beirut : tel: 498967 Ryad : tel: 4640352 Washington office: AL HAYAT 1185 National Press Building Washington DC, 20045 USA Tel: 202 783 5544 Fax: 202 783 5525 New York office: AL HAYAT Press Room C-321 United Nation Bldg, New York 10017 USA Tel/Fax: 212 486 0576, 212 963 7619 Some magazines: Al Nahar al Arabi wal Duwali Al Hawadess " Paul Salem, the assistant dean of Arts & Sciences at AUB has set up (I think with the help of his father Elie Salem the ex-foreign minister) the Lebanese Center for Policy Study, which deals with all political, social, and economic aspects of the Lebanese arena with a special emphasis on policy matters. They produce a monthly publication called the Lebanon Report and a quarterly journal (a la Foreign Affairs) called Middle East Review. The office they have in the US is mainly for the circulation of these publications. " They provide the following addresses: The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies Lebanon: Tayyar Center Box 55215, Sin Al-Fil Beirut, Lebanon Tel. 961-1-490561/6 Fax 961-1-490375 USA: P.O. Box 1377 Highland Park, NJ 08904 Phone: 908-220-0885 Fax: 908-937-6697 A very good source of information on economic developments in Lebanon is the Middle East Economic Digest, which is published weekly, in English. To subscribe, send a letter to the following address: P.O. Box 14 Harold Hill Romford Essex RM3 8 EQ U.K. It costs 275 sterlings in the UK, 300 sterlings outside the U.K. No special concessions are offered for students. The AUB Alumni Science Subcommittee publishes a quarterly magazine (Sci-Quest) that is distributed free of charge (in Lebanon--outside Lebanon, you may have to pay a small amount to cover mailing charges). To get on the mailing list, contact: Sci-Quest AUB Alumni Science Subcommittee AUB Alumni Club American University of Beirut P.O. Box 11-0236 Beirut, Lebanon. The Lebanon Report Dicussing every thing of what happened in the last month in Lebanon + Pictures. People who read they found it extremly helpful and very objective. It is written from a neutral point of views and does not belong to any faction. It is centered in Sin-El-feal (east beirut). I highly recommed it to anyhow how is interested. there address is: The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies P.O.Box 1377, Highland Park, NJ, 08904 Tel: 908-220-0885 Fax: 908-937-6697 ******************************************************************************* 15. Where can I find Lebanese magazines and newspapers. In NY/NJ, you can buy it in the World Trade Center, in Penn Station, Newark, NJ, and in Arab shopping areas (see below). In Boston there is the "out of town news" which sells them. It is located Harvard square, right outside the "T" station. It has several newspapers including "al hayat" and "al hawadeth". In Norway, many big libraries have magazines and newspapers relating to the Middle East. In Arabic there is the Ahram or the British based alHayat or Sharq al-Awsat. In Oslo the small Kiosk besides Saga cinema sells magazines and newspapers that relate to the Middle East. The University of Oslo publishes a magazine called Midtosten Forum that takes up issues related to the Middle East. Most articles are in Norwegian, but there are some in English or other Scandinavian languages. To get this magazine write to: Midtosten Forum Tidsskriftredaksjonen 1030 Blindern 0315 Oslo Norway In Montreal, There are the "Maisons de la presses internationales", that have a wide variety of Arabic/Lebanese newspapers and magazines. They have the daily Al-Hayat (printed in NY), Al-Hawadeth, Al-Wasat, Al-Watan Al-Araby, etc. "Les Maisons" have three locations on St-Catherines st. in downtown Montreal. Other downtown Kiosques and arabic food stores, get Al-Hayat and other papers and magazines. A couple of local Lebanese papers are issued in Montreal weekly or bi-weekly, the most important are Al-Mustaqbal and Sawt-Canada. These papers contain news from Lebanon and the middle-east as well as news of the Arab and Lebanese communities in Canada. ******************************************************************************* 16. What has been written by Lebanese and/or about Lebanon ? What follows are titles of books by contemporary Lebanese writers available in English.(They all deal with the war in one aspect or another). Kamal Salibi, "A House of Many Mansions, The History of Lebanon Reconsidered", 1988. Emily Nasrallah, _Flight Against Time_ trans. Issa J. Boullata. Charlettetown, P.E.I.: Ragweed Press, 1987. This is a very touching depiction of an older man's inability to get used to life in Canada, where his children live and where they want him to move because of the outbreak of the war in Lebanon. The old man's attachment to his Lebanese village is conveyed in a simple, direct style, making his predicament that much more poignant. Elias Khoury, _Little Mountain_ trans. Maia Tabet. Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1989. What I find really interesting about this book is its post-modern style. The narrative point view, speaker, time, place, all shift without warning. It is almost as though Khoury is trying to re-create stylistically the disjunctions and disruptions occasioned by the civil war in Lebanon. (his representation of women, however, is rather sexist in my view) Etel Adnan, _Sitt Marie Rose_ Post Apollo Press, 1978. In this work Adnan narrates the experiences of a Maronite woman who falls in love with a Palestinian and is kidnapped by a group of men (her co-religionists among whom is an old school friend of hers. Her experiences are witnessed by her students who are deaf-mutes. This is a very powerful and disturbing book. Etel Adnan, "five senses for one death." The Smith Special Issue 18, 1971. This is a long imagistic poem by Adnan. Jean Said Makdisi, _Beirut Fragments: A War Memoir_ New York: Persea Books, 1990. Makdisi is a Palestinian-Lebanese who describes her experiences in war- torn Beirut. For her those experiences, which she retells in very moving terms, and her determination to stay in Beirut make her a true Beiruti. Her love for Beirut and her agony over what is happening to it are quite clear. Employing different styles (chronicle, descriptive narrative etc.) in different chapters, Makdisi ends her book with a very moving poem. Here's the poem : "Is it possible to hope that from the rubble of war, which at certain times seemed to haved ended civilization, a new form might arise and permit future creativity? There is something of the alpha and omega in this hope, is there not? Zbale garbage surrounds us, everywhere we look, there are piles of rubbish, debris, there is stench and ugliness, we Yield always we yield to the force of things, we are in danger of surrendering to despair, and to the ease of Xenophobia there is always someone else to blame for what has happened to us, it's never our fault, oh no, and meanwhile we are Waiting always waiting, for the others, for the solution, waiting for them to let the water come gurgling into our empty taps, waiting for the walls to crumble Weary of the never ending War we listen, overwhelmed with sorrow and anger to the the empty Words the endless empty rhetoric which has only brought more Violence while the Veneer of fashion glitters like a worthless, forgotten coin in a mound of rubble as it catches the sun. Ugliness surrounds us, the ugliness of a broken city, ugly buildings sprouting up everywhere, ugly streets, whole neighborhoods, the beauty of mountains is destroyed by utilitarian ugliness, and Time weighs heavily on us--our days are long, and we carry History on our backs, an intolerable burden--but History gave us also Tyre and Tripoli and Sidon timeless relics from the past, ancient, beautiful, but Scarred by war and the suffering of Refugees We are a land of refugees, a people of refugees, coming from everywhere, going nowhere. Refugees make beautiful causes, but they are people--their trucks piled high with the pathetic remnants of former lives, mattresses and goats and children and stoves--they have found no Quicksand in which everyone sinks. We are in a Prison of violence and forgotten ideals. Still, Peace will come, and Oppression will end, must end, and Nemesis will come, but not with more Militias certainly not with more fighting men, nor with more Lies the lies told by everyone to preserve the war and to preserve the Knitting together of the unravelling whole. Justice In war there is no Justice, and it is not from War that Justice will come. Jbeil ancient Byblos, and Jounieh with its ancient harbors and stunning bay, emerald mountains dipping into the blue sea and searching into the azure skies, they are in danger of drifting away from us, but someday perhaps there will be Joy and Jubilation when this war ends and the Internecine butchery ends. They say Hope springs eternal and so it does, in spite of the Guns and the Fawda the anarchy which threatens us at every turn, because Earth around us is beautiful: the gray rocks on the sheer cliffs, the shimmering silver leaves of the olive trees, the deep dark green of the ancient cedars, the sweet smell of the pine forests, the oranges dotted like yellow stars in the sparkling groves that lie by the blue seas. Meanwhile, our Days pass, drearily, with explosions shattering the stillness of the nights. Our senses are dulled by the Catastrophe that has been upon us here in Beirut --poor, ugly, stricken Beirut, broken Beirut, unloved city, lost Beirut, like the child in the tale, torn between two mothers, but no Solomon here, no true mother. Beirut pleads to be redeemed, but not by Another Army. ............................ (This poem is more effective as a culmination to Makdisi's memoirs. It is reproduced here without permission.) Hanan Al-Shaykh, -The Story of Zahra_ trans. Peter Ford. New York: Quartet Books, 1986. Zahra is a shia Lebanese living in Beirut during the war (though she also goes to West Africa for a while). I won't give away the plot but only mention that she has a very complex relationship with a sniper. I really liked this book. It deals very frankly with sensitive issues such as sex and politics, and especially with the struggles of women. Other Lebanese writers I like but for whom I have yet to see anything published in English are Ghada el Samman and Layla Baalbakki. Excerpts of their works are available in English in anthologies such as -Opening the Gates_ edited by Margot Badran and Miriam Cooke. Indiana UP, 1990 and _Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak_ edited by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan. Univ. of Texas Press, 1977. There are several other anthologies out as well. The University of Chicago library has an excellent collection of books in Arabic. You might search there for what's available. UC Berkeley also has a very good collection. There is at least one bookstore that I know of in San Francisco called The Arabic Book Center that also supplies books in Arabic as well as English. They will order books for you as well. If you want to read good books by Lebanese writers, Amin Malouf has written "Samarcande", "Leon l'africain", and "Les croisades vues par les Arabes". These books were best sellers in France. (Samarcande in particular is HIGHLY recommended). Amin Maalouf's books have been translated into English. Here are the English titlesof two of them: "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" trans. Jon Rothschild. Schocken Books, New York, 1987. "Leon l'africain" has also been translated. The English title is Leo Africanus. [Begin French] Le dernier roman d'Amin Maalouf s'intitule "Le rocher de Tanios". Ce dernier roman a pris le pris de Gouncourt 1993 [le prix le plus important en France] voici ce que dit le journal francais Le figaro dans son numero de 9 Nov 1993: [debut le figaro] Le FIGARO 9 Nov 1993 [Titre]: "Le Rocher de Tanios": contre tous le fanatismes Par Laurence Vidal Il n'a eu quelques jours pour devenir nerveux. Amin Maaalouf, il y a une semaine encore, n'osait sans doute pas esperer le Goncourt. Depuis fin aout, deja, tout le monde jurait un autre, Marc Lambron, favori des Academiens. Ceux-ci ne dementaient pas. Il a fallu le coup d'eclat des dames du Femina qui, devancant les Dix de trois jours, leur ont rafle leur candidat, pour la place, devenue libre, commence a susciter de nouveaux espoirs. Dans la redistribution des cartes, Amin Maalouf semblait le mieux dote. C'est chose faite. Le Rocher de Tanios (1), Goncourt 1993: un prix merite. Un choix heureux, quels qu'aient ete les aleas coups de theatre et jeux de massacres quil'ont precede. Heureux, d'abord, parce que le romain, cette legende revisitee des annees 1830 au mont Liban, a quoi charmer le public large sans demeriter pour autant aux yeux du lecteur difficile(2). Heureux, ensuite parce qu'est recompense un auteur, un ecrivain, qui, depuis dix ans, eleve inlassablement le double de conteuret de foi d'humaniste andide. Descendant d'une famille qui, depuis le XVIIIe siecle a donne au Liban une vigntaine d'ecrivains, Amin est fils de Ruchdi Maalouf, journaliste et ecrivain lui-meme, enseignant, peintre, poete et grande figure du Beyrouth des annees 40 a 80. Dans le sillage de ce pere aime et respecte qui "revait d'une democratie ideale et a beaucoup souffert de l'echec d'une republique fraternelle", Amin Maalouf aprend tres tot le sens du mot "paix". Ce chretien du Liban eleve par les jesuites a ete facone par la double culture, arabe et francaise, par le gout des lettres et l'esprit e tolerance. Diplome de sociologie et d;economie politique, Amin Maalouf, tres tot, reprend l'un des flambeux paternels et devient journaliste. Il est a Saigon a la fin de la guerre du vietnam. On le retrouve dans l'avion qui ramene en Iran l'ayatollah Khomeini. Quant a la premiere fusillade entre Palstieniens et Phalangistes, qui fitplus de 20 morts et mis le feu aux poudres de Beyrouth, elle eut lieu sous les fenetres de son appartement familail. L'annee suivante Amin Maalouf s'installe a Paris. Et c'est en 1983 que parait son premeir ouvrage: Les croisades vuespar les arabes(3). Une vie passee a jeter un pont entre ses deux meres, l'Orient et l'Occident, vient de comencer. Car cet homme a vecu vignt-sept ans sur une terre dechiree par des conflits a caracteres religieux, cet erudit souriant qui eclare parfois ecrire " parce que j'ai besoin de reflechir sur ma vie, sur mon siecle", n'abandonnera jamais les freres ennemis, qu'ils soient d'ici ou d'ailleurs. C'est 1986, Leaon l'Africain (3), biographie tres romancee de Hassan Al-Wazzan, alias Jean Leon de Medicis, ce musulman ne en Grecnade en 1488, mort en Tunis vers 1555, et entre-temps baptise a Rome par le pape Leon X, dont il fut le conseiller et l'ambassadeur. Portrait d'un homme qui resume en lui, et reconcilie, toutes les contradictions, les dechirements et les affrontements d'une epoque. Place ensuite a Omar Khayyam, poete, astronome et philosophe persan. que l'on retrouve dans Samarcande (4). Une sceptique dans la lignee d'Avicenne, un chantre du Carpe diem qui preferait les femmes et le vin au fanatisme religieux. Puis toujours en quete de figures symboliques, Amin Maalouf s'interesse a Mani. C'est le jardin des lumieres (3) en 1991, ou se revele un prophete qui n'a rien a d'un manicheen au sens ou on l'enetend aujourd'hui, mais qui recommande, au contraire de nourir la lumiere qui se cache en chaque etre et chaque chose; qui prone une foi reconciliee, melange de christianinsme, de boudisme et de zoroastisme(les trois religions dominantes dans la perse des Sassanides). Belle constate d'un ecrivain qui, dans le Premier Siecle apres Beatrice (1), nous depins une humanite du XXIe siecle qi nous ressemble comme une soeur, se dechire, et menace de se detruire. Avec Le Rocher de Tanios, pour la premiere fois, Amin Maaalouf a rompu la distance qu'il avit toujours maintenue vec ses livres. C'est le retour au Liban, a Kfaryabda, village des ancetres, en un siecle ou deja les interets etrangeres soufflent la tempete sous les branches du Cedre. La encore dans ce roman ou plane " toute la subtile et trouble poesie du conte oriental"(2), c'est le refus de se laisser entrainer dans l'enchainement des vengeances qu'il illustre. Dans un monde qui "se bestialise", auand " les citoyens les plus paisibles se transforment soudain en tueurs" parce qu'ils sentent leur communaute menacee, c'est, encore toujours, la proffession d'une foi inderacinable chez cet homme blesse a mort par tous les fanatismes: " Il n'est qu'une valeur immuable: la liberte de la personne humaine". Ainsi parle Amin Maalouf prophete dans le desert, prix Goncourt 1993. (1) Grasset (2) Figaro 17 Sep (3) Latte`s (4) Latte`s, 1988 Prix de maison de presse [fin le figaro] un autre roman c'est "Les jardins de lumiere". Il raconte l'histoire de "Mani", un oriental qui a vecu au 3eme siecle, et fonde une nouvelle religion, le "manicheisme". Son principe de base etait le respect de toutes les religions (Christianisme, Boudhisme, ... l'Islam n'existait pas encore). Apres s'etre repandu un peu partout (de l'Inde jusqu'en Europe, en passant par la Perse, le Moyen Orient, l'Egypte ...) cette religion a disparu vers le 12eme siecle a cause des nombreuses persecutions de la part des autres religions (Christianisme, Islam ...). Bref, le roman est une sorte de biographie imaginaire qui constitue neanmoins une vraie lecon de tolerance et pose beaucoup de questions sur l'interet des religions ... Personnellement, j'ai lu les trois romans d'A.M. : "Leon l'africain", "Samarcande" et "Les jardins de lumiere". Tous les trois sont excellents (a mon avis) mais j'ai eu une legere preference pour "Samarcande". En realite, je pense que ce qui plait aux occidentaux dans les oeuvres de Maalouf c'est son style de "conteur" (Haqawaati), auquel ils sont peu habitues (parfois il va un peu trop loin dans l'invraisemblance des coincidences...) [End French] Robert Fisk,"Pity The Nation - The Abduction of Lebanon", Oxford Paperbacks, 1990, ISBN 0-19-285235-3, approx $16.00 Fisk is an AP correspondent who reported on the war in Lebanon *from* Lebanon since its inception in the mid 70's. A devastating book. 'Required' reading for anyone interested in an unbiased account of the wars in Lebanon. Covers events through the late 80's. Thomas Friedman, "From Beirut to Jerusalem" Jonathan Randall, "Going All The Way" N. Alamuddin Title: Turmoil: Druzes, Lebanon and the arab-israeli conflict Publisher: Quartet books (London) ISBN 07043 7050 6 (hard back) 07043 0189 x (paper back) Price: 14.95 (English pounds), hard back. 9.95 // , paper back. The book has recently been published and it is useful to those interested in the Lebanese politics and the history of Lebanon. For those interested in the affairs of the Arab world, especially, the issue of identity, Xavier de Planbol offers his ideas in a new book in French. The book : Les nations du prophete, manuel geographique de politique Musulmane. Author: Xavier de Planbol. Evelyne Accad : _Sexuality and War : Literary Masks of the Middle East_ New York : New York University Press, c1990 The topics in this book seem to include: Arabic fiction--Lebanon--History and criticism. Arabic fiction--20th century--History and criticism. Lebanese fiction (French)--History and criticism. Sex in literature. Feminism in literature. Violence in literature. Sexual animosity--Lebanon. Sexual animosity--Arab countries. Lebanon--History--Civil War, 1975-1976--Literature and the war. Stefan Wild, Libanesische Ortsnamen, Typologie und Deutung, Beirut 1973. (Lebanese place names: their typoligie and meaning). This books belongs to a series called: Beiruter Texte und Studien, vol. 9 Wild's book is in German :(, yet he has an excellent summary in English. Here is a quotation from the summary: "A very interesting feature [in Lebanese place names] is presented by sound-shifts due to an etymologizing tendency. This phenomenon was called in a recent most illuminating study by Joshua Blau (On Pseudo-Corrections in Some Semitic Languages) 'hyper-correction due to over self assertion'. In correction with Lebanese place-names it means that an Aramaic place-name, when taken over by an arabophone population may be changed in its consonantic and/ or vocalic structure in accordance with an etymologically related Arabic model. We find Sibliin < Aramaic Shibbliin 'ears (of wheat)' an Aramaic plural form, with its initial 'sh' shifted to 's' under the influence of the etymologically related Arabic 'sabal' with the same meaning. Another example is Biskinta < Aramaic bee Shkinta 'house of dwelling', under the influence of the Arabic root 'skn'. The etymology is, of course, not necessarily 'correct' from a linguist's point of view. A name like Nakhli most probably derives from the Aramaic 'naHla' 'valley, waadi'. Since Aramaic 'H' frequently corresponds to to Arabic 'kh', the Arabic word 'nakhl' 'palm-trees' could easily but wrongly be associated with the Aramaic form..." (p.327) "It is reasonably plausible to suggest that similar developments took place when the Canaanite-speaking population gave way to Aramaic speakers, and even before, when pre-Canaanite (pre-Semitic?) place-names were molded into Canaanite. BUt our data are insufficient to quote examples." (pp.327, 328) "The great majority of place names in Lebanon, in fact about two thirds, is now Arabic. The rest are chiefly Aramaic, some Canaanite (not more than 2%) and a sprinkling of Greek names like Traablus < Tripolis, Turkish names like Qashlaq < Kishlaa 'winter quarters', and French like Bois de Boulogne...." "This clear cut division [of place names into Arabic, Aramaic etc.] is, however, misleading. A large number of names must have shifted morphologically from Canaanite to Aramaic and/or from Aramaic to Arabic. This is demonstrable in cases like 'Jbail'. This name sounds now like a purely Arabic toponym, a very common 'f@ail'-diminutive of 'jabal' 'mountain'. We happen to know, however that the same place is attested as 'ku-ub-la' in Sumerian texts of the third millennium BC., a time when it is impossible to think of an Arabic origin. While the original meaning of the name is unknown, the structure makes it highly probable that it was a Semitic name, and we may be justified in calling it Early Canaanite. If we did not know the pre-Arabic evidence, and this is the point, we should be obliged to interpret 'Jbail' as a quite recent purely Arabic name. The only was to prove that an existing Arabic-looking and -sounding name is in reality pre-Arabic, is of course to find an attested pre-Arabic form. As the majority of Lebanese place-names which can be attested at all before the 20th. century, are to be found at best in late medieval sources, a pre-Arabic origin can normally be suspected [as Frayha does], rarely proved. There is however one further piece of circumstantial evidence indicating that the shift of place-names must have frequently. We may safely assume that the general ecological conditions determining, why names were given to places remained fairly stable from Canaanite times up to the beginning of industrialization in the 20th. century. We are therefore justified in assuming that the proportion of compound place-names like '@ain'... 'spring of' or 'bait'... house of' was in early times as great as it is now. The most important of the appelatives used to form place names are the same in Canaanite, Aramaic and Arabic: @ain, @ainaa, @ayin 'source'; bait, baitaa, bayit 'house'; karam, karmaa, kerem 'vineyard'; tall, tellaa, tel 'hill'; and many others. The close structural and etymological relation between place-names the three languages involved has made the transformation of place-names very easy, and conversely often renders distinction between place-names of Canaanite, Aramaic and Arabic origin very difficult. The place-names which have preserved their Canaanite or Aramaic character are the exception rather than the rule." (pp. 328, 329) "... Place names show the Lebanon as a resort of te pious, where Canaanite gods, Christian saints and Muslim sheikhs mingle. Valleys and rivers, springs and forests, peaks and mountain stamp the life of the people. Place-names, the linguistically petrified remnants of cultural history, preserve the memory of the cedar, where there are no more cedars, and recall roaming wolves and bears where is today no more than the occasional fox. Generations of hunters and farmers, shepherds and hermits have left their unmistakable imprint on Lebanese toponomy. At a time where, in the Syrian desert, the Bedouin are beginning to use place-names like ij-jfuur (the pump-station H4), and the industrial age in Lebanon is dawning, the spectrum of Lebanese place-names shows us an enthralling and extraordinary vivid picture of yesterday." (p. 330) Here is a review that recently appeared in TIME magazine of Ziad Rahbani's latest play: >From TIME Magazine (May 31, 1993) SIGHTINGS by Emily Mitchell (p.61) THEATER Lebanon You Gotta Have Wasta "Of Dignity and Stubborn Folk" Written and Directed by Ziad Rahbani ACT I: BEIRUT, 1998. Syrian and Israeli troops have withdrawn from Lebanon, and the country can determine its own fate. But greed is ascendant, and mayhem is at hand. In kaleidoscopic scenes, belly dancers alternate with news flashes and fake TV commercials, while people boast of their "wasta" (connections). When an old Armenian is electrocuted trying to repair a generator that is the only power source, an announcement is made: " He was the last Armenian in Lebanon - nothing technical will work again . " ACT II: BEIRUT, 2003. Though the country is in its death throes, sectarianism has not expired. Animals join the few surviving Lebanese, and an orangutan wants to vote. "What is your religion?" the humans demand. Cannibals garbed in animal skin- and holding walkie-talkies - proclaim a new credo:" We only eat our friends." In this bleak, gallows-humor play, Ziad Rahbani parodies Lebanese society and evokes the pessimism of Orwell's 1984. The daily "Hayat" notes that "Rahbani is like those animals that feel the earthquake before it happens." "Of Dignity and Stubborn Folk" is selling out in Beirut's 620-seat Piccadilly Theater, and audiences sense that the tremors may already have begun. There is Charles Glass's book "tribes with flags", an account of his travels from Iskandaron to lebanon (i.e. until he was kidnapped). ISBN 0-87113-457-8 there is one part of the book that you might enjoy, a brief description of the Levant. (note: Levant are the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean) "The battlefields were also vineyards, and fruit trees sprouted from ancient graves. Where men had drawn swords, hurled spears and fired automatic rifles, children played. Rivers that armies had forged in the night to surround an enemy provided family picnic sites. The sea in which navies displayed their cannon was beautiful to look at and cool to swim in. With what little there was from the land and sea, the people made their lives rich and lavish. The divisions that were a source of conflict also gave wealth...In a small area, there seems to be the sights, sounds and smells of all the world" another interesting quote "A man may find Naples or Palermo merely pretty but the deeper violet, the splendor and desolation of the Levant waters is something that drives into the soul." James Elroy Flecker (British poet) Beirut, October 1914 Another book is titled "The Struggle Over Lebanon" by Tabitha Petran. It was published in 1987 by Monthly Review Press (New York). The book is a well-written analysis of the making of modern Lebanon and chronicles the war years. The analysis is particularly rich in identifying the roles and actions of external actors and does a superb job linking these outside interests with the local leadership that allied itself to them. The back cover holds strong recommendations for the book by three authorities on the area. They are Rachid Khalidi, Edward Said, and Noam Chomsky. Said calls it "an astonishing chronicle...a powerful and magisterial narrative dense with human dram and political insight." Petran is unique among westerners that have written about Lebanon in that she was not an "in and out quick" journalist. Unlike so many who wrote about the Lebanese war, she did not visit the country for a few weeks, squeeze in a dozen interviews and then provide western audiences with a shallow tale of how horrible life was at the Commodore hotel. Petran lived in Lebanon from 1962 till 1986. She had a clear view of the pre-war conditions and of the modern history of the country. She lived through the crucial Lebanese history years of 1967-1975. Her book is rich with deep analysis and a wealth of historical facts. Of the 383 pages of text, she allocates over a hundred pages to a wonderfully succinct summary of Lebanon's modern history. The rest of the book covers the 1975-1986 period. There are 30 pages of notes that would particularly useful for interested scholars. ******************************************************************************* 17. Where can I find works written by Lebanese and /or on Lebanon ? Check your local or University Library, most of the books listed above can be obtained in major bookstores or on special order from your local bookstore. You can also see : Saqi Books 26 Westbourne Grove London W2 5RH vox 071 221 9347 fax 071 229 7492 They are bound to have it. They are specialists in Arabic language and Levantine books. also you can try the following two that are on line : Quantum Books, Cambridge MA phone: 617-494-5042 fax: 617-577-7282 email: quanbook@world.std.com mail list: quanlist@world.std.com Computer Literacy Bookshops, Inc. PO Box 641897, San Jose, CA 95164-1897 phone: 408-435-5017 fax: 408-435-0895 email orders: orders@clbooks.com order problems: service@clbooks.com other into: info@clbooks.com There is a company in Watertown, Massachusetts (USA) called "Beit Al-Fikr" that sells a large collection of Arabic books, Arabic Compact Discs, Arabic Calligraphy, Posters, Postcards at very reasonable prices. If you are interested in getting catalogs of their products you can contact the company at the following address: Beit Al-Fikr Booksellers P.O.Box 426 Watertown , MA 02172 U.S.A. If you have any specific questions or comments you can send mail to: jadi@world.std.com ******************************************************************************* 18. Are there Arabic word processors ? Bassem Medawar has compiled a large FAQ on the subject of Arabic on computers. It is very comprehensive and is available on the SoL archive in borg.poly.edu in /pub/reader/text/faq2 (notice the 2 in faq2) There is Arab TeX. A message was posted about it on scl and Leb-Net some time ago. It is public domain, based on TeX which is also public domain. TeX is NOT user friendly -as compared to the Macs. ArabTeX 3.00 is available by anonymous ftp from ftp.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de The directory is /pub/arabtex, the "README" file gives details. The identical package is also available from the CTAN server network: Aston (ftp.tex.ac.uk, /pub/archive/languages/arabtex/), Huntsville (ftp.shsu.edu, /tex-archive/languages/arabtex/), Stuttgart (ftp.uni-stuttgart.de, /pub/tex/languages/arabtex/) A new public domain release of my X-Windows based text editor for arabic and any other Right-to-left language was recently announced. The system was designed with flexibility in mind and ease of configuration. Any one can configure the keyboard and font mapping to suit their language and the keyboard they are used to. The system can also be instructed to generate TeX files suitable for the language in question. The System was tested on ArabTeX with satisfactory results. The README file provides more information. The archive containing all the source code needed is available from: ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk /pub/incoming/xaw.tar.Z borg.poly.edu /in.coming/xaw.tar.Z (it was not possible to find xaw.tar.Z on the two server mentioned above, maybe the best way is to get in contact with the author directly) If you have any problems or queries and suggestions please contact: A M Shihab There are Arabic word processors. But the solutions are a little more complicated than we would want them. There is one program which runs on any Mac operating system, i.e. any language. I produces text that can directly be pasted into other word processors. This program is called AlKatib, but is very old and has very many restrictions. Don't expect much from it. Otherwise the way to go is to use the Mac's Arabic Operating system (AOS). This system is designed to work with any program. Yet again this is not completely true. Most programs that are worth their price, are not compatible with AOS. Only very primitive programs that uses the editor routines of the operating system correctly and are very limited in their features. There are however a few programs that work correctly with AOS. There are the products of a company called WinSoft (based in France?). They have a word processor, WinText and a database WinFile. I use the word processor and am sort of satisfied. It is not very expensive either. On the other hand, there is an Arabic (and a Hebrew) version of Nisus. I have not used it, but some colleagues who did are satisfied. I am not sure of the price. For those who need a useful and cheap database, you could opt for FileMaker Pro. It is not completely compatible with the AOS (you can not search Arabic text) but is useful and quite efficient. Another program that I used earlier was SuperPaint 1.xx. It is a paint/draw program which is compatible with AOS. For those interested in Islamic studies, there is also Qoranic software. The Alim is an "Islamic Study Toolkit". It offers the entire text of: - The Qur'an in Arabic - Transliteration of the Qur'an - Yusuf `Ali's translation - Yusuf `Ali's commentary - M. Pickthall's translation - All nine volumes of Sahih Bukhary - Islamic Subjects Database - Maududi Sura information - Chronological History of Islam - Biographies of Companions - Islamic terms dictionary The Alim runs a clean and powerful text based windowing system. Several windows can be run at once. It also has a powerful pattern searching feature. The databases are cross-referenced. Separate modules can be purchased, they include Sahih Muslim, Tirmizy, Al-Muwatta and Assad's translation among other volumes. The standard package has an introductory price of $99.00 and costs $149.95 in retail. Macintosh, Windows, OS/2 and OSF/Motif support is expected in the first quarter of 1993. I saw the package and it is EXCELLENT. It is certainly worth the price. If were to buy the books in paper form it would cost more than $100, plus you would not be able to cross reference or search. The current version is distributed on 7 high density DOS disks and when decompressed takes 15Mb on a Hard Disk. You need at least 1.5Mb on your Hard Disk to run the Software and you can decompress the components you need. You also need EGA graphics or better. It also runs on a Macintosh with Soft-AT. The Software was developed over six years by a two person company called ADVENT (800-397-5561). It is distributed by IQRA Bookcenter: 800-521-ICRA or 312-274-2665. For users of Wordperfect, there is an Arabic module that can be added to Wordperfect. The module enables one to write in English and Arabic. It's extremely user friendly! The regular price is expensive but the educational price is about $135 (with student or faculty id). However that you need to have/buy the standard version of Wordperfect in order for the module to run. So it's great for those who already use Wordperfect, but it may be too expensive for those who don't since they would need to buy both the standard version and the Arabic module. Recently Arabic text editors for the Mac have undergone some major upgrades, here is a critique of threeMac Arabic text editors that have recently been published. These are: Tex-Edit, MuEdit and Style. The problem with using Arabic on the Mac is that, while the Arabic system itself is free and available, you can't use your standard word processor properly with Arabic, and the Arabic-compatible programs like WinText and Nisus Int. are expensive and always copy protected. The only alternative has been to use small and fairly primitive "text editors", program-lets that allows you to type text, but not very much more; not very useful. However, recently some new text editors have appeared that makes this option more attractive. How do they handle Arabic? I have looked at three of these new text editors, Tex-Edit, mu-Edit (formerly Quill), and Style, to check how useful they are for the Arabist Mac user. These are some brief remarks, based mainly on typing, editing and printing a couple of pages in each. A general remark first: These are still text editors. That means in particular that they are limited in size, you can only write up to 32K (about 10 pages) per document; any they may slow down when you approach this limit. They do not have things like footnotes, style sheets, and formatting beyond what is explicitly stated; none of them have rulers. But they are free. Evaluation: Tex-Edit A capable text editor. Has standard text styles like bold, italics, outline, shadow, condensed and extended, as well as color. You can freely choose font and size and mix several in a document. All these three allow multiple documents to be open at the same time. Tex-Edit has find/replace, with functions for finding returns, tabs, linefeeds, whole word only, match case, and Replace all. Like Word, if you select a word by doubleclicking, it will include the space after the word. Useful detail. Triple-clicking selects a sentence. It can strip unwanted control characters, and can paste time & day and page number. It does not have a ruler, but when printing will ask for margin sizes and may include page numbers. This does not work properly, however, if you try change the margins on a document about a page or two, the program hangs, and then crashes on command-period. You can justify left, right and center, but this will relate to the whole document. Works under system 6.0.3 and newer, and with Macintalk will read out typed text for you. (The name, incidentally, seems to refer to Texas, not TeX.) Handling of Arabic: Text entry and editing is acceptable, with a caveat below. There are however some cursor problems with line breaks. Sometimes when it should position the cursor at the beginning of a line, it is put at the end instead. Eg: Moving back one step from the beginning of line 4 to puts the cursor at the beginning of line 3; and typing will put new text before the text in line 3. You can set the justification to right-oriented, but this is not saved and has to redone every time you open the document. All these three editors link fonts and script, thus changing script also automatically switches to the previously used font in that script. Find/replace works with Arabic, but the dialog box shows only Chicago, i.e. Roman characters (like Word would). However, what is inserted into the text appears in the correct font. Positive: You can set the default font to an Arabic one, like Geeza 12. The editor will then start up with the Arabic script active. Negative: Actually, you have to do this. If the default font is a Roman one, cutting and pasting will not work correctly. On pasting in the middle of an Arabic block, the default will switch to Roman, and the Arabic block will be split; the first part coming the left of the last. This can be repaired, but is a nuisance. Also, if you write an English text, Arabic is still default, so if you click somewhere in the English text, the script often (not always) reverts to Arabic. MuEdit MuEdit appears to be designed for Arabic, thus it has a menu option for "Orient left to right" and "Orient right to left". Generally, it has capabilities similar to Tex-Edit: Multiple fonts and styles in a document; multiple windows, text styles include extended and condensed; find & replace. It has "find previous", but only options for whole word and case sensitive searches. It allows changing case, has a word count, and can strip/add linefeed and carriage returns, but not as Tex-Edit, all control characters. Like T., it has color, but not "smart quotes". Print margins are set in the Page Setup dialog box. It works under System 7 only. Interestingly, cut and paste between these two editors work better than between standard word processors: Script, font and size information is remembered from one to the other. Both read each other's files; Tex-Edit can read font and style (but not justification) of a MuEdit document; MuEdit can only read the text of the Tex-Edit. Handling of Arabic: Typing and editing Arabic text is unproblematic. Selection, cutting and pasting work as they should. Justification does not automatically follow script, but both are saved with the document. It has a couple of bugs, though: -- When you open Mu-Edit by double-clicking on a file, the line breaks do not appear properly. However, if you open MuEdit first and then the document, they appear as they should. There is an option for "word wrap", what happens is probably that it is improperly set "off" when you open document and program together. -- Find-replace does not work properly: It finds the Arabic, but the "replace" string is inserted in Roman, i.e. as garbage characters; breaking the line in two and reversing their order, in spite of the Right-Left general orientation. Instead, you have to copy the correct text, and then use Find-Paste instead. -- Another peculiar bug when I use MuEdit with other text editors: If right-left orientation is chosen in the MuEdit window; and I switch directly to another editor, the text window there appears (incorrectly) right-adjusted. Only by switching through the Finder is this corrected, and the editor's window redrawn. This happens when I switch both to Tex-Edit and to Eudora, but not to Word. Either it is problem in MuEdit, or in the Arabic resources themselves. Style: Style, an Italian offering, is the least capable of the three, and is not really adapted for writing Arabic. It has the standard styles, and Find/Replace, but no options for setting page width in printing. More seriously, the word wrap does not break at the edge of the window, but at a predefined length that seems to be calculated from a 13 or 14" monitor. Thus, on my SE/30, I cannot see a full line, and I have to scroll horizontally manually in order to see what I am writing. This is clearly not acceptable. You can, however, mix styles and fonts in a document. Style does not save in TEXT format, as the two others do, but has an XTND file, so you can use it with MacWrite and other XNTD-programs. In version b.3, the Open command did not work, perhaps due to a conflict with Super Boomerang. In handling Arabic, another problem is that you cannot set justification; it is stuck on left-adjusted. Thus you are always writing 'backwards', as it were, and printing will also be left-adjusted. Also, I have been unable to add anything at the end of a line. The cursor will then, whatever I do, place the correction at the beginning of the line. Further, the cursor moves incorrectly. The left-arrow keys moves the cursor forward, as it should, but at the end of the line, it jumps up to the previous, rather than down (and vice versa for the right-arrow key). I.e., as in Roman text. Although Style handles Arabic text entry and editing, it is thus not useful for Arabic; and hardly for for European languages, at least if you don't have a 12"+ monitor. Summary I will not recommend Style in its current version. The two others are, however, very useful contributions, although both have some drawbacks. Each has a bug; Tex-Edit the incorrect placement of the cursor at the beginning of the line; MuEdit defaulting to no word wrap when you open the program with a document. You can live with both, however. Tex-Edit can be set to Arabic as standard script, so you can open it and just start typing Arabic. MuEdit has an orient right->left option that makes it apt for Arabic, and which is saved with the document (unlike Tex-Edit's justification). As it currently stands, I have problems choosing between them. If you use System 6, you have to choose Tex-Edit, as MuEdit requires System 7. Otherwise, the printing bug in Tex-Edit, if it is general and not just on my machine, would tip the scales against it; I do not fancy being stuck with a half-inch margin. On the other hand, the Find-Replace bug in MuEdit is serious, but can be circumvented using Paste instead of Replace. Thus, with the faults I have found to date, I would choose MuEdit; but both are very useful, and to be recommended. If you want to include Arabic in a major work, like a book, you must still buy a commercial Arabic-compatible word processor. But for simple things, these editors are now almost as capable as the standard word processors; and they are free. Versions tested: Tex-Edit 1.8.1 (8 April 1993). Freeware. Recommended memory: 390K MuEdit 1.0d0 (9 May 1993, formerly Quill) Freeware. Recommended memory: 360K Style 1.1b3 (US) (5 April 1993). Freeware. Recommended memory: 256K Tested on a Mac SE/30, 8 MB. All are on Sumex, in /info-mac/app. ******************************************************************************* 19. Is there a standard Arabic alphabet representation in Latin ? The standard is called cat (for Classical Arabic Transliteration) and is the work of Bassem Medawar. The file can be retrieved from the SoL archive by anonymous ftp to borg.poly.edu in pub/reader/text/translit/cat ******************************************************************************* end of part1/2 -- ______________________________________________________________________________ Alaa DAKROUB E-mail : dakroub@eurecom.fr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------