By Fatima Al Mahmoud -- thenationalnews.com -- Lebanon’s economic crisis may have put a cap on people’s foreign-currency deposits, but not their creativity. Lbnb, Lebanon's answer to Airbnb, was created by hospitality designer and architect Nagi El Husseini, 43, to salvage the hard-hit services sector. While the online platform looks a lot like the international equivalent, it charges in Lebanese pounds and serves as a marketplace for homestays, holiday rentals and tourism.

Lbnb's Lebanese pound denomination gets around the limits on foreign currency cash withdrawals and online spending imposed by Lebanese banks. The restrictions came into effect in the summer of 2019 as Lebanon's economic crisis began – the value of the Lebanese pound lost more than 80 per cent of its value in a matter of weeks, banks halted withdrawals and limited spending in foreign currencies. US dollars – once used in tandem with the pound – became scarce as the country’s foreign reserves dried up. “Because of the financial crisis, people could not use Airbnb anymore,” Mr El Husseini told The National. “So we created a Lebanese Airbnb where everything is in Lebanese.” The goal, Mr El Husseini said, is to encourage property owners who have spare rooms or houses to put them up for rent and earn a side income. The platform also aims to promote local travel in major Lebanese cities and offbeat villages. “Our motto is travel local, pay local,” he said. “We’re not competing with Airbnb. We’re complementing it and trying to fill the gaps in the market.”

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

لم تَنتظر إيران الاتّصالَ بين رئيسِها الجديد إبراهيم رئيسي والرئيس إيمانويل ماكرون، لتُدركَ مدى حَظْوَتِـها لدى فرنسا. منذ العهودِ الملكيّةِ والحَمَلاتِ الصَليبيّة، وبلادُ فارس جُزءٌ من الذاكرةِ التاريخيّةِ الفرنسيّة. الملِكُ لويس الرابع عشر استقبلَ في 19 شباط 1715 سفيرَ السلطان حسين صَفَويّ في قصر ڤرساي. فلاسفةٌ ورحّالةٌ وأدباءُ وشعراءُ فرنسيّون كتبوا بإعجابٍ عن تلك البلادِ التي "لا تَنتشرُ في مروجِها سوى الورود" (ديدْرو)، و"بَلاطُ سلطانِها يَفوحُ عظمةً أكثرَ من البابِ العالي العثماني" (ڤولتير).

وإذا كان الفرنسيّون انتظروا حَملةَ بونابرت إلى مِصر سنةَ 1798 ليُبالوا مباشرةً بالتراثِ المصري، فاكتِراثُهم ببلادِ فارس تنامى منذ القرنِ السادسَ عَشَرَ، وتعَزَّزَ في القرونِ التالية، لاسيّما في عصرِ الأنوارِ مع ڤولتير ومونتسكيو وديدْرو وشاردان وغالان، إلخ... لكنَّ السياسةَ لم تواكِبْ المسارَ الأدبيَّ، ففرنسا كانت مرتبِطةً باتّفاقاتٍ وامتيازاتٍ مع العثمانيّين، من بينِها الحقُّ في حمايةِ مسيحيّي الشرق. ولـمّا أقدَم الملِكُ لويس الثالثَ عَشَر نحو سنةِ 1640على عقدِ اتفاقاتٍ تجاريّةٍ مع الشاه عباس الصَفَويّ وضَمّنَها حقَّ حمايةِ مسيحيّي بلادِ فارس، أفْشلَها العثمانيّون.

كَوّنَ المجتمعُ الفرنسيُّ، السياسيُّ والنخبويُّ، هذه الصورةَ شِبهَ الرومانسيّة لأنه تَعرّف على بلادِ فارس من خلال الأدباءِ والرحَّالةِ الّذين كتبوا عن أُبَّـهةِ سلاطينِها وانفتاحِ شعبِها، عن قِبابِ جوامِعها الزرقاءِ والسمراء، عن البذخِ والليالي الصباحيّة، عن قِصصِ "ألفِ ليلةٍ وليلة"، عن شِهْرَذاد وشَهْرِيار. حتى أنَّ ممثّلِي فرنسا وتوسكانا حاولوا إقناعَ أميرِ جبلِ لبنان، فخرالدين المعني الثاني، بالتحالفِ مع الفرس سنتَي 1607 و1634، فتَحفّظَ خَشيةَ إثارةِ العثمانيّين الّذين وسّعُوا سُلطةَ المعنـيِّين مِن أعالي الشُوفِ حتّى صيدا ومُحيطِها الجَنوبيّ لمُراقَبةِ صَفَوِيِّي البِقاع الشَّماليّ وشِيعةِ بَني عامل في الجَنوب ومَنعِ اتصالِـهم بإيران.

ظلّت صورةُ بلادِ فارس جميلةً في مخيّلةِ الفرنسيّين إلى أن راحَ المؤرِّخون والباحِثون يَتناولون الوجهَ العسكريَّ والدمويَّ للإمبراطوريّاتِ الفارسيّةِ واضْطِهادَهم مسيحيّي جورجيا والأرمن، واجتياحَهم أفغانستان وشعوبًا أخرى في آسيا الوسطى. رغم ذلك، ظلَّ الفرنسيّون يتمايَلون بين بلادِ فارس الحضارةِ والآداب، وبلادِ فارس الحربِ والعنف. لم تَحسِمْ فرنسا خِيارَها النهائيَّ حتّى بعد انتصارِ الثورةِ الخمينيّة سنةَ 1979 لأنّ هناكَ بلادَ فارس أخرى هي آبارُ النَّفطِ والمشاريعُ الكبرى والأسواقُ التجاريّةُ الواسعة.

Egypt’s petroleum minister said today he hoped to export Egyptian gas as soon as possible to Jordan to generate power that will …

Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat A new book by Journalist Abdul-Sattar Ellaz, to be published soon by Dar Riyad Al-Rayes for Books and Publishing, recounts the details of the difficult period during which Tammam Salam assumed the premiership of the Lebanese government - the last under the tenure of President Michel Suleiman and which continued during the presidential vacuum that lasted two and a half years before the election of President Michel Aoun. The book narrates the main obstacles that Salam faced during his tenure, during which he spent more than ten months seeking to form a government of “national interest,” and two years and ten months leading a government that assumed the responsibilities of the presidency with the failure to elect a new president. Asharq Al-Awsat publishes excerpts from one of the book’s chapters entitled, “When We Make Our Brothers Enemies”, which touched on the difficulties that Salam’s government faced in the relations with Arab countries, due to Hezbollah’s role and its interference in the internal affairs of Gulf states, in addition to the positions of then-Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, which were biased towards Iran.

Salam talks to journalist Ellaz about the difficulties he faced due to these interventions, and the negative role played by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement. He says: “I am from a school that considers politics to be a noble act that has its moral obligations, such as integrity, transparency, and clean hands that must precede other requirements related to knowledge, experience, and administrative competence. I believe that the maneuvers, alliances, and deceptions that political action may involve must stop when they reach the level of harming the higher national interest.” He continues: “Despite my knowledge of the corridors of Lebanese politics, which I accumulated over the years of experience in public work, I was shocked by the performance of these forces that surpassed all national ceilings and proscriptions for the sake of partisan interests.” Asked by the journalist about more details, Salam says: “The Aounists in particular crossed all boundaries and used all means to reach their political goal that is General Michel Aoun assuming the presidency; even if this led to obstructing the state affairs at the expense of the citizens’ interests.”