Nostalgia & Window to our Souls

I left Lebanon during very hard times on a ship bound to Cyprus. I took a photo of the bay of Jounieh and Harisa as the sun was setting behind me, leaving me with the last precious glimpse of homeland. I've not been back for many years and the separation made the distance of place and time even deeper than they actual were. Leaving on a sad note was trying and painful.

As time passed and the world of communication changed, the Internet age came and access to information grew rapidly. There was hardly a mention of Lebanon on the web but soon email began to open the thick expanse of time and the vastness of distance. It was not long before I was able to be in touch with family and friends in Lebanon through email or chat. Thereafter, the Lebanese, as usual were among the first in that part of the world to develop websites and publish pictures, information and works of art.

Websites like this one, Discover Lebanon, made it possible for me to know how the mother country changed and what remained the same. While modernization and development changed the face of Beirut, many parts of country remained abandoned. Yet, through the eye of the photographs who took photos and published them on a site like this, I was able to see what I had longed to see.

On the other hand, other sites that focus on the arts, provided me with an opportunity to see the images that I had long dreamed of seeing or even heard about but never saw in person. The works of artists and the scenes from every day life brought back faded memories that time forgot. I can never forget the images of having dinner on the balcony, outside in summer in the village, the farmer plowing his field, the bride and the wedding...etc are windows that light up my soul.

I am indeed grateful to you because you make it possible for me to reach out and enrich my eyes and my soul with the happy memories and nostalgia of people, faces, friends, places that remain my treasure of happiness.

Thanks.
Geo

Geo, thanks for such good heart and lovely appreciation. May all your wishes of a better Lebanon come true soon...