Saturday, September 09, 2006

Dana Bader and Nadine Kaskas spoke to geography classes Friday on Lebanon & Islam

Dana Bader, in the hijab (veil), and Nadine Kaskas, holding the Mid Eastern drum we call a doumbek, spoke to geography classes about Lebanon on Friday, Sept 8.

As you can see, they brought an array of evocative materials: tambourine (d'ef), single-string violin (rebaba), lute (oud), the goblet drum called a d'bekke, the Lebanese flag and photos, books, music and a cookbook featuring Chef Ramzy.

Both the Bader family and the Kaskas family were evacuated from their summer visits to Lebanon in July due to the war between the Hezbollah Lebanese and the Israelis. See below for a post by Dana Bader on her summer.

Lebanon is a liberal Muslim nation. It has the largest Christian population of any Middle eastern nation - some 30%. It is a center of history - we learned a bit about the Phoenicians and occupiers of Lebanon including the Romans, the Ottoman Turks, and French.

While a small nation, it has a rich agricultural tradition (almonds, olives, citrus, apples) and both mountains and a pretty coast on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a center for tourists when it is not being devastated by war.

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