+961

A Lebanese Blog

Month: July 2013

  • Giveaway – Weekend stay for two at Pinea Campus

    Pinea Campus (5)

    Pinea Campus is one of the few campsites I know about in Lebanon. The place is located in Haitoura, Jezzine and spreads on a 3,000 sqm land that is surrounded by a large stone pines forest.

    Pinea Campus can currently accommodate more than 50 campers throughout the summers in high quality waterproof tents that can fit 2 to 8 people each, which is pretty suitable in my opinions for couples, families and even group of friends. The amenities also include camping mattresses, covers and pillows, toilets, and showers.

    Pinea Campus (3) Pinea Campus (2)

    Aside from camping, several outdoor activities are available such as ATV rides, trap shooting (tiro), biking, and hiking. Moreover, you can enjoy a BBQ for lunch every Sunday.

    For more information about the tent rental and activities fees, make sure to check their website here. (Specifically the “Camping” and “Activities” pages)

    Pinea Campus (4)

    Now if you’re already tempted to spend a weekend getaway there, the great people at Pinea Campus are offering a camping stay for two including the tent rental and breakfast for free. To get it, just leave a comment on this post and I’ll be randomly choosing a winner by Thursday night.

    Update:

    Youmna, you’ve got mail. 🙂 Mabrouk!

  • Here’s what Waterfront City will look like

    It seems like a second Solidere to me, minus the controversy that surrounded the expropriation phase in the early 90s.

    I guess the biggest challenge that will face the developers is most probably trying to convince zouzou ebba drivers to show off their skills somewhere else than the marina!

  • Lebanese guy creates a fake movie trailer to propose to his girl

    The idea is cool and the video is well executed, but it would have been really nice if it was mentioned in the credits that the whole thing was inspired copied from this video.

    Video via Gino Raidy, and thanks to Ghida Arnaout for pointing out the similarity with the other video.

    Update:

    A reference to the original video is now mentioned in the caption here.

  • Ramadan Kareem

    Wishing you and your families a blessed Ramadan!

    Ramadan_Kareem

    Photos via patheos.com

  • Shake Shack opening in ABC Achrafieh

    I was at ABC Achrafieh yesterday and noticed Shake Shack will be opening there instead of Bob’s Easy Diner.

    As you all know, Shake Shack is also set to open at Beirut City Centre and I heard it’ll be soon during this month, but I hope someone from Al-Shaya can let us know about the exact opening dates for both locations.

    Shake Shack ABC

  • Lebanon’s first beauty queens

    I was surprised to find these old photos of Miss Lebanon 1930 Leila Zoghbi as I never knew Lebanon had any beauty queens prior to the sixties!

    Miss Lebanon 1930 Leila Zoghbi 1

    Miss Lebanon 1930 Leila Zoghbi

    Upon searching further, I also found we had two other beauty queens from 1935, Samia Baroudi, and 1955, Hanya Beydoun. But while there was no photos of Samia Baroudi, I found a couple of photos for Hanya Beydoun from Miss Universe in Long Beach, California.

    The first photo shows her standing next to Miss Israel back then, and in the second photo wearing Lebanese traditional clothing (first to the right).

    Hanya Beydoun

    Hanya Beydoun 1

    Photos via @ghachaa, Bid Start, Paraíso de Reinas, and Glamour Argentino

     

  • touch now allows in-app payments

    Touch Logo_managed by Zain

    Late last month, touch enabled in-app payments that allow users to purchase items or upgrades from inside the apps they are using for a fee that either gets added to the monthly bill for postpaid lines, or deducted from the available balance for prepaid customers, and therefore no credit cards are used in the process.

    I believe this is definitely great news to people who have no credit cards or simply prefer not to use them online, as well as developers who can now monetize their ideas by gaining access to a huge customer base.

    The first application to adopt this service was Anghami by the way, which offers unlimited access to millions of songs for $5/month. So if you are an Anghami user, you can now upgrade your account and the subscription fee will be added to your bill.

    If you’re a developer and interested in using the in-app payment, then you should probably know that touch currently keeps 30% of your revenue for themselves in exchange for using the service. For any additional information, you may contact them through their website.

  • Mashrou’ Leila crowd-funding their third album Raasuk

    I love Mashrou’ Leila. Even though I sometimes find it hard to understand the lyrics coming out of Hamed’s mouth but I just love their music.

    Mashrou’ Leila are now about to release their third album titled “Raasuk”, but they’re not willing to sign a contract with any of the existing production companies in order not to make any compromises over their music, so they’re seeking help from their fans in order to raise at least $66,000 to design beautiful album art, print CDs, posters, flyers, make quality video clips, and play concerts with quality sound systems.

    If you feel like helping them out, head over to Zoomaal and donate whatever amount you want. For any contribution above $5, you will earn a reward from the band ranging from a public thank you on their website to a private concert party on Skype and a dinner cooked by themselves.

  • Gebran Bassil fail

    Gebran Bassil fail

    Reminds me of Nicolas Sarkozy.

  • Minister Hassan Diab: A clear case of megalomania

    Looks like minister Hassan Diab felt a bit jealous from Gebran Bassil and decided to create his own book to enlist his “achievements” at the ministry over the past two years. But this time, it isn’t a comic book, it actually a giant one with over 1000 pages! That’s like two pages for every day he spent at the ministry.

    Now I feel like releasing a book too, because I didn’t make any notable achievement over the past two years as well!