By Katherine Zoepf,  At Element, the young crowd sits in oversized red plush armchairs, dines on Thai beef carpaccio and dances under swirling confetti lights. At the wildly Crystal, where the specialty is champagne and visiting Saudis are said to gather, Porsches and Bentleys crowd the curbs outside. At M-Box, bar-top dancing is something of a competitive sport: Would-be customers stand in a steel shower-stall-like foyer to be carefully appraised for acceptability, and T-shirt wearers can forget about getting in.

BEIRUT (AFP) - Glassblower Hussein Khalifeh is one of the last guardians of the age-old skills that produce Lebanon's rich oriental cultural heritage, and his know-how is threatened by cheaper foreign products and the lack of state subsidies.  And he is not alone. His ordeal is shared by the last remaining local craftsmen struggling to keep their dying trades alive and pass on their skills in weaving, embroidery, copper engraving, pottery, mosaics and ceramics. "People are closing down. Their children are either attracted by more steady jobs or are emigrating," said Khalifeh, who runs a family business in the sleepy southern coastal town of Sarafand.

                                                     هـالة غيـاب ” سلطانة “ يا سليلة أشرف الحسب والنسب ، يا مثال الخلق والأخلاق ويا صاحبة القول والفعل . يا …

By Cheikh Walid el Khazen   ” published on april 25th, 2003 (an-nahar newspaper), Cheikh Walid el Khazen “Ilj Al Gharb  الشاعر القَرَوي …