FOCA 2010 MIDDLE EAST TOUR 2010

Amman/Petra – Damascus/Palmyra – Beirut: March 7 - 15 Dubai, Abu Dhabi: March 15 - 19 Doha: March 20

1 INTRODUCTION Beatrix Barker

So much has been written about Dubai and the thought of visiting had been considered by our tours team. It acquired momentum when Art Dubai’s VIP manager, Lela Csaky, came to Los Angeles and we enjoyed a delightful exploratory lunch at Homeira Goldstein’s home. Would a year be sufficient to prepare? Would our group be interested? We decided to give it a chance while also including an optional phase in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon at the beginning of the tour and a day in Doha to see the IM Pei designed Museum of Islamic Art as a conclusion. Such a rare opportunity to visit the area and such a wonderful opportunity to gain rare access as a FOCA group to interesting people, institutions, and sites!

After several months of research and contact-building, the basic structure of the tour was in place and we were able to test interest. We were happy to find that our art and culture loving, intrepid group was ready and willing to take a chance. We were up and running!

Working with Art Dubai’s VIP team and Contemparabia, we spent a full eight months coordinating and setting up the programs and visits, booking transportation and guides, making hotel and restaurant reservations, picking menus, arranging visas, and overseeing all the many details that go into successful FOCA tours.

In spite of some slight challenges of dealing with five countries and numerous service providers, we were able to unveil our schedule at a pre-trip get-together on February 13 at the Venice home of Lebanese artist Huguette Caland. How relevant this first contact was! Huguette was born in Beirut, the daughter of Lebanon's first President after it gained independence from France. She knew most of the people we were scheduled to meet in Lebanon, and during our tour we saw her presence at galleries, heard of the key role she played in founding art schools and also in establishing support activities for Palestinian refugees through art. Quite a lady!

Joining us for this introductory event were a few artists from the Middle East who live in Los Angeles, as well as the founder of the Levantine Cultural Center, Jordan Elgrably, and Elie Karam, an award-winning playwright, director and actor who did a presentation on the world of expats in LA and a slide show on the Middle East with focus on Beirut.

Our generous Board Chair Homeira Goldstein added another dimension to the evening with exotic foods on beautiful antique silver trays, and so we toasted our adventure with great anticipation.

2 MARCH 7, ARRIVALS KEMPINSKI ISHTAR RESORT on the DEAD SEA, JORDAN Beatrix Barker

Snow sprinkling in Amman, flash floods in Petra, rain in Damascus: to the very last day the weather reports for the first stage of our Middle East tour were mixed to alarming. No light packing for this trip, but we set off with the hope that our usual Fellows weather luck would kick in – and indeed it did. By the time we arrived at the Kempinski Ishtar resort, the first of the many wonderful hotels on our tour, beautiful sunshine ensured that some of us could test the buoyancy of the Dead Sea, cover ourselves in its healing black mud, or walk around the fragrant gardens dotted with lagoons, waterfalls and pools, enhanced by flowering shrubs, ancient olive trees and bamboo palms, designed in affectionate tribute to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

3 The Assyrian-Babylonian love goddess Ishtar, whose counterparts were Aphrodite and Astarte, inspired the overall theme of the resort, including the eye shape of the central infinity pool.

Ishtar Temple ruins, Babylon (Iraq) Kempinski Ishtar Goddess Ishtar

The infinity pool

The architecture of the main building housing the restaurants, bars and the beautiful Sunset Terrace, was based on the famous Temple of Ishtar in Babylon. (The ruins of the "holy city" of Babylonia (approximately 2300 BC,) a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, are found about 55 miles south of Baghdad between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq. We got pretty close when visiting Palmyra.)

An interesting start to our trip with historic references and hedonistic touches! Early arrivals even had the opportunity to test the Anantara Spa (the largest in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world) with over 20 treatment rooms, outdoor therapy lounges, 28 spa suites, hammam pools, outdoor and indoor jacuzzis, watsu pool, rasul chamber, steam room, ayurveda, Asian therapies, local salt and mud treatments, and much, much more.

4 We all appreciated this mini vacation that helped us get rid of jetlag and build up energy for an intense schedule.

The Dead Sea and non-FOCA members floating and using the healing mud

Our first “official” gathering was on the Sunset Terrace overlooking the infinity pool that dissolved into the hazy mirror surface of the Dead Sea bordered by the rolling hills of Jerusalem, with the lights of Jerusalem and Jericho becoming more prominent as the sun set.

After our cocktail party we moved up to the terrace restaurant to enjoy a buffet dinner of many delicious local dishes before retiring to our beautiful waterfront villas for a good night’s rest.

5 MARCH 8, PETRA Beatrix Barker

We had an early start for our day excursion to Petra but we were energized by the morning views of our resort and the Mimosas (freshly squeezed orange juice with champagne!) served at breakfast.

Once on our comfortable bus, our informed, witty guide Yamaan, who was to stay with us for the duration of our tour in Jordan, seized the opportunity to tell us about himself and then talk about this interesting country. He is an engineer by education but chose to go through the in depth, rigorous training required to be a tour guide because of his love of the outdoors. Tourism is an important industry with key support from the King and the government. The fact that Mrs. Mahal Khatib, the Minister of Tourism was going to host a luncheon for FOCA further supported this, though unfortunately our plans fell through when she had to travel to Austria with the Prime Minister.

Tourism can have significant impact on the economic growth that has traditionally been based on agriculture, in spite of the fact that less than 5% of the land is arable. There are phosphate mines in the south of the kingdom, making Jordan the third largest source of this mineral, and it also has one of the largest uranium reserves in the world. However, since tourism has been contributing close to 12 percent to the country's Gross National Product, political jitters and reputation for safety that might affect this sector are taken seriously.

Wedged precariously between Israel and the West Bank to the west, Iraq to the northeast, Syria to the north, and Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Jordan is, as Yamaan said, the quiet house in a very noisy neighborhood.

6 Benefiting from its image as an oasis of stability in a deeply troubled region, it has been able to secure a flow of external assistance that has helped maintain domestic political stability.

The country has an efficient and well-trained police force. It ranked first in the region (14th in the world) in terms of police services' reliability. It also ranked first in the region (9th in the world) in terms of prevention of organized crime making it one of the safest countries in the world. We felt safe everywhere. The security at and around our hotel was intense and on the roads we saw prominent military and police presence with numerous checkpoints. This was even more pronounced at the entry points to tourist areas making sure no negative events would spoil the reputation of this growing and key industry.

Jordan has grown into a modern nation, which has enjoyed a remarkable measure of peace. But the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, the Persian Gulf War, and other conflicts in Southwest Asia have impacted tourism and the economy. An extremely significant cost is that the country is host to millions of refugees who make up 40% of its population. In this country of 6 million inhabitants, there are 2 million Palestinian refugees fully eligible for government services including education and health care. Another impact on the economy resulted from wealthy refugees from Iraq (1 million) who pushed up property prices by about 200% in the past two years.

Jordan was ranked as having one of the highest qualities of life in the Arab World with its educated population and access to advanced healthcare services. Close to 90% of Jordanians have health insurance and the government plans that to be at 100% by 2011. It has given great attention to education that receives 20% of total government expenditures.

Modern Jordan was founded by King Abdullah I after World War I. It was ruled by his grandson, The Late King Hussein, for 46 years until his death in 1999, when his son King Abdullah II assumed the throne.

Under the 1952 constitution, the king is the most powerful figure in the country, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The royal family, the Hashimites, trace their ancestry back to the family of the Prophet Mohammed – from the female line.

The inhabitants of Jordan are mostly of Arab descent (over half are of Palestinian descent,) and Arabic is the official language, although we found that English is widely spoken everywhere. About 95% of the people are Sunni Muslims.

7 GEOGRAPHY AND THE DEAD SEA

Jordan is part of a region considered to be "the cradle of civilization", the Levant region of the Fertile Crescent.

The Jordan Rift Valley is a dramatic, beautiful landscape, which at the Dead Sea, is over 400 meters (1,312 ft.) below sea level. Although sparsely populated and serenely quiet now, the area is believed to have been home to five Biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Adman, Zebouin and Zoar.

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. This vast, stretch of water receives a number of incoming rivers, including the River Jordan. Once the waters reach the Dead Sea they are land-locked and have nowhere to go, so they evaporate, leaving behind a dense, rich, cocktail of salts and minerals that supply industry, agriculture and medicine with some of its finest products. The unusually warm, incredibly buoyant and mineral-rich waters have attracted visitors since ancient times, all of whom have luxuriated in the Dead Sea’s rich, black, stimulating mud and floated effortlessly on their backs while soaking up the water's healthy minerals along with the gently diffused rays of the Jordanian sun. Cleopatra had caravans of camels deliver Dead Sea water to her palaces in Egypt and Herod came here to be cured by its minerals. Unfortunately it is disappearing at a rate of about three feet per year because the River Jordan, which feeds it, is being overused for domestic and agricultural purposes by Jordan, Israel and Syria. Scientists say that at this rate the sea is only secure until about 2050.

PETRA Yamaan, a treasure-trove of information, kept us entertained all the way to Petra. We tried to challenge him with questions but he had an answer to each of them, so the drive seemed shorter than three hours. His presentation was fascinating and in spite of some remaining jetlag we didn’t snooze.

After checking in at the Petra Visitors Center we started our arduous adventure of discovery of this awesome site.

8 Our group arrives to Petra’s visitor center

Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed.

Often described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world, it is without doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabateans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. It remained unknown to the Western world until 1812 when it was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. The Bedouin continued to live within the park until they were relocated in 1985 to Um Seyhun.

Entrance to the city is through the mile and half long Siq, which is flanked on either side by soaring cliffs. Just walking through the Siq was an experience. The colors and formations of the rocks are dazzling.

We were lucky to meander in the cool, narrow gorge as the week before Yaman had a group evacuated due to flash floods.

9 Walking through the Siq

As we reached the end of the Siq we caught our first glimpse of Al-Khazneh, better known as the Treasury. It is the best known image of Petra but is only the first of its many wonders. And a wonder it is. Not a “treasury” but an early 1st century tomb of an important Nabatean king. Its massive façade carved out of sheer, dusky pink rock dwarfs everything around it.

10

The Treasury Ornate tombs cut into the rocks

As we moved further into the site we saw hundreds of elaborate rock-cut tombs with intricate carvings, which unlike the houses that were destroyed mostly by earthquakes, lasted through the “afterlife.” Five hundred had survived, empty but bewitching.

Another mile or so got us to our much anticipated lunch at the Basin restaurant, which is managed by the five star Crown Plaza Hotel and is quite scenic in the middle of the ruins. We enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch, some enormously appreciated cold drinks, and resting our tired feet.

After lunch a most energetic, adventurous group of six set off to climb up to the “Monastery.” All 820 challenging steps of varying sizes and consistency – some carved out of the rock, some just gravel and stones precariously wobbling under our steps.

It was a challenging climb with no rest, no slowing down. We were racing against time to get back to the rest of our group that we sort of envied visualizing them having a glass of cold beer in the cave bar while we were hyperventilating and hardly aware of the beauty of our surroundings. But when we made it, all sweaty and panting, it was worth it. As the sun was setting, the colors of the ruins were intense. And we had the site all to ourselves!

11

The Basin Restaurant FOCA group starting the climb to the Monastery

Our guide Yamaan and our inspiring and dauntingly fit Rubin always ahead of us

Giving the Treasury a run for its money as the most impressive monument at Petra, the Monastery, a.k.a Al Deir is beautifully carved, though much less decorated than the Treasury, and so huge that even the doorway is several stories tall. Its name, like most Petra structures, does not reflect reality; it was probably a Nabatean temple and may have been used as a Christian church at one time.

12 Not Everest, but we were a proud group of mountain climbers – from left: Tod White, Linda White, Geoffrey Beaumont, Barbara Arledge, Beatrix Barker – missing from the photo is Rubin Turner

We couldn’t rest on our laurels, so we quickly turned around for what we thought would be the easier part of our adventure. Unfortunately the rains the previous week loosened the rocks and the descent was just as challenging as the ascent. The only one who was able to navigate it was Rubin who raced down at great speed with only a nosebleed to worry about, but he was able to take word to the rest of the group that we were about to materialize. It was getting dark and we were nearly the only ones left in the park. By the time we got to the Treasury it was completely dark which would have been an interesting and rare atmosphere to capture and absorb had we not been so worried about our waiting fellows.

A dinner was planned in Wadi Musa and, though the initial temptation was to go back to our hotel for a well-deserved rest, we decided to stop by and grab a bite. It was way too early for dinner for the region - just about 7 PM, and as we learned during our trip, 9 PM is the official start of dinner time - so we had the restaurant to ourselves and the wedding feast that waited for us made us forget all the challenges of the day. Furthermore, while we were told that it was a “dry” restaurant as it wasn’t affiliated with a hotel (we were in Muslim territory) wine miraculously materialized upon asking. When the manager was confronted with “why were we told that we couldn’t get any alcoholic beverages” he said that they were not licensed, but there was a little “reserve” for special occasions. That saved the day, and though the three hour drive back to the Kempinski seemed a bit longer, we knew that this was a rare highlight.

13 MARCH 9, MADABA – AMMAN Barbara and Charles Arledge

Promptly at 9 a.m. our cheerful Fellows group departed the large and lavish Dead Sea Kempinsky Ishtar Hotel, a series of contemporary buildings extending down a gentle hillside to the lowest spot on the Earth's surface. Despite its jumbled architectural motifs (faux Ishtar Gate, seven swimming pools, thousands of transplanted palm trees.....think Babylon meets the Big Island.....), and partly because of its unique beach scene (burqas to bikinis, many bathers covered face to ankle in pitch-black Dead Sea mud,) the hotel had provided a comfortable and entertaining launching point for our Mid East adventure.

Ascending quickly on a good highway through grey-brown desert our bus passed few signs of life other than Bedouin tent settlements, where sheep herds grazed and the sparse population of camels, dogs, goats, and people moved languidly, if at all. Only the chickens seemed to hurry. Other than scattered pickup trucks and VW vans, there was little to indicate that either living conditions or the nomadic lifestyle of Bedouins had changed through many years. We were somewhat surprised to learn that Bedouins as tribal groups are regarded with deep respect within modern Jordanian society and are even represented in Parliament.

We saw quite few Bedouin camps strewn across the desert

14 Our first stop was the pilgrimage site of Mt. Nebo to which Moses legendarily led thousands of followers for its view over the Promised Land, addressing them one last time, and dying there at age 120, later to be buried by God in an unknown place. Today the small church and entire hilltop are jammed with buses and tour groups from all over the world. Nice to see that the charismatic Moses still packs in crowds after 3300 years.

Moving along to the small city of Madaba, known as the "City of Mosaics" for its 6th-century tile masterpieces, we toured the Church of St. George, window shopped with the locals along a main street of tiny shops selling everything from elaborately ruffled and layered bridal dresses to thousands of different objects made of plastic and more plastic, then had lunch in a beautiful former home opening off a flower-filled courtyard. Most notable about the occasion was our introduction to the petite dynamo, Salma Tuqan, a new Cambridge graduate and the Contemparabia liaison who had worked closely with our Beatrix on many of the trip arrangements, and whose charm, energy, savvy, and family connections were to prove so immensely valuable to the success of our trip.

Admiring the famous mosaic map from around 570 AD in the church of St. George, Madaba

15 Black and white were the “theme” of our day – Lois, Beatrix and Homeira at Mount Nebo

Lunch at Haret Jdoudna in Madaba

Onward after lunch to 3000 year old Amman, capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and known as the "White City" for its predominant white limestone building material. Then, at the Four Seasons Hotel, our first run-through of what was to become, with small variations, an arrival ritual: Bus pulls up, meet and greet by a phalanx of cordial managers, inside hotel entrance pivot quickly to the left through security check and metal detector manned by smiling staff, race to the room while trying to remember to notice and appreciate gorgeous lobby decor, fast luggage arrival, faster clothes change, race back downstairs to the bus. Twenty minutes flat.

16 The beautiful lobby and flower arrangements of the Four Seasons Amman – one of the great hotels we stayed in, with alas too little time to fully enjoy.

What would a Bedouin think?

But all the hurrying was so worthwhile! In that one mid- afternoon through evening we: 1) toured the innovative contemporary arts center Darat Al- Funun, a foundation with changing exhibitions by Arab artists housed in a collection of three historic stone houses (circa 1917) and met the charming ladies who sustain it both professionally and as supporters; 2) visited the architectural firm Symbiosis Designs, met its visionary founder, Khalid Nahhas, and watched a presentation of his proposal for a stunning complex which he hopes to see built beside the Red Sea in Aqaba, and which will house the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Art, an unfunded joint project with the film school at USC; 3) visited the home and studios of two successful and gracious Jordanian artists, Samer and Dodi Tabbaa, and, perhaps most enjoyable of all; 4) arrived for cocktails on the terrace and dinner in the hillside home of prominent patron of the arts and Jordan's single honorary duke, the gregarious Mamdouh Bisharat. There we enjoyed a lavish buffet dinner, met dozens of Jordanians of all ages, a few Europeans, an American or two--all of whom are energetically engaged in the arts, culture, or politics of Jordan.

17 Our gracious host, the Duke of Mukheibeh (third from left) with guests

One of the tables with our FOCA group

Many hours later we returned to our hotel rooms and our disheveled bags, minds expanded by the rich diversity of places, sights, friendly hosts, antithetical living conditions, historical sites spanning several thousand years---all experienced within a single day in a small portion of a tiny country.

18 One of the many articles covering our visit – this one of our group at Darat Al Funun

19 MARCH 10, AMMAN Linda and Tod White

We departed the Four Seasons hotel at 9:15, an hour later than originally planned because of the late night party with the Duke and his many illustrious guests.

Our first stop was at the Makan Art Space, an experimental art house/artist incubator. It was founded by Ola Khalidi in the spring of 2003. During her working years, after completing her master's studies in management at the University of Surrey in England, she had been active in the cultural scene. She worked with the Beirut DC, a film institution in Beirut, Lebanon, and was also involved with establishing "Blue Fig," a cultural café in Amman. As she says: "I felt the need to get more in touch with the artists themselves, and to play an active role in Amman’s developing cultural scene, which is young and has great potential. Slowly but surely I envisioned Makan; it was created from the dream I had of such a place." Her story sounded similar to others we heard in Amman’s art world. In general, we found the artists in this part of the world very well educated in first rate schools around the world, but most often in London.

Makan accepts proposals from artists. Those selected are provided studio space for several months and then a show. We spent time with artists Tom Bogert and Saba Innab. Tom was born in Belgium, lived in NY while his wife worked at the UN. She was transferred to Amman a few months ago and Tom was accepted by Makan to work on his cucumber project. Cucumbers? Some background: one of the many proposals for dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli situation is to allow all Palestinians to move to Jordan. This is called the “Jordanian Solution.” The word solution when translated into Arabic sounds like “cucumber”. Tom is portraying the likelihood of this solution ever happening by painting the Jordanian flag on a cucumber and then photographing this cucumber daily to document its inevitable withering and demise. So much for the Jordanian Solution.

The second artist in residence, Saba Innab, is a Palestinian Jordanian architect/artist. Her project addresses the community interface between public and private spaces in Amman, Jordan entitled, Public Space---General Emptiness, which comments on the complacency of the Amman community as regards to their politically agitated refugee population. She uses photography, collage and text to demonstrate her thesis.

The future of Makan may be short because Ola plans to attend the California College of Arts curator program in San Francisco in the very near future.

20 After Makan, we walked up the street to the Dar Al-Anda gallery with its bright red walls and great views across the valley to a very densely populated part of town. The gallery featured a wide variety of contemporary art but the jewelry display seemed to capture the attention of most in our group.

Gwen and Peter Norton, Olin Barrett (hidden) and Cathy Partridge on the terrace of the Dar Al-Anda Gallery

Back on our very comfortable, air-conditioned bus, we went to the National Gallery of Fine Arts. Founded in 1980, this is one of the most prominent contemporary art museums in the Middle East. We were greeted by its director Dr. Khalid Khreis and by its founder Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi. They told us that since its establishment, the Gallery has greatly expanded its collection which started with around 50 works of art and now amounts to almost 2000, consisting of works by 520 artists from 43 Arab and Islamic countries, ranging from Brunei in the Pacific to Morocco on the Atlantic, and from Turkey and Iran on the Caspian Sea to Pakistan on the Indian Ocean. We were surprised to see that the Museum has a large collection of art from North Korea. Each painting portrayed another propagandistic view of life in North Korea, e.g., military officers and enlisted men democratically enjoying the good life together. The Gallery currently was featuring outstanding photographs of the Scottish highlands by Sami Nabeel. He was on hand to explain his goals and methods for this 10-year project. Some in our group purchased several of these beautiful seascapes and landscapes.

21 From left: Two Jordanian artists, Princess Wijdan, and Sami Nabeel, at the entrance to the Jordan National Gallery

Following our tour of the Museum, Princess Wijdan invited us to a restaurant located in the park across the Museum because she wanted us to meet local artists and designers. “Local” isn’t really an apt word in this part of the world because so many artists are really global. For example, we had a good discussion about art with a painter/sculptor named Tag. He was born in Sudan, studied at the Royal College of Art in London (with fellow student David Hockney). He has lived and painted in Jordan for many years and is preparing a solo exhibition at the Gallery next year.

There were other interesting art writers, patrons, activists, such as the project director of the Touring Museum, Suheil Baqaeen, who takes exhibitions to faraway villages across Jordan in a specially outfitted bus.

Organizing this lunch for us was indeed a wonderful gesture on the part of the Princess as it allowed us to better understand in such a short time the art scene in Jordan by meeting such key players.

22 The Canvas Restaurant lunch

After lunch, we visited the Royal Film Commission where we saw a feature length film, Amreeka by Cherien Dabis, about a Palestinian family that moved to Michigan where they learned that seeking a better life is easier said than done.

Jordan is already a popular site for making movies. The Oscar winner, Hurt Locker, was filmed here. But Jordan hopes to play a much bigger role in the film industry than just providing scenic locations.

23 A goal of the Royal Film Commission is to help Jordanians become skilled at screenwriting, directing, lighting and all the other technical and support skills needed by film producers by building the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Art in Aquaba, Jordan.

We wrapped up the day, after the sun was well over the horizon, by visiting several small, funky galleries, all crowded with young artists and their friends. The Books@Cafe featured a Pecha Kucha Night. This is a weekly event where young designers and artists meet to network and to present their work very rapidly (20 images in 20 seconds). It was so crowded and noisy that we gave up fighting through the crowd and headed back to our hotel to call it a busy, interesting, informative and, yes, tiring day.

For those willing and able, there was one more special program, dinner at one of the most renowned restaurants in Amman, the Fakhr El Din. All dinners start late in this part of the world and our days seemed very long, but the Lebanese feast energized us. We also enjoyed the company of Mrs. Amal Watt, wife of the British Ambassador, and Mrs. Amr Aboulatta, wife of the Ambassador of Egypt.

24 “To Damascus years are only flitting trifles of time. She measures time not by days and months and years, but by the empires she has seen rise and crumble to ruin. She is a type of immortality.” Mark Twain

MARCH 11, DAMASCUS - AM Olin Barrett

We left the Four Seasons Hotel at 7:00 AM, proceeding north through central Amman and its suburbs, including industrial plants, quite Western-looking shopping centers, and a huge palace complex. We passed one of thirteen Jordanian refugee camps. While it looked quite typically urban, our guide, Yamaan, pointed out that it had few amenities. Refugees operate businesses but do not become citizens, at least in part because they might end up going back to their original homes. Yamaan indicated that perhaps only 20% would do so.

Beyond the city we proceeded through rugged, rocky terrain, dotted with olive groves, patches of pine woods, and the weekend homes of the prosperous. Yamaan took the opportunity to comment on the Muslim requirement of prayers five times a day from early morning into nighttime. There are two calls for each prayer time (to get ready and to commence), with an extra wake-up call in the morning. Only Friday noon prayers, accompanied by a sermon, need be in a mosque. Only Saudi Arabia demands and enforces these rituals.

Yamaan emphasized Jordanians’ “brotherly relationships” and intermarriage with Palestinians and the intransigence of the right-wing Israeli government. He commented that President Obama had started out strong on the settlements issue but had steadily toned down his rhetoric (it is worth noting that Vice President Biden arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman the morning we left). From the Jordanian point of view there are three core issues to be resolved:

1) Refugees. They must have the option to return home. Israel defies UN regulations; settlements are illegal.

2) Occupied land. The Golan Heights are particularly important to Jordan as a water source

3) Jerusalem – its religious and political roles - a huge obstacle

Crossing the border from Jordan to Syria involved three collections and redistributions of passports but took less than an hour and a half. An hour and a half after that we were in central Damascus, having passed through a belt of gray and brown, decrepit urban landscape housing the huge refugee population.

25 Talib, our new guide, said that there were 1.5 million Palestinian refugees in Syria, 500 thousand of them from the Golan Heights, presumably mostly in Damascus. He said specifically that of the 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in Syria, 1 million are in Damascus. Thus a refugee “poverty belt” circles the city. The refugees are “treated like Syrians” (unlike in Lebanon) with water, electricity, satellite dishes, etc. This creates a huge $3 billion burden in a country where the average wage is $2,000 a year.

Talib provided additional background information on his country, starting with the quip that in Syria people use all currencies including the Syrian pound, whereas in Beirut all currencies are accepted except the Lebanese pound.

From the Black Sea to the Red Sea, the Silk Road passed through Damascus and was paved in the early second century B.C. Damascus was also on the early, main route of the Hajj (to Mecca) and the Ottomans’ Hejaz railway to Arabia (a grand terminal of which was pointed out).

Syria has a population of over 20 million, more than half in the three largest cities of Damascus (6 million), Aleppo (3 million) and Homs (1.5 million). 70% are Sunni Muslims, with the rest divided among 20 diverse groups, all of which co- exist peacefully. Syria is 100% safe.

While Talib said that a 1982 revolt had brought Hafez al-Assad into power, it is my impression that his reign began in 1970. His son Bashar al-Assad, the current strongman, took over in 2000 and has survived internal turmoil and challenging foreign relations. According to Talib, Bashar has opened up Syria’s communication and trade with the rest of the world. The Syrian economy grew 6% in 2009, banks prospered and capital returned from overseas. While the desert begins 20-30 kilometers east of the main north-south highway, Syria is able to export agricultural products to its neighbors. U.S. sanctions limit imports of military equipment, especially planes.

The reconstructed Dura Europos Synagogue from 245 CE at the National Museum Northwest walls with Torah niche and fresco of the Exodus – very unique, representing human forms

26 After dropping bags at the Four Seasons Hotel, some of us embarked on a brief, lunchtime visit to the nearby National Museum, instigated by Chuck Levy with the cheerful concurrence of our guide. Our focal point was a reconstructed synagogue from the ancient city of Dura Europos, on the banks of the Euphrates in eastern Syria. When the site was largely abandoned late in the third century A.D. and gradually became covered with sand, a location directly against the city walls gave the synagogue special protection. The frescoes from the Old Testament are breathtaking for their artistic excellence and state of preservation. We also had a fleeting glimpse of an elaborate tomb from 136 A.D. from the ruins of Palmyra.

FOCA group with Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad in the middle. Our facilitator, Salma is to the left and her mother, Abir Tuqan in red Valentino between Homeira and Beatrix.

A second unexpected development, for many the highlight of the trip, was an audience with Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad, arranged for us through the efforts of Salma’s mother, Abir Dajani Tuqan. We were escorted in a bus carefully checked out by security staff to the hillside Guest Palace, a somewhat forbidding pile clearly designed to impress. Passing through marble halls, we arrived at the entrance of a vast audience chamber, at one corner of which was an oval of armchairs arranged for us and our hostess.

We were greeted at the entrance by the 35 year old First Lady, an elegant, immaculate presence, and escorted to our seats. Asma is articulate and eloquent as well as elegant, managing also to be convincingly warm and sincere.

27 Syrian but raised in London (her father is a noted cardiologist) and married to Bashar after his future as the heir apparent was clear, she is ideally suited for the role she has assumed. She sees herself as a person “of the people,” concerned with the “development’” of the population, broadening the lives of the core of the population. Her seemingly heartfelt suggestion for seeing Damascus was to “get lost” in the city.

With all of her sophistication, she appears unaffected. She lives with her husband and children aged 8, 6 and 5 in a “cul de sac.” She goes to the market, picks up her kids at school and uses disguises (a burka?). She has a degree in computer science and went into investment banking.

We were served juices, cookies and tea by two waiters with Guest Palace manners. After a little more than an hour of polite questions and answers, we were escorted back through marble halls to our bus.

______

MARCH 11, DAMASCUS – PM Ann Barrett

“Damascus lays a strong claim to being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.”

Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Alexander the Great, Greeks, Nabataeans, Romans, Hadrian, Abbasids, Turks, Mongols, Mamluks, Mongols (again), Mamluks (again), Turks (again, but for a long time), French and even Syrians have added their layers to this city.

And now the Fellows.

Following our audience with the First Lady, we quickly went by bus to the entrance of Souq Al-Hamidiyya, a long, covered market that leads into the heart of the Old City. Walking briskly in the crowded street, we rushed by colorful stalls abundantly stacked with Middle Eastern bounty and foods: spices, perfumes, carpets, nuts, sweets. Shoes! What about those textiles? Jewelry!!!!! Even though 100 Syrian pounds equaled only $2.20, we didn’t have the time to afford to buy anything.

28

Chuck sampling sweets and a head scarf store in the Souq

Emerging into the bright sunlight once again, we briefly spied on what used to be a gate of the 3rd century Roman Temple of Jupiter, now marked by several enormous Corinthian columns. Most of the temple was recycled to build the famous Umayyad Mosque, directly in front of us.

The ruins of the Roman Temple of Jupiter and the pretty ladies in mosque appropriate attire: Linda, Barbara, Cathie, Lois

29 Time for a visit. For women, hooded robes on. For everyone, shoes off. But keep the cameras … photography permitted.

FOCA group touring the breathtaking Umayyad Mosque

The provenance of this mosque is a little complicated: Temple of Jupiter became basilica dedicated to John the Baptist (head still in situ). When the Muslims took over, the Roman and Byzantine constructions were flattened, but the basilica stayed put to become part of the mosque, but oriented toward Mecca.

From 706-715, more than 1000 stonemasons and artisans were employed in building this grand new mosque. But there was no architectural model and so this became the model for great mosques everywhere. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, but remains Syria’s most significant religious structure and is second in sanctity only to the holy mosques of Mecca and Medina.

The expansive courtyard north of the mosque, lined with white limestone and surrounded by a two-storey arched arcade, was magnificent and filled with swallows, families, tourists, Italian marble, Egyptian granite and shimmering, golden mosaics. The atmosphere was happy, relaxed and celebratory. Birds and babes all well fed.

30 The superb mosaics of the Mosque

The courtyard of the Mosque

31 Then back to exploring the Old City. We found the Straight Street (from the Latin, Via Recta) that was the main thoroughfare during Greek and Roman times, still in place and functioning well. W wandered through Muslim, Jewish and Christian sections, although never quite sure where we were.

But we did encounter intriguing back streets, shops and sightings. What does lie beyond those seductive doorways and shutters? We visited one old wonderful house with beautiful Syrian tile that centered around two courtyards: the first public, the second private and family oriented. We were told that up to four generations of one family lived in houses like this, including married couples, single women and children. While men dominated in commerce and politics, WOMEN ruled the household. Which may explain why there are fountains and lovely aromatic gardens filled with roses, jasmine and orange trees.

The end of a long afternoon, we were told to gather at the second minaret beyond the Roman arch. A blessed bus was there to take us back to the Four Seasons for a foot soak and evening change.

Taxis at 8:00 to the Old City and our unexpected and glamorous destination: Villa Moda. Wow! We were greeted by a huge red crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling of a 400 year old Ottoman khan (originally designed for hosting caravanserais) which became a fire station in the 1920’s and a carpenter’s workshop in the 60’s. A few years ago it was transformed into a haute couture luxury boutique carrying brands like Dior, Gucci, Cavalli, Fendi, Valentino, Tod’s, Ferragamo, Missoni, etc. Also carries accessories and cosmetics. Advertised as “The first to bring luxury fashion to Syria,” it does so with dash and style. We met Amjad Malki and his wife Sandra Hakim who spear-headed the project and are expanding the original space to create shops in other areas of the building that focus on young Syrian designers and products. Amjad took us on a tour (up, down and around) that began with a spectacular roof-top view of the domes and lights of Damascus and ended in a stunning covered courtyard where a scrumptious buffet dinner was served. In between there was the Tajalliyat Art Gallery that exhibits contemporary Syrian and regional works of art, primarily painting and sculpture. It also represents modern Syrian masters such as Nazir

32 Nabaa, Nizar Sabour and Yasser Hammoud. Amjad and Sandra have set up workshops to demonstrate and promote local products, like brocade weaving and soap making. We were showered with free samples of the soap, but no complimentary brocade! As with other evenings, our hosts asked many other people to join us and we were introduced to local artists, designers and gallerists. It was a hip and happenin’ crowd! All there, it turned out, to toast Elinor and Rubin with sparklers and champagne on their 48th wedding anniversary!

The entire evening was a superb example of Syrian creativity, sophistication, hospitality and generosity. The best, the best, the best!

Villa Moda tucked in a 17th century khan (caravanserai), off the biblical Straight Street, in Damascus’ Old Town

33

An amazing evening celebrating Rubin and Elinor’s “50th birthday” (actually their 48th wedding anniversary) with our hostess and co-owner of Villa Moda, Sandra Hakim

34 MARCH 11, DAMASCUS The story of a private synagogue visit in Damascus by Chuck Levy

When, during our audience with the First Lady of Syria, she mentioned that, for centuries, various religions have peacefully co-existed in Syria, I informed her of my several unsuccessful attempts, before arriving in Syria, to locate the Damascus synagogue and to attend the next day's, Friday's, evening services ushering in the Jewish Sabbath.

She assured me that her assistant would look into what could be arranged.

That Thursday evening, our FOCA group visited a Damascus must-see, the "Villa Moda", an upscale design and fashion center which boasts being "the first to bring luxury fashion to Syria." It also includes an art gallery displaying contemporary Syrian and regional works of art and various design boutiques. We toured, explored, and met the artists and designers as a prelude to a sumptuous buffet dinner.

When we arrived, our guide informed me that the Palace had told him there are no Shabbat services on Friday evening; instead, services are held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Unfortunately FOCA was scheduled to depart for Beirut at 8:00 a.m., Saturday morning.

Not to worry, the Palace, knowing our itinerary, had arranged a special opening of the synagogue that evening at 9:00 p.m. just for me.

Lydia, fearing for my safety, argued strongly against my going. I felt I could not pass up this opportunity. So, shortly before 9:00 p.m., armed only with an unarmed guide, I walked through the dark streets of Damascus to the synagogue. There, half a dozen people greeted me. The synagogue had been opened for me and it was a joy to behold. Many lamps, all lit, hung from the ceiling. It is laid out in the Sephardic tradition with the Bemya (from which the rabbi conducts the service) in the middle. In accordance with orthodox tradition, women attending services are seated in the balcony.

The synagogue had a surprising number of Torahs (scrolls containing the words of the Lord transcribed by Moses) many of them beautifully covered with decorations of gold and silver.

Although the Palace told me there are 300 Jews in Damascus, Samuel Cuso, President of the Jewish Community, reported that there are only 150 and, contrary to what the Palace stated, there is no rabbi. The President performs the duties of a rabbi.

On Saturday mornings, only 6 men, at most, are present for services.

35 This is less than the minyan (quorum of 10) required to conduct services. Notwithstanding, the services are conducted.

In order to constantly replenish the community's supply of kosher meats and chicken, a traveling Shoichat from Turkey periodically passes through to slaughter animals in accordance with Jewish law - a ritual designed to make their deaths as painless as possible.

Along one wall, the synagogue had a library with very old books, including an old (but not original) printing of the Babylonian Talmud.

The government does not provide any financial support to the synagogue, and when I inquired about the synagogue's financial health, one member, who spoke halting English, told me they had "too much money." I suspected we were not communicating well. However, I did not observe a Tzadaka box (for charitable gifts).

I asked my guide to take a picture of me and my fellow Jews. He complied. I noticed that one man, who stayed in the background while I was taking a tour of the synagogue, refused to participate in the group picture, making me suspicious. Later, the guide confirmed my suspicion that he was a member of the Syrian Secret Police.

Virtually every story I have read about the Damascus synagogue included a reference to the fact that a Syrian Secret Police officer attends all services. However, the Damascus Jews are not being discriminated against - Syrian Secret Police attend the services at the mosques and major churches. Under Hafas Assad, the current President's father, all sermons had to be approved by the Syrian Secret Police the day before they were delivered. His son is dismantling the surveillance apparatus on a gradual basis; pre-approval of sermons is no longer required.

I did not ask these Damascus Jews whether they are discriminated against because of their religion or the status of their living conditions because my translator was not Jewish and I suspected (it turned out correctly) that a member of the Syrian Secret Police was present.

______

36 MARCH 12, PALMYRA and DAMASCUS Beatrix Barker

After our exciting and inspiring but long previous day we were all looking forward to our adventure in the Syrian Desert with slightly bleary eyes.

Once on the bus, Chuck described his remarkable visit to the synagogue and we told stories of our evening at Villa Moda to those who chose to be well rested for our excursion to Palmyra and decided to take the evening off.

Talib tried to impart some of his knowledge during our long drive in a fairly monotonous desert-scape, but it was too early to absorb and his accent was still a bit of a challenge. Quite possibly we missed some interesting information.

We did find the account of the ubiquitous water tanks on top of houses everywhere quite affecting though. Indicators of the severe water shortage in the region, these collectors of rain water and containers of the rations allocated to each house on designated days of the week were even more of a life necessity since the war when water became part of the power play. People conserve every drop and reuse the same water three times, first to bathe, then to wash clothes, and then to wash the floor.

37 Our group came alive when we pulled up to the famous Bagdad Cafe located mid-way between Damascus and Palmyra. Owned by a Bedouin family, the Sherfaldines, who some ten years ago decided to set up their tents in a more permanent basis close to an incipient road connecting Damascus with the interior settlements, primarily Palmyra, from which to move with their herds though the neighboring pastures. A result of that location was that some of the few travelers passing-by would stop to have a break and the Sherfaldine family, in the best of the Arab tradition and hospitality would always offer shelter, shade and tea to their visitors. As time went on, this was more and more formalized with a permanent stone building and one of the old Bedouin tents installed again to offer accommodation to the ever increasing numbers of tourists. More recently, two small rooms were built following the classical beehive shape of the old traditional buildings of Syrian rural towns.

Visitor accommodation in the beehive structure and the old Bagdad Cafe location marker Bedouin tent

At present, four brothers, three of them with their respective wives and children, manage the Bagdad Café settlement, including the farm, family housing and the coffee shop itself. We enjoyed meeting some of them, having a cup of tea, and shopping for some lovely traditional items. Who said no time for shopping?

38

Bagdad Café interior - giftshop

Time went much faster after our break and, very soon, and very suddenly, we saw the awe-inspiring columns of Palmyra come into view.

Stretching ahead for miles was a wide expanse of columns and structures framed by the dry, barren hills of the Anti-Lebanon. Dominating the site is the Arabic fortress, the Qala'at Ibn Ma’an (Castle of the Chief of Maan). It is said to have been built in the 17th century (though there are much earlier traces at the site) by the famous Lebanese warlord Fakhredine (now immortalized in the name of the restaurant in Amman where we had a wonderful dinner on our last night in Jordan.) To the west, one could see the funerary towers of Palmyra’s leading families overlooking the ruins. The effect of this vision in the middle of the desert was almost surreal.

The earliest reference to the city by its Semitic name of Tadmor is in the Old Testament and describes it as “a desert city built (or fortified) by the King Solomon of Judea, the son of David.”

39 Palmyra was made part of the Roman province of Syria during the reign of Tiberius (14–37). It steadily grew in importance as a trade route linking Persia, India, China, and the Roman Empire. In 129, Hadrian visited the city and was so enthralled by it that he proclaimed it a free city and renamed it Palmyra Hadriana.

Olin and Geoffrey with the Citadel as backdrop Barbara at the Theatre

Of this caravan city, the “Bride of the Desert,” the most famous, the most visible ruins are those of the Roman period, but the elegant and important metropolis is most often associated with Queen Zenobia who ruled Palmyra (267-273) in a way that astonished both West and East. She was exceptionally intelligent and attractive. She was a gifted linguist, an eloquent speaker of Palmyrian, Greek and Egyptian. Zenobia (who claimed to be descended from Cleopatra) had a wide knowledge of politics, and in her court, she had many philosophers, scholars and theologians. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire and was able to take over Syria, conquer Egypt and send armies to Asia Minor, gaining control thereby of all land and sea routes to the Far East. Emperor Aurelian defeated Zenobia, destroyed her palace, and turned Palmyra into a Roman military camp. The city never recovered from the plundering but it didn’t disappear from history. Its strategic location resulted in various upheavals and revivals until it was devastated by the Mongols at the end of the XIIIth century. From then on it gradually declined under Ottoman rule to become a small village essentially within the ruins and mostly within the Sanctuary of Bel. It was evacuated between 1929 and 1932 in order to start in-depth excavations.

40 FOCA group and view of the Sanctuary

Bel was Palmyra’s supreme deity and the Sanctuary is considered to be its most impressive monument. This is where we started our tour and were promptly surrounded by teenage boys on a school excursion who were fascinated by our group. They asked to take many pictures of us, and we in turn of them.

Syrian boys on school excursion to Palmyra

41 From the Sanctuary we walked over to the Zenobia Hotel’s dining terrace for a surprisingly nice Lebanese buffet lunch and a nice cold drink. Oh, how we appreciated these lunch breaks and those cold libations!

The Colonnade along the main avenue with the “consoles” where the statues of the nobility and officials were placed

After lunch we walked along the Great Colonnade, imagining Zenobia’s victory parades down this main avenue of stores, mansions, markets, public offices and theatres that linked Zenobia’s palace to the Sanctuary and main temple of Bel. We found the large theatre to be most impressive. The semi-circular plaza, dating from the first or second century AD, faced the columns of the main avenue stunningly restored by the Directorate of Antiquities of Syria.

Our walking group was discovered by Bedouin on motorcycles who materialized out of nowhere to sell their wares and also an insistent boy on a camel who wanted to give me a ride and teach me Arabic. I told him no, I was with the group. He came back in about ten minutes and said: “You told me to come back later.” To my answer that I said no such thing, his retort was “You calling me a liar?” And so we experienced the Bedouin strategy.

42 The intrusion of modern times

Baalshamin Sanctuary

43 We had time to walk by the very well preserved Baalshamin Sanctuary but unfortunately missed the Necropolis. The vast Necropolis of Palmyra contains three kinds of tombs: high towers used for multiple burials, underground burial complexes, and temple tombs.

Custom was to put multiple coffins in these funerary towers Funerary bust

Finding a very little time to “spare,” Talib took us to the Palmyra Museum, our next and final stop, to see the funerary busts used to seal the grave recesses, and to admire briefly other ancient sculptures and relics found at the site.

We still had wonderful programs waiting for us in Damascus so we had to hit the road in spite of being aware that it was on the road to Damascus that the Prophet Muhammad stopped and refused to enter the city, saying that “man should only enter paradise once.” We were ready to enter paradise a second time.

Most in our group were ready for the pleasures of the Four Seasons Hotel and a restful night but some were prepared to drop bags and dusty shoes and hop, hop be ready to visit the beautiful home and gallery of Syrian entrepreneur, Khaled Samawi and his wife (who wore the latest limited edition Louboutin shoes fresh from Paris). Since its founding in Damascus in 2006, Ayyam Gallery has become one of the Arab world's leading art spaces. With a selection of cutting-edge painting, sculpture and photography that represents some of the Middle East's most promising talent, the gallery has sought to promote the region's dynamic cultural scene at home and abroad. They have a second space in Dubai, an 8,000 square foot outpost that allows for the mounting of large-scale exhibitions, and quickly gained a reputation as the premiere destination for Syrian and Middle Eastern art. The 2009 opening of a third gallery in the heart of downtown Beirut has come amidst the reemergence of Lebanon's commercial art scene and is already making waves.

44 Enjoying a presentation of Syrian artists and their works at the Ayyam Gallery

Copious amounts of French champagne greeted us (what restrictions on alcohol?) as we sat down to meet the gallery’s Syrian artists who introduced themselves by each presenting two of their artworks. We were told by Khaled that "over the past four years, the average price of a medium-sized work has appreciated 400 percent in Syria, but is still way under-priced.” He is to a large extent responsible for Syria’s newfound arts gusto due to his international marketing efforts. “Syrian art, much like Syria is becoming integrated into the larger global market” he said.

Afterwards we moved on to the Samawis home (and drank more champagne) to admire their art collection.

As our group slowly dwindled, we moved on to the studio of Safwan Dahoul just down the street. Safwan, a very affable man, is said to be one of the Arab world's most prominent painters. We felt a little guilty about our quick studio visit but other wonders awaited us: one of the most impressive and inspiring highlights of our tour, the dinner at Art House.

Situated on the bank of the river Barada, in a peaceful area north-west of the Damascus city proper, Art House is a converted, splendid 400 year old mill, creation/adaptation of Syrian starchitect Ghiath Machnok, our host. Someone mentioned that it is supported by a very highly placed official in the government or

45 power, which is why it is so well financed, active and prominent. It is quite an experience, a social meeting place with astounding interior architecture and design details that can define sophistication anywhere in the world. With an idyllic rooftop pool, a terrace café with views of Damascus, antique Syrian Art Deco furniture and Italian fixtures, this design enclave plays host to music recitals and art exhibitions, and also has 10 exclusive rooms and stylish suites named after Syria's greatest musicians, writers and artists. In the couple of years since it opened Art House has become a vital part of the city's cultural scene.

Sara Shamma artwork at Art House

Our by now very small group arrived to the stunning vision of a sunken hall with a long table set for forty guests – adjusted quickly to thirty - with candelabra and dishes looking like an art installation.

46

The sunken dining hall Our dervish arrives

Geoffrey next to our host, the amazing Ghiath Machnok

47 Some of the lucky ones who got to enjoy this evening

The old stone walls surrounding us had top quality contemporary artworks. We sat down in awe of this display, barely acknowledging the interesting guests invited to meet us, when haunting, rhythmic oriental music made us aware of a white apparition, a dervish slowly, solemnly descending into the hall and starting to spin.

We learned later that Sufi whirling is a physically active meditation which is practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. It is a customary dance performed within the worship ceremony through which dervishes aim to reach the source of all perfection, of religious ecstasy. This is sought through abandoning one's egos or personal desires by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning one's body in repetitive circles, which has been seen as a symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the sun.

As explained by Sufis: In the symbolism of the ritual, the camel's hair hat represents the tombstone of the ego; the wide, white skirt represents the ego's shroud. At the beginning of the ritual, by holding his arms crosswise, the dervish appears to represent the number one, thus testifying to God's unity. While whirling, his arms open: his right arm is directed to the sky, ready to receive God's beneficence; his left hand, upon which his eyes are fastened, is turned toward the earth. The dervish conveys God's spiritual gift to those who are witnessing the ritual. Revolving from right to left around the heart, he embraces all humanity with love.

48 After we caught our breath, our artfully presented food arrived and we were able to connect with those around us. Before dessert, an important part of meals in the Middle East, the beautiful music we heard before slowly became more pronounced again and a different approach to dervish ecstasy emerged, this time evolving into a performance of light.

This was absolutely one of the most inspiring evenings of style, beauty, and sophistication we experienced on this trip.

49 MARCH 13, BEIRUT Cathie and David Partridge

We left Damascus at 7:15 in the morning. At 8:00 we stopped for coffee, rolls, and bananas. The drive was fascinating, passing Palestinian refugee camps, terraced hillsides, sheep grazing, large homes, and snow-capped mountains on our way over the Golan Heights.

Around 10:00, we arrived to go through customs. We gave them our passports and filled out necessary forms…….and waited, and waited, and waited. Our Lebanese representative, who was scheduled to appear and clear customs for the group, didn’t appear. We were stuck in “no mans land”. Rubin Turner came to our rescue to facilitate our release. He negotiated (with cash) our passage into Lebanon. After several hours we were on our way.

The Dome after the war The Dome today

Bernard Khoury’s vision for the Dome’s future

We arrived after noon in Beirut at the City Center Dome in the heart of the city. Everything in this area had been destroyed during the civil war. We hopped off the bus, tired and hungry, to a surprise art exhibit. We were greeted by Salma’s parents, Lebanese people, and TV news cameras and reporters, all waiting for our arrival. What a very unexpected surprise!

50 This was a one-day private art exhibition of Lebanese Contemporary art at the historic Solidere Dome, which was organized by the collector, Mrs. Janine Maamari, with the help of gallerist Fadi Moghabghab. The exhibition wasn’t curated, but was a collaboration of ten Lebanese art galleries exhibiting the work of 35 young Lebanese artists.

51 The purpose was to introduce us to contemporary art in Lebanon since our visit was so short. All of these artists were unfamiliar to me. The event was a happening! Lots of people were dressed up, roaming and sipping champagne and tea. The next day we saw a photograph of our group on the front page of the Beirut newspaper.

Some art from the one day installation at the Dome

Two artists that I remember were Nadim Karam and Jean-Marc Nahas. Nadim was a sculptor who works with stainless steel and did a large charcoal drawing called MASSACRE. Jean-Marc made drawings with China Ink of about 50 faces.

Tony Maamari describes the Dome

52 Antoine (Tony) Maamari, an architect-engineer gave us a talk about the cinema dome built in the 60s, which was part of the shopping mall that survived the bombing because of its round shape. They call it “The Peanut” or “The Pie”. This has become a very important landmark for the city.

Lunch at Tawlet

After all of this excitement in the center of the city, we went to lunch at Kamal Mouzawak’s restaurant TAWLET, which means table in Arabic. This restaurant was only one month old. Kamal is a TV host on a food show and developed a farmer’s market called Souk el Tayeb. This is the first organic, pesticide-free, non-smoking restaurant in Beirut.

53 Natalie Khoury, the wife of the well-known architect Bernard Khoury, curated an art exhibition in the restaurant. There were fun paintings of food, and a collection of silly bottles were hanging in the windows. We ate at one long table with fava beans on the table as decoration, and we served ourselves to a delicious, fresh, healthy meal.

We boarded the bus for a trip to the Beirut Art Center and were greeted by the young founders—Sandra Dagher and Lamia Joreige. This space is only a year old and is the first non-profit contemporary art space in Beirut, so it is very special. The center has an auditorium, a book shop, a coffee boutique, and a media library. They produce five exhibitions per year. The two artists we saw were Emily Jacir and Walid Sadek.

Emily is a Palestinian/New York artist with an American passport. In November 2008 she was awarded the Hugo Boss prize, which granted her a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in February of 2009. She also won the Golden Lion award at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007 for her work ‘Material for a Film.”

The work we saw “Sexy Semite 2000-2002” focused on personal ads in the Village Voice seeking Jewish mates as a way to return home utilizing Israel’s “Law of Return”. The ads were funny, sarcastic and sad.

54 Emily Jacir’s photo/text project, Where We Come From was recently acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

In “Where We Come From”, Jacir asked fellow Palestinians “If I could do anything for you, anywhere in Palestine, what would it be?” Jacir attempts to fulfill the requests with her American passport. This piece can no longer be realized because of changes in passport restrictions, but the requests were fascinating—from mundane things like paying a phone bill to vital things like flowers on a mother’s grave.

Stazione – Venice Biennale proposal

55 “Stazione” (2009) was planned but never realized for the 53rd Venice Biennale. Twenty-four Vaporetti stops were to be translated into Arabic. At each shop was a floating platform in direct dialog with the surrounding architecture, thereby linking them to various elements of Venice shared heritage with the Arab world. The Venetian authorities cancelled the artwork as they felt it would have caused chaos and confusion.

Walid is a 44 year old artist and writer living in Beirut and teaching at the American University. He spoke to us in the auditorium and was very quiet, soft spoken, and thoughtful. Having to live with a 20 year civil war, you become blind and unable to see because you are too close to the predicament. He has been working on the three pieces since 2004—Learning to See Less, Love is Blind, and Mourning in the Presence of the Corpse. These are a summation of his thoughts and ideas. What is demanded of a survivor—someone who has lived in ruins? Can we learn to accept contradictions? Can we bury the corpse, step back and forgive, so we are no longer blind?

Beirut Moevenpick Resort

From the Art Center, we checked into our hotel, the Movenpick. It overlooked the harbor with a beautiful, large swimming pool below the rooms. We were really glad to arrive, as we had been living in the bus all day. We had an hour to unpack and change and leave for the Tawlet Restaurant (again) for a short fashion show and cocktail reception. From there we boarded the bus to travel to the home of Tony and Janine Maamari, high in the mountains outside the city. It was an astounding treat to be there, with fabulous views of the harbor and city.

56 They had the most incredible presentation of all of the foods from the country with a whole fish at one end and a roasted baby lamb at the other. We joined the more than 100 other guests for a fabulous sit-down dinner throughout the house. We were fortunate to have talked to so many people from Lebanon and especially hearing about Tony’s history as the premier architect of the prince of the Emirates. He built villages for the oil workers (who were imported) as well as the airport and all of the support structures in the country when there was nothing there but sand. We arrived back at the hotel about 1am after a REALLY FULL DAY.

MARCH 14, BEIRUT Cathie and David Partridge

Salma and her wonderful parents at a brief stop in Deir Al Kamar, on the way to the Beiteddine Palace

We left for the Beiteddine Palace at 8am, as it was about an hour’s drive into the mountains. The palace is the best example of early 19th century Lebanese architecture in the country. The tour was led by Nora Jumblatt, wife of Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, and featured stunning examples of mosaics sequestered from many places in Lebanon. There were wall and floor mosaics exhibited both inside and outside, and the examples were perfectly restored. The palace and the mosaics made for a truly memorable visit.

57

Stylish Nora Jumblatt introduces us to the Beiteddine Palace

The Beiteddine Palace was built by the Emir Bashir Shihab II during the period from 1788 and 1818 as his personal residence. He lived there until his death in 1840. Afterwards, the building was used by the Ottoman authorities as the government residence until World War I. Under the French Mandate following World War I, it was used for local administrative government. The General Directorate of Antiquities restored the palace after it was declared a historic monument in 1934. After Lebanese independence in 1943, the palace became the summer residence of the president of the republic.

Pretty young ladies touring the Beiteddine Palace

58 After the tour we traveled to the home of Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, and were hosted by Nora and him. They invited local personalities and we all enjoyed cocktails on the outdoor veranda.

Cocktails and lunch at the Jumblatt’s home

This home has been the center of the Druze religion since the beginning, and the leader of the religion lives here. It is a Moslem religion but the tenets of the religion are kept completely secret. It is a prominent part of the political fabric of the country and learning about this history was very riveting. Lunch was an extravaganza, and this permitted us to get to know many of the local Lebanese and ask a lot of questions. Afterward, we returned to the city about 4pm.

We were supposed to enjoy a tour of Beirut, but the traffic was really bad in the late afternoon. It was decided to have a slide presentation at the home of Salma’s parents, Usama and Abir Tuqan. They have a home in Beirut and another in London, and they were charming and gracious hosts throughout our tour of Lebanon. We all were served champagne, seated in the living room, and George Arbid showed slides of all of the various kinds of architecture in Lebanon. It was the ideal ending to a fabulous day.

59 The art-rich Beirut apartment of Abir and Usama Tuqan

Display of the Innash artisans textiles at the Touqan’s home – we shopped! Innash is a Lebanese cultural association seeking to preserve the heritage of traditional Palestinian embroidery and, with the proceeds from sales, to bringing support to needy families in the camps of Southern Lebanon We returned to the hotel about 8pm and decided to let everyone enjoy dinner on their own.

60 MARCH 15, DUBAI Lois and Richard Neiter

After another “leisure” breakfast, we left Beirut for Dubai. We arrived at the magnificent airport with gleaming huge stainless steel pillars and soaring glass walls which prepared us for the awe-inspiring architecture that we were about to encounter. We drove to the Mina A’Salam Hotel with skyscrapers lining the roadway, each one making its unique contemporary statement, and a newly opened metro-rail linked by modernistic shell-like stations. We were on the look out for the Burj Khalifa and were not disappointed to see it gracefully spiral upwards on the horizon. With an hour to relax we dashed to catch a water taxi for a tour of the Madinat Jumeirah Hotels and grounds feeling a bit like being in an environment somewhere between Disneyland and Venice, Italy. Here we were at the edge of the Indian Ocean in a complex of three hotels, 45 restaurants, and a “souk” connected by walkways and waterways.

61 Our Jumeirah hotel complex with the Burj Al Arab in the background

The Mina A’Salam

The day was crowned with a festive Art Dubai welcome dinner hosted by Canvas Magazine. The seating allowed us to meet artists, collectors and art dealers from around the world. The night at the chic floating restaurant Pier Chic was a real- life fantasy.

62 CANVAS-ART DUBAI VIP COLLECTORS DINNER AT PIER CHIC

63 FAMILIAR FACES

Our dear friend, Iranian art collector Dr. Farhad Farjam Sheikha Paula Al-Sabah of Kuwait, Ali Khadra, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Canvas, and Art Dubai Co-Founder John Martin

Another “old friend”, Princess Wijdan Al-Hashemi, HE Sheikh Rashid Al-Khalifa of Bahrain Jordan's Ambassador to Rome toasts Art Dubai

64 MARCH 16, DUBAI Lois and Richard Neiter

The Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah

We departed for Sharjah, an adjacent United Arab Emirate, which was described as a center of Islamic culture.

At our first stop, the Barjeel Art Foundation, we met the passionate Sultan Soud Al-Quassemi whose vision was to create a space where art from all corners of the Arab world could coalesce in an interactive communal setting.

“The Barjeel Art Foundation understands that art is an important part of each nation’s identity and strives to provide a glimpse into the creative soul of Arab countries. In addition to promoting unprecedented accessibility to the collection, Barjeel aims to enhance understanding and appreciation for the arts, while becoming a meeting ground for critical dialogue about Arab art of the past, present and future. Barjeel, or wind tower, is a structure that enables the circulation of air; the foundation hopes to create a space where art, an essential part of our cultural existence, can breathe and be embraced.” Sultan Soud al-Qassemi

65 Introduction to the Barjeel Art Foundation

Sultan Soud Al-Quassemi talks about his collection

66 The exhibition, “Peripheral Vision”, showed painters, photographers and sculptors from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the UAE who depicted their realities which may have been just outside of the direct vision of the world. The passion and knowledge of the Sultan ignited our interest in this exhibition. Upstairs we saw last year’s three Abraaj Capital Art Prize winning projects, a film booth by Kutlug Ataman, a ceiling and floor light installation by Zoulikha Bouabdellah Walk on the Sky, and a carpet by Nazgol Ansarinia.

Display of the 2009 Abraaj Capital Prize winners’ works

Ladies room and men’s room at Barjeel

67 In Shelter at Al Qasba Sharjah, a community based art center, we saw one of our dinner companions from the night before, Patricia Millns, an artist who was exhibiting her floating wire mesh dresses and with whom we would spend a lot of very fulfilling time.

Admiring Patricia Millns’ wire mesh dress

Next we stepped back in time to a visit to the Museum of Islamic Civilization with its most articulate chief curator, Ulrike Al Khami. Here was a building originally conceived of as a souk, which had been beautifully transformed into a museum just five years ago.

Museum of Islamic Civilization

68 Since we started our tour in the Islamic Faith Gallery, Ms. Al Khami began by describing the Five Pillars of Islam: belief in one God, prayers five times a day, charitable commitment, fasting in the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca. Among the art that we viewed were manuscripts from the Qur’an, calligraphy, and examples of the mosque as an architectural expression of history, aesthetics and religious beliefs. As we viewed many examples of calligraphy, we found it fascinating that the greatest achievement in Islamic culture was not to innovate but to write or create in the style of the master/predecessor.

The star piece: a breath-taking Ka’ba door cover, known as sitara, with a model of the Ka’ba nearby

Models of important mosques were also on display

69 A beautiful museum guard at the Museum of Islamic Civilization

We drove back to Dubai to visit the private contemporary Indian art collection of Mr. & Mrs. Prabhakar in a new home specifically created for this collection. What a wonderful experience! The house was designed by a young architect from New Delhi with the active collaboration of Mr. & Mrs. Prabhakar. Gorgeous wood and stone work, and extraordinary connoisseurship combined with fabulous contemporary art were only enhanced by the warmth of our hosts who provided a perfect light lunch (with champagne naturally…)

Smita Prabhakar and her lovely daughter and our group arriving at their residence

70 Mr. & Mrs. Farbod Dowlatshahi, introduced us to their extensive private collection of contemporary Iranian art. Our hosts provided us with a table laden with sweets and Mr. Dowlatshahi shared his passion for the art and artists which he collects in depth. This collection was to provide an excellent background for what we would later see, including the work of Monir Farmanfarmaian and Farhad Moshiri. Many were excited to be introduced to a young and talented artist, Rockie Hossam.

Monir Farmanfarmaian Islamic geometric A stunning Farhad Moshiri Tree Of Iran mirror mosaic pattern work acrylic and crystal - 180x180cm

Another key work by Farhad Moshiri

71 Our host, Farbod Dowlatshahi, discusses his collection A change of clothes, a brief respite and just a stone’s throw from our hotel, we were off to the Collectors’ Circle Preview of Art Dubai. In its fourth year, Art Dubai was well organized, well attended and friendly. We kept on encountering new friends that we had met in the countries we had visited. This was a regional fair of well juried paintings, photography, sculpture and mixed media by artists from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates. We enjoyed work which was aesthetically pleasing, challenging and which deepened our understanding of Arab identity. Alas. after a 12 hour day, we sat down for a leisurely dinner and conversation about the many experiences of the day.

Many restaurants to choose from around our hotel on the Jumeirah complex grounds

72 THE ABRAAJ CAPITAL ART PRIZE

The Abraaj Prize unveiling

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize, established by the Dubai-based private equity company Abraaj Capital, provides international exposure to artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region, aiming to empower contemporary artists from this culturally rich and diverse area. The prize encourages collaborations between the artists and established and internationally acclaimed curators, bridging the gap between Middle Eastern and Western art worlds and offering these artists opportunities to realize ambitious art projects and to gain recognition beyond their immediate cultural environment. Works of the prize form part of Abraaj Capital’s corporate collection.

The 2010 recipients of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize are Cairo-based artist Hala Elkoussy, co-founder of the Contemporary Image Collective (CiC), and Jelle Bouwhuis, Curator at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and Advisor of Visual Art & Design, Utrecht; Lebanese artist Marwan Sahmarani and Mahita El Bacha Urieta, curator, producer and consultant on arts policy; and Algerian artist Kader Attia and curator Laurie Ann Farrell, Executive Director of Exhibitions for the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Their award winning works will debut as highlight of Art Dubai 2010.

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize, the most generous art prize in the world offers $200,000 for production, research and fees to the winners.

73 SOME ART WE ENCOUNTERED

“I want to use art to encourage a deeper understanding of my country and religion that are so often misrepresented.” Abdullah Al-Turki, collector, Creative Director of Edge of Arabia

Shirin Aliabadi

Eye Want To Be Happy Miss Hybrid 1

Her exhibition at the Third Line Gallery featured various portrayals of eyes adorned with a variety of colors, shapes and animated forms. Other works by the artist also explore the emotions of young Iranian girls via embellishment of makeup and plastic surgery in a quest to define their identity and aspirations

Abdulnasser Gharem, (Detail) Men at Work from the series Restored Behaviour

74 Ramin Haerizadeh, Untitled, 2010, Collage on canvas board, 61x91 cm

75 Mohammad Ehsai

Meera Huraiz Metamorphosis

Huguette Caland

76 Shadi Ghadirian Challenging the international preconceptions of women’s roles within an Islamic state, Tehran- based artist Shadi Ghadirian’s photographs draw from her own experiences as a modern woman living within the ancient codes of Shariah law. Her images describe a positive and holistic female identity, humorously taking issue with the traditional roles by which women, both in the Middle East and universally, have been defined.

77 Farhad Moshiri – Iranian art star and CalArts graduate

His painted jars, which he is best known for, look like three dimensional objects, often marked with elegant calligraphy.

78 MARCH 17, DUBAI Geoffrey Beaumont

Lobby of Mina A Salam

We assembled in the Lobby of our headquarters, the luxurious Mina A Salam Hotel, boarded our bus, and headed to the Dubai Marina District. Nestled in a cluster of gleaming new hi-rises, we arrived at La Reve and were whisked to the 34th floor in a state of the art, computer programmed elevator with no individual floor buttons.

We were met by our host, Dr. Farhad Farjam, a collector of world class fame. We were treated to a private viewing of one of the greatest private collections of traditional Islamic art objects in the world. For over an hour, Dr. Farjam personally guided us through room after room of precious illustrated manuscripts and elaborately illustrated pages from The Book of Kings. All of the objects were beautifully displayed in well lighted, museum quality, display cases. When I asked Dr. Farjam whether he had a particular favorite, he paused, smiled, and replied that he had many favorites. He then motioned to us to follow him to a case in the corner of one of the great rooms. There he pointed to a magnificent manuscript and suggested we look at it carefully as it was one of his favorites. The calligraphy at the center of the illustrated page had a distinctly different aesthetic from the other manuscripts located nearby. The manuscript was not from the Mid East at all, as were most of the works we had seen. Instead, it was from Andalusia in Spain, XIIIth Century, well prior to the era of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. What a pleasant surprise. Our host also guided us to see a

79 page from “The Book of Kings”, which was his first acquisition for the collection. And most amusing, he bought this work in Los Angeles while he was a student in our fair state.

Dr. Farjam also had a second collection of international contemporary art in a different section of the building. As we had spent so much time viewing the extensive traditional Islamic works, we had a relatively brief encounter with the contemporary collection. There we saw works by Miro, Calder, Salvador Dali and many others. A stand-out in this collection was a sizable painting, a rare collaboration of Jean Michel Basquiat with Andy Warhol. We would see many additional contemporary works on our afternoon visit to the Farjam Foundation Collection, a stylish exhibition space located in the grandiose Dubai International Financial Center complex.

Bose Krishnamachari Stretched Bodies

We next visited the Al Quoz Gallery, where we were treated to lunch and a presentation by Indian artist Bose Krishnamachari. The exhibit included installations and large paintings of Gandhi and Warhol, with the artist’s image inserted in the company of his famous predecessors.

80 Charles and Gardy taking a rest at the gallery area of DIFC

After lunch we arrived at the Farjam Foundation space where we were met by Sam Bardaouil, who had co-curated with Till Fellrath an exhibition featuring Iranian cotemporary artists which had been shown at the Chelsea museum of Art in New York. Sam had graduated from the American University in Beirut, and later taught there. A good lecturer, he guided us thru the exhibit where we viewed works by Golnaz Fathi, Nazgol Ansarina, Farhad Moshiri, and Siamak Filizadeh, names that were unfamiliar to most of us. Many of the works from Iran were ironic and powerful, reflecting the tensions that exist in their distressed society today.

Left to right: Samer Tabbaa, Barbara and Geoffrey get a brief intro at the Quadro Gallery

81 After an all too short visit at the Quadro Gallery, where we saw the conceptual sculpture of Samer Tabbaa, an artist whose studio we had visited in Amman, we proceeded to the Dubai Mall to see the latest in fashion shops. It was a bit like the upscale malls anywhere in the world today, perhaps with a little more scale, and adorned with a bit more marble. A Latte/Grande at Starbucks in the mall cost $4.57, a third more than at my Starbucks at home.

Dubai Mall waterfall and ladies who shop

Dubai Mall’s centerpiece, the aquarium – one of the largest in the world

Back to the art, in the late afternoon we were treated to a visit of Jane and Kito De Boer’s private collection, which featured classic and modern masters from India. Our host was Robin Dean, a young art expert, formerly of Sotheby’s, who is writing a book about the collection. There were paintings from the Moguls Period, followed by paintings from the Period of British influence, giving way to the modern masters of the post World War II Independence Period. Works by Souza, Raza and Husain were amongst the most prominent. This impressive collection was a preview of things to come for those of us lucky enough to be signed up for the Fellows trip to India next year.

82 Curator Robin Dean talks about Kito De Boer’s collection of Indian art

83 Still ahead: revisiting Art Dubai and meeting its director – and a collectors beach cocktail party for the young and energetic (e.g., Chuck Levy.) The rest of the group took the evening off.

Meeting John Martin, Art Dubai director and co-founder

Revisiting Art Dubai

84 MARCH 18, ABU DHABI - DUBAI Lydia and Chuck Levy

We boarded the bus at 8:30 a.m. for the 1 hour drive to Abu Dhabi. We were fortunate to have some guests with us for the day.

PATRICIA MILLNS is an installation artist from England who has been living in Dubai for 31 years and is very well acquainted with everyone as well as the region. She is on the board of Art Dubai.

Another board member is LISA MAMOUNAS. She is American and collects art that involves food.

NATHAN CLEMENTS-GILLESPIE is British and is associated with MARCO (Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma).

MARTINA PIZZUL CHIGGIATO heads the Office for Individual Development and Membership for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. She urged the Fellows to contact her if they are ever in Venice.

CATERINA TOGNON has a contemporary art gallery in Venice. She is very knowledgeable in the area of glass and has worked with U.S. galleries in both Seattle and Portland.

Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque

85 Our first stop was a tour of the brand new Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque. It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the third largest in the world, construction commenced in 1996. It consists of 22,412 square meters or 66,000 square feet. The father of the current ruler is buried in an area adjacent to the Mosque, the only area in which photography is prohibited.

The marble inlaid exterior space of the Grand Mosque

In order to enter, the women had to don matte black robes and wear scarves around their heads.

Much gold in the Mosque is installed under glass so that it is not touched; touched gold changes color. $2.3 billion has been invested in this not-yet- completed Mosque.

The Mosque has 82 domes each with spires capped in real gold. Included in this vast building are four minarets, each 107 meters tall.

The glass main entrance door weighs 17 tons.

86 Inside the Mosque – the carpet

In the main prayer room, where the men pray, the carpet covering the floor is one piece, and weighs 35 tons. It took two years to make the carpet. There are faint lines in the carpet, so the men can line up evenly, and face the same direction when praying. Non-Muslims cannot attend the services.

The carpet was cut into eight pieces in order to be transported to the Mosque and the president had them transported via his personal helicopter when the boat transporting them from China docked.

The design on the carpet in the women’s separate prayer room identically follows the design on the ceiling. Women hear the sermons in their separate room and observe the person delivering the sermon via closed-circuit television.

Interestingly, there is no VIP section – only a special door for the ruler to enter, and that was designed for security purposes. Otherwise, he prays in line with all the other men.

In the main building was a most unique center chandelier that appears to be a combination of French ornate chandelier on the bottom and butterfly wings extended outward above. This chandelier weighs 9.5 tons, cost U.S. $10 million, and contains one million Swarovski crystals made in Germany. In all, there are three grand, magnificent chandeliers in the main Mosque. The dome housing the center chandelier is 72 meters high and is the largest dome in the world.

87 The interior of the Mosque with the chandelier

Many of the columns were made in China, but from material shipped to China. The entire building can accommodate 7,000 worshipers and outside 30,000 worshipers. The exterior marble has been cut into small pieces so as not to absorb heat. Throughout, there is an unbelievable use of inlaid marble in the columns, floors and walls.

After we left the Mosque, we drove to an army camp to witness the pre-opening of the first sculpture symposium Abu Dhabi will host. This was personally approved by the Crown Prince.

Several artists from all over the world were working on commissions to be announced after the Crown Prince officially opens the symposium. They were working in tents open on two sides so it was possible to see the marble dust flying.

The artists were still in the process of assembling the sculptures for the opening of the show, scheduled for ten days hence. Their nearly-completed creations were interesting to behold.

88 An artist carving marble for the sculpture symposium installations

Following the sculpture stop, we drove to The Emirates Palace Hotel – one of two 7 star hotels in the world. The drive was on a very wide street with a large grass boulevard in the middle; we passed enormous walled homes.

The Emirates Palace

89 The Emirates Palace Hotel is a truly impressive and magnificent structure adjacent to a series of sleek skyscrapers still under construction. The Hotel’s Moorish design makes it look like a castle/palace, misplaced among the most modern buildings imaginable.

The interior of the Emirates Hotel is an attractive sea of marble surrounding a small oasis of domes held up by marble columns adorned by Lalique glass cut into the shape of palm trees.

Lunch at Diwan L’Auberge at the Emirates Palace

There we had a $200 per person lunch at Diwan L’Auberge (Lebanese). We were seated at one long table in a huge room with ceilings that were at least 24 feet high. We were served the usual 12 (or more) hors d’oeuvres, followed by fish, grilled scampi, kebob, lamb, and chicken, accompanied with saffron rice and vegetables. An enormous fruit tray and sweets were next.

90 Saadyat Island

At the hotel, before lunch, we saw an exhibition of the Saadiyat Cultural District featuring drawings, computer facsimiles and models of the district’s proposed main cultural institutions. The Saadiyat Cultural District will be home to five major institutions designed by internationally renowned architects, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (by Frank Gehry), the Louvre Abu Dhabi (by Jean Nouvel), a Maritime Museum (by Tadao Ando), the Performing Arts Center (by Zaha Hadid), and the Zayed National Museum (by Norman Foster), as well as a park with pavilions designed to host international art, architecture, and other cultural fairs and events. Models of these fantastic undertakings were admired by the Fellows. This man-made island will also boast city-facing quayside hotels, exclusive villas, and shops. Passage from museum to museum will be by boat.

These museums and performing arts centers will be part of an island that will have 5-star hotels, 160,000 residents, a business center and a cultural center. That land mass will be connected by two bridges to other islands. Abu Dhabi itself is an island emirate which consists of 200 separate islands.

Notwithstanding the vast oil wealth of the country in which they will be located, the museums will charge admissions.

91 Scale model with Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid’s museum designs

Our next stop was the home of Paula Askari. From the street it seemed quite ordinary, but when we walked in we could see why Paula calls it Paula’s Palazzo. The walls were painted rich red and green. Beautiful carpets, tapestry and the highest quality of antique furniture, painting and object d’art adorned the premises. Paula served us a variety of beverages and a huge table with homemade sweets and fruit.

Our hostess, Paula Askari

92 Those sinful, wonderful Middle Eastern sweets…

…and the mint lemonade that we got to love so much during our tour

93 I asked a number of people to describe it in their own words.

JOYCE RASHID (whose sons designed the Yas hotel we visited on the way back): “A museum of its own. One that goes back in time – a mixture of different eras.”

WOLFGANG BRUELHART (the Swiss Ambassador): “It is an example of warm Arab hospitality – one feels at home upon entering. The outside seems to come in through the use of color – the colors all fit together. There is a lot of rich stuff – one always discovers new things.”

IWONA (Mrs. Rashid’s companion) probably said it best: “It is beyond words.”

I counted five chandeliers in the L-shaped living room/dining room of this opulent home. Side by side, on the walls of the dining room, was a pair of elaborate candlestick holders, each holding nine candles.

Barbara Arledge at Paula Askari’s

In addition to hosting FOCA, Paula had as guests both the United States and the Swiss Ambassadors to the United Arab Republic.

Our group surrounded the United States Ambassador – Richard Olson, a distinguished and impressive person whose wife, Deborah Jones (whom he met after joining the foreign service), is the United States Ambassador to nearby Kuwait.

94 Our Ambassador feels that time is running out for peace in the Middle East and there exists, perhaps, a window of six months to a year for a peace treaty between the Israelis and the Arabs. However, he would not commit to what he thought would occur if peace was not resolved within that time.

In part, he feels the timeline is dictated by when the Iranians obtain a nuclear weapon.

He pointed out that the problem Iran creates in this area is a common problem for both the Emirates and Israel, but that if Israel were to attack Iran, the man in the Arab street would not favor it, although the leaders would not be opposed to it. Ultimately, the Arab leaders would be forced to follow the reaction of the Street.

It was interesting to learn from him that the Emirates have the most advanced jet fighter aircraft in the world – even more advanced than that in the United States Air Force, and that they have varied and numerous types of military equipment provided by the United States. Across the Strait of Hormuz, the Arabs face the Iranians, a common enemy to many.

The United States is served well by its diplomatic force if our other Ambassadors and Consulate officers are of the caliber of U.S. Ambassador Olson.

On to the next stop: We had a special guest join us for the ride back to Dubai. SARAH THORTON is an English author whose book “Seven Days in the Art World” is currently in print in eleven languages.

Arts Abu Dhabi Gallery

95 A brief stop at the three months old Arts Abu Dhabi Gallery: The front of the building was covered with a “curtain” of lacy metalwork. The exhibition was called “The Rise and Fall of Arab Cities.”

Y OSRA, the exhibition curator, gave us a brief tour. There were several installations by young artists.

The contemporary art incorporates released files of the secret service, held for 30 years, with references to the wars in which the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser initiated, depicting the secret service leading the charge in front with the Arabs in the back.

An interesting painting was of the City of the Dead in Egypt, a cemetery, in which spaces are now sold to the living to inhabit.

There was an outstanding installation depicting Palestinian homes, in small, cubist, rectangular shapes, one on top of the other, jammed together. The security wall Israel has constructed to separate it from the Arabs is shown as a mirror which creates the illusion, when looking at it from the Palestinian side, of the Palestinians having more land on their side than on the Jewish side.

On the Israeli side of the mirrored security wall, there was depicted a lot of security, including tanks and soldiers, and an affluent lifestyle, including

96 apartment buildings with luxury outdoor tables and chairs under a pavilion, fancy cars, and live goldfish in a bowl that is shaped as part of a building. This is the artist’s depiction of what he believes Israel and Palestine will look like in 100 years.

Nearby was a separate set-up of a Potemkin village – dirty walls, no palm trees, no bridges, no red carpet, no electricity. However, when visiting dignitaries drive through the area in their Mercedes, the walls revolve 180 degrees and a modern city with electricity is depicted.

The artist is Wafa Hourani and the title of the work is “Qatandia 2047, 2006.” This Potemkin village is intended, by the artist, to depict everyday life in a Palestinian refugee camp adjacent to the most important checkpoint which controls access today and will control access to Ramallah years from now in 2047 – a total of 100 years after the camp’s residents were “evicted” (the Arab argument) from their homes following the 1947 division of Palestine.

The last stop was the YAS Hotel that is part of the $36 million YAS marina and Formula One Raceway. The hotel is futuristic in design and is mainly white (no gold in the entire place). The design in the floor was inspired by the intertwined race track. The entire race track can be seen from the Hotel. The marina is in the center of the race track. There are 499 rooms and 8 restaurants. We were shown a suite – it was very modern, with a black, white and gray color scheme.

Yas Hotel and Marina

97 The glass-paneled 499-room Yas Hotel is built over Abu Dhabi's Formula One racetrack.

The Hotel is now open and is prepared to host the Formula #1 Race set for November 1, 2010. In the YAS Hotel, from many guest rooms you can observe the Formula One race on the adjacent track.

On the return to Dubai, we were caught in an enormous traffic jam caused by an accident. It took so long to pass through that we missed a reception planned for us that evening by the United States Consul General.

It was interesting to observe the actions of the drivers who were frustrated by the stalled, or at best, slow-creeping traffic. Drivers on the on-ramp entering the freeway noticing the jam simply put their cars in reverse and backed out as police cars passed without bothering to cite them. Others pulled off the freeway onto the adjacent desert and drove for miles alongside the freeway on the sand until they passed the accident site.

We ended our exciting day with an excellent dinner at the Mango Tree, a lovely restaurant that faces the tallest building in the world, the Burj Kalifa. Between the restaurant and this towering building is a lagoon where the Dubai Fountains are located. These dancing water fountains greatly exceeded the dancing water fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas (same designers.) During dinner we thoroughly enjoyed the water dances performed for us.

98 Dubai Fountain

Mango Tree terrace with Dubai Fountain

99 MARCH 19, DUBAI Beatrix Barker

Our last day in Dubai was devoted to an architecture tour and to making up for things we didn’t have time to cover during our intense art explorations. The first half of the day was organized by Art Dubai for their favorite VIPs with two very interesting and informed architect guides, members of an international network of Guiding Architects that organizes and operates architectural tours all over the world. They picked us up with two buses and took us all over Dubai not only to present current architectural highlights, but also to engage in in-depth discussion of urban contexts, as well as social, political and cultural backgrounds.

Dominic Wanders and Hannes Werner have lived and worked in Dubai for five years and went into business for themselves by establishing the architecture office «WANDERS WERNER FALASI Consulting Architects» in April 2008. They currently have 15 employees and deal with projects of different magnitudes. They also started the firm (ticket_dXb) to conduct architecture tours of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. They gave us a fascinating perspective on doing business in Dubai as well as the professional expat lifestyle. The conclusion was positive: yes you give up certain freedoms you have in the US or Germany, but you gain a cosmopolitan lifestyle supported by tax free income, tax free shopping, virtually no crime, private or public health care and school system offering multiple quality choices, etc. Dubai is something of a phenomenon as an Arab Muslim society with the fastest growing foreign population in the world, and still being able to successfully develop harmony through ethnic diversity. Yes, Emiratis will always have superiority over expats, but that is understandable and acceptable to those choosing to live and work in the UAE.

The Emirate has unrivalled levels of ambition to be a center of trade, commerce and finance with its strategic location bridging time zones between Europe and the Far East. It has been quick to understand the need for diversification. Oil in the region is only projected to last for about 30 years and so Dubai has successfully embarked upon a major program aimed at developing industries and commercial enterprises to take the place of oil as the predominate commodity of the state's economy. As it stands, less than 10% of Dubai’s GDP comes from oil. Recent innovative measures were the establishment of Free Zones designed to complement and contribute to Dubai's growth and development by offering distinct status for companies operating there as being offshore, or outside the UAE for legal purposes. The Free Zones offer an ever- growing list of advantages such as 100% foreign ownership and repatriation of capital and profits; exemption from all import duties; no taxation on profits or

100 income; and no foreign exchange controls or restrictions on capital movement. Current projects include the foundation of Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City, bringing 21st century technology to Dubai in the world's very first Free Zone wholly dedicated to e-business.

With the sweep of a hand Hannes covered a large portion of the dense skyline and stated that when they got to Dubai five years ago there were only three buildings standing there. The rapid construction has its drawbacks though, he said. Even with the greatest architects and most reputable contractors, skilled labor is hard to come by so some of the buildings have quality issues.

Addressing the question on everybody’s mind, we were told that the international financial crises that resulted in a severe slump in real estate everywhere did not affect Dubai quite the same way. It caused a normalization of prices (Dubai property prices have slumped more than 50 percent from their peak in August 2008) and a disappearance, more or less, of real estate speculators in a city where houses, buildings could change hands 3-4 times before even the ground was broken. The market obviously has been impacted but the conditions post 9/11 and the current economic situation brought Arab and Emirati buyers back home. Still, there is substantial overbuilding which we witnessed at some of the projects we visited and saw many projects on hold.

Our first stop was Dubai Marina with 200 high-rise buildings completed in the last four years!

Dubai Marina

101 Our next stop was the presentation center of the government owned development company Nakheel (Arabic word for palms, meaning warm hospitality). With a total investment of more than $30 billion, it is one of the largest developers world-wide, though we were aware of its problems and restructuring efforts. We were treated to an impressive presentation of the present and the future Dubai by Maria Abdel-Rahman, VIP Delegations Manager, who told us that Nakheel is the key player in realizing the vision of Dubai for the 21st century: creating a world class destination for living, business and tourism. With a number of world-renowned projects like Palm Jumeirah (its villas have been sold out since 2002) and the World (on hold) Nakheel projects will (could…) add more than 600 miles of beachfront to the Dubai coastline and cover over 2 billion sq ft.

The Nakheel vision

And then on to the elegant piece de resistance: the Burj Khalifa, Skidmore, Owens and Merril’s highest structure in the world. Though we had no access as there was an elevator malfunction that closed down the building, we were speechless at the gleaming sight. We saw it from all around Dubai but being so close made the experience quite surreal. With the sun shining on its silver surface it practically lost its materiality, like a mirage. This was our daytime experience after having had an awesome night view with the dancing Dubai Fountains in the foreground while having a scrumptious dinner on the terrace of the Mango Tree restaurant the previous evening.

102 Burj Khalifa

As we drove around we learned a lot about Dubai and saw a rapidly growing city with some creative architecture like the nearly completed 0-14 Tower, or as we referred to it: the Swiss cheese tower, which rises above an exclusive site on the shore of Dubai Creek and is revolutionary because of its skin/concrete shell which is its structure, leaving the floor spaces open without the barriers of columns and walls. The view from the roof was fabulous.

103

The 0-14 Tower a.k.a the Swiss Cheese

Dubai Metro stations inspired by the shape of shells

From the gleaming towers of downtown we moved on to Al Qouz, the industrial area which is growing in reputation as an arts hub. Our destination was thejamjar, both an art center and gallery that also operates an art bus touring exhibitions throughout the Emirate. We had a casual lunch, a quick tour of Fahd Burki’s solo exhibition and our group finally threw in the towel on continuing with afternoon options. The offers on the table were the Mall of the Emirates and its ski slopes, shopping for the ladies, the Bastakiya Art Fair in the old town, or back to the hotel with the Art Dubai bus and enjoying a little rest before our last night’s special dinner. The consensus was uniformly for a return to the hotel, except for Linda and Tod White who were willing to continue on with the Barkers in a special courtesy SUV.

104

First stop was Ski Dubai and it was a wow. Located in the Mall of the Emirates, the $275 Million winter wonderland has five downhill ski runs of varying difficulty (including a black diamond run) and of course a chairlift, as well as a cross country trail, a 295 foot quarter-pipe for snowboarders, a twin bobsled ride, a snowball throwing gallery and a snow cavern. Even with scorching exterior temperatures, the ski area remains a constant 28 degrees. Two feet of snow pack lies underneath a layer of fresh powder that is replenished every night by mimicking mother nature: chemical-free water is put into a specially designed chiller, sent through pipes into snow guns, and blown out into the freezing cold environment which crystallizes into snow. After a brief coffee break looking at the happy children frolicking in the snow, we moved on to the Bastakiya Fair.

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Bastakiya: alleyways with art surprises and a café/restaurant

Now in its fourth year, the Al BASTAKIYA Art Fair takes place in the unique environment of the old, sandstone houses of Bastakiya, the historic area of Dubai. It is an independent fringe fair coinciding with Art Dubai that focuses international attention on Dubai's contemporary art and cultural agenda by providing a platform for young, innovative and emerging artistic talent in the visual, cinematic and performing arts. A combination of curated spaces, galleries and individual participants, BAF was founded by Mona Hauser and Rosie Hayes of the XVA Gallery, this year it involved twenty-three local, regional and internationally based participants. We were excited to see artists we recognized and also seeing a whole new, fresh group as we were guided around by the charming and smart, and very pregnant Rosie. “The two art fairs most definitely complement each other,” she told us. “Art Dubai is a fantastic platform for established artists to showcase their work, furthering the rise in popularity of Middle Eastern art in recent times and BAF complements this agenda, highlighting emerging talent.”

We got back to the hotel with very little time to spear (yep, nothing new) before our scheduled meeting to go over to the iconic, symbolic Burj Al Arab to visit and see the panorama view from Gwen and Peter Norton’s suite and then proceed to the Al Mahara restaurant for our traditional farewell dinner. Unfortunately there was a message for me from the Burj’s manager that under no circumstances

106 would they allow twenty people to go up to the hotel floors. It was obvious that the hotel security was extremely tight (probably appreciated by those staying in the exorbitantly priced suites) and no amount of reasoning and begging would change their decision, so I called the VIP director of Art Dubai to intercede on our behalf. No luck, but to make up for our loss visiting the Nortons they invited us “Very Important People” to tour the presidential suite.

Our elegant group ready for dinner at the Burj Al Arab

Designed to resemble a billowing sail, the seven-star, all suite Burj Al Arab dominates the Dubai skyline and as part of the Jumeirah complex, on its own man-made island, it is right next to the Mina A Salam, our hotel.

It was a visual part of our stay, shimmering white during the day, illuminated at night by choreographed lighting representing water and fire. Much has been written about this hotel, one of the tallest and most luxurious in the world, about its helipad, its super fleet of white Rolls Royces, and what we would discover upon entering the 600 ft atrium: the contrast of aesthetic between the elegant exterior and the over opulent interior described by an architecture critic as: “Vegas after a serious, no-expense-spared, sheik-over". This would be an appropriate way to describe the presidential suite also, with its two bedrooms, dining room, bar lounge, study area and library, and of course a separate butler entrance. We were told that this was usually booked for a couple and several other suites booked for their staff and children. Quick calculation led us to the estimate that a weekend with the kids would be the price of a small house in our corner of the woods…

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Homeira and the Burj lobby fountain Cathie and Elinor in the Presidential Suite

After photo ops and taking in the many views we proceeded to dinner at the Burj’s naturally seven star seafood restaurant, said to be one of the 50 best restaurants in the world. Wholeheartedly immersing ourselves in the folly of a “submarine” taking us to the “underwater” restaurant, we emerged to coral reefs containing amazing sea creatures, including eels and reef sharks, darting about in deep-blue salt water in floor to ceiling displays.

Our private dining room at the Al Mahara restaurant

108 Our private dining room allowed us to have our ritual recounting of favorite trip experiences while waiting for the slow-to-materialize cocktails.

We all agreed that this was indeed a very special trip. During the year while organizing it I had mounting concerns about glitches but there were so few that they were invisible. Another big issue I had to grapple with was the many, many choices between the multitude of “cannot, should not be missed” programs. Our days were long and intense with little down time but I think I have been forgiven. So much art, so much new information, so many rare sights, so much good food, and surprising amounts of French champagne. So much of everything. But what emerged as the most powerful experience for all of us was the amazing Arab generosity and hospitality, the cosmopolitan elegance and intelligence of the people we met and their openness and kindness towards us. From artists, to gallerists and curators, to collectors and social contacts, we had no problem communicating. We made friends.

We awarded Chuck Levy the first prize for attending every program and every optional program with unparalleled enthusiasm and energy. Second prize went to Geoffrey Beaumont who even stayed on a few more days to cover anything we may have missed.

Another first prize went to Chuck and Lydia for the most art purchased on this trip.

After dinner we were driven back to the Mina in white Rollses as a fitting end to a magical trip.

BUT, many of us still had an adventure in just a few hours: flying over at the crack of dawn to Qatar.

109 MARCH 20, DOHA Beatrix Barker

Our one day excursion to Doha started terribly early as there are still few flights to Qatar (I’m sure that will change very soon.)

We flew in to the old airport seeing a gleaming new one nearing completion. Our first impression was that we landed in a much more conservative environment. Some of us ladies discovered a lane dedicated to us and curtained off. It really is meant for women wearing a Niqab to be able to lift their veil for identification without being seen by a man but for us it meant going through much faster.

After exiting the airport and boarding our bus we started seeing tower after tower of fascinating architecture and lots of construction.

Doha West Bay

Doha the new Dubai? This is how the New York Times introduced it:

“Just a few years ago, you could almost hear tumbleweeds blowing through this city, the capital of Qatar. These days, any remaining tumbleweeds are colliding with the giant skyscrapers and sprawling megaprojects that are exploding from the sands. Still plump with petrodollars despite the continuing economic rollercoaster, the home of the Al Jazeera network has been bingeing on luxury hotels, world-class spa villages, Vegas-sized supermalls, cultural venues designed by top-shelf architects and artificial islands that aim to blow those of its neighbor-rival Dubai out of the water.”

The Islamic history of this strategic land was influenced over many centuries by a long series of nomadic Arab tribes, the Ottomans and Portuguese, as well as by the British. In the early 20th century, it was a relatively poor Middle East

110 sheikhdom, with pearl production and fishing being its major revenue sources, then, in 1939, the discovery of oil and gas transformed it into an influential and rich land for both its current ruling clan and for all of its people. The Al Thani family has been ruling Qatar, one-third the size of Belgium, with a population of 1.3 million, since 1825. In 1995, the ruling Emir, Sheikh Khalifa, was removed by his son, the current Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (background: Sandhurst Military Academy, UK.) Since then, Qatar developed into a most desirable position of having one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Jobs are guaranteed, and college education is free. There is no income tax and all public services are gratis. Healthcare is provided by the government.

Tourism is a relatively new venture. Qatar was basically closed until 1995. Tourist visas began to be issued slowly since 1989 and based on our experience it is still a very complicated affair. In 2004 a Tourism Master Plan was established. The scheme allots $15 billion to build and attract top hotels; to create museums and theme parks; and to vastly expand the national airline.

A ruler who is progressive in many ways with a well-defined, ambitious vision for the future creates a good business environment. However, Qatar’s key agenda is culture and education. To make sure the citizens of Qatar, men and women alike, benefit from the nation's sudden wealth, the royal family is determined to "nurture brains before oil wells" and build a "knowledge-based economy." Doha’s culturally progressive master plan is already being hailed as a 21st- century model of urban planning.

There is currently a total of 567 schools in operation within Qatar, both in the public and the private sector. A large number of new schools are also under construction, particularly public schools, in order to meet increased demand which arose as a result of the large increase in population that the country has seen of late. The nine universities operating in the country serve 12,480 students.

Championing Qatar’s cultural ambitions is the Emir’s daughter, Sheikha al Mayassa, an avid film and art buff with a seemingly bottomless purse. After graduating from Duke in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and literature, it was Sheikha al Mayassa who invited the Tribeca Film Festival to come to Doha. (She was also the reported buyer recently at Sotheby’s of three artworks: a Mark Rothko, a Francis Bacon and a Damien Hirst, for more than $160 million.)

Another member of the family, a cousin of the Emir, with an incredible discerning eye and limitless funds to back it up, Sheikh Saud Al-Thani, burst onto the antiquities market in the late 1990s. He was buying for what would become the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art and other Qatari museums. After an eight-year shopping spree that had seen the 38-year-old become the biggest art buyer in the world as he scooped up objects and works of art to the tune of more

111 than $2 billion, Sheikh Saud disappeared from the auction market due to accusations of misappropriating government funds. His sudden disappearance was reported as an “unmitigated disaster” revealing the inflating effect that can be exerted by one enthusiastic and exceedingly wealthy person. But fortunately we get to enjoy and appreciate the results of his passion at MIA.

Doha wants to be seen as the museum mecca of the Middle East. And that is precisely the challenge set by the Museum of Islamic Art which glistens like a futuristic Mont St. Michel on its own island along the waterfront corniche and houses one of the world’s most encyclopedic collections of Islamic art. It is the cornerstone of a monumental effort by Qatar to transform itself into an arts hub and was one of the key reasons we came here.

Coming up for completion end of this year is the Museum of Modern Arab Art designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects. The project, which is to be shaped like a gigantic sand dune, will house over 10,000 articles from the collection of Sheikh Hassan Bin Mohammed Al-Thani. Ranging from abstract paintings to the earliest Quranic manuscripts, it will expand as the museum acquires work from contemporary Arabian artists.

A few months ago Jean Nouvel's design for the National Museum of Qatar was unveiled at MOMA in NYC. Inspired by sand roses it celebrates the delicate beauty of the desert landscape. The galleries will be loosely arranged in chronological order, beginning with exhibitions on the natural history of the desert and the Persian Gulf, artifacts from Bedouin culture, historical exhibitions on the tribal wars and the establishment of the Qatari state, and finally the discovery of oil to the present.

Researching and organizing this day’s programs proved to be quite a challenge: limited and not very informative websites and limited return of emails asking for support. Finally it looked like everything was in place for an exciting day but nobody mentioned the fact that Saturday everything is closed and people are unavailable. Our “guide” and host, Tariq Al Jaidah, collector and founder of the Souq Wakif, got stuck in Dubai and my coordinating capabilities were severely impaired by a flu that was just kicking in and took three weeks to shake after our return. We were also told that two hours at MIA to see the Pearls exhibition would be sufficient/plenty. Hmm, double that would have been enough maybe since the permanent collection of MIA was so incredible. But it all worked out somehow.

Since we arrived at 8:30 in the morning we couldn’t start at MIA. Taking a fairly long drive to the outskirts of town to what is known as Education City, we were scheduled to see a lovely, esoteric exhibition of works from 18th Century India lent by the Royal Asiatic Society of London to the gallery of the Virginia Commonwealth University, Qatar. Furthermore, the hope was that we would be

112 introduced to what the Education City is but alas Dr. Jochen Sokoly, our host, was more of a scholar and less of a good guide and speaker.

Education City is an impressive initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. It houses educational facilities from school age to research level and branch campuses of some of the world's leading universities. It is also conceived of as a forum where universities share research and forge relationships with businesses and institutions in public and private sectors.

In 1996, a worldwide search began for universities that were regarded as the top schools in their fields. In 1997, because it was the top ranked public university of arts and design, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts was contacted to determine its interest in offering some of the same programs offered on its Richmond campus to students in Doha. It was the inaugural campus in Education City, which has since grown to include Cornell, Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and Northwestern.

As we drove on to campus we saw inspirational signs in English

113 The 2,500-acre campus was designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki (our MOCA architect) and its architectural statements are truly astonishing.

Liberal Arts and Sciences building by Arata Isozaki

As part of the Education City, Arata Isozaki has designed a new convention centre. The conceptual design of the centre was developed to incorporate a large “Sidra tree” which has very strong roots allowing it to flourish in the harsh climate of the desert. The tree is a symbol of strength and growth, serving as an icon to the people of Qatar as well as the emblem of the Qatar Foundation.

114 Convention Center by Arata Isozaki – rendering

Weill Cornell Medical College auditorium by Arata Isozaki

And finally, the astonishing MIA! I.M. Pei sought to create a structure that would embody the “essence of Islamic architecture.” He spent months (at 90!) traveling across the Middle East searching for inspiration. He visited the ninth-century sober structure of the Ahmad ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo and ancient fortresses in Tunisia.

115 MIA

MIA atrium looking up and … …looking down

We were received by Dr. Oliver Watson, MIA’s brilliant director who came back to Qatar after spending three years as Keeper of the Department of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It was a return as he left after the financial scandal during which Sheikh Saud Al-Thani, was accused of misappropriating government funds. He came back to a stunning building and the dazzling collections it houses which underscore the seriousness of the country’s cultural ambition. The collection includes several pages of ancient Qurans, one of which is thought to have been compiled just a few years after Mohammed's death. None were compiled in his lifetime, so this must have been one of the earliest Qurans.

116 Chuck listens to Dr. Watson’s introduction

Pages from a Quran Door, Anatolia c.1270

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Bowl, Iraq 9th Century Capital, Spain, Cordoba c. 975 AD

Dr. Watson took us through the collection’s superbly displayed highlights with the intensity required by our allocated and even expanded time and then left us to admire the exhibition “Pearls” assembled from some of the leading pearl farms worldwide: Atlas Pearl from Indonesia, Mikimoto from Japan, Jewelmer from the Philippines, and Robert Wan from Tahiti, among others. The Albion Art collection from Tokyo offered “a unique summary of pearl jewelry” covering five centuries, with masterpieces from the Renaissance and the Art Nouveau periods.

Georges Fouquet, 1889 corsage ornament Chanel Fine Jewellery necklace

For a serious pearl lover like me this was a short glimpse at heaven. Even bought and brought back the enormous catalogue to add to the voluminous library we accumulated during our trip.

118 We could have filled a suitcase with the many beautiful books, brochures and catalogues we got everywhere but instead we either mailed them back (pricey solution) or sadly left behind.

Souq Waqif Entrance to the Isfahan Restaurant

And then it was time for lunch. Booked into the glitzy Isfahan Restaurant in Souq Waqif we thought it would be a break that would lead to a discovery of the Old Souq, the Falcon Souq, and the raft of contemporary galleries that established themselves in the Souq at the encouragement of its owner, Tariq Al Jaidah. Unfortunately the stores and stands were all boarded up (Saturday) and since Mr. Jaidah wasn’t with us we missed learning about the gallery scene as well - but we made up with a much needed rest and a copious Iranian feast.

We had one more stop after lunch before heading back to the airport and it was a private visit to the Museum of the Orientalist which is not yet open to the public. As we stepped inside out of the glare of the sun we were transported to another world. The richly decorated walls with sumptuous jewel-colored wallpapers, some interesting antique furniture and conservative lighting seemed the perfect setting for a quite dazzling collection of Orientalist art amassed by Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed al- Thani.

Touring with Chief Curator Olga Nefedova, we learned about this rich and rare collection. One of the most significant ever assembled in the world, the approximately seven hundred paintings, water colors, drawings and prints, acquired over the last twenty years, trace Orientalism back to the early 18th century. Europeans had minimal contact with the East, usually through trade and intermittent military campaigns, such as Napoleon’s campaign to Egypt, but by the nineteenth century,

119 when more artists traveled to the Middle East, they began representing more numerous scenes of Oriental culture, the grandiose landscapes, the antique ruins, the views of Islamic cities and the exotic scenes of everyday life. Islam forbids the depiction of people in art - hence the predominance of calligraphy and abstract works, so the Western artists of the Orientalist movement played an important part in recording life in the Middle East and North Africa. In Europe and also in America, a collective fascination with the East helped make Orientalist painting a great success with the public.

Time to leave for the airport as we were told that there was a strict two-hour before departure rule. The silver – well, gold lining was that it allowed our shopping starved group to raid the duty free shop.

Elinor found an Aston Martin to her liking at the Doha airport duty free shop

120 We got back to Dubai pleasantly exhausted. Some of us leaving for home in the middle of the night, some in the morning, and some staying another day or so. We bid each other fond farewells with the promise to return, or see each other on another great FOCA trip.

And so we came to the end of our enlightening tour of the Middle East.

______

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE WITHOUT WHOSE HOSPITALITY, GENEROSITY, AND HELP OUR TOUR WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS SPECIAL AS IT WAS:

Salma Tuqan Abir and Usama Tuqan

Lela Csaky, Art Dubai

Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi, Amman, Jordan Duke Memdouh Bisharat, Amman, Jordan Her Excellency the First Lady of Syria, Asma Al-Assad, and Fares Kallas, Office of HE the First Lady, Damascus Sandra Hakim and Amjad Malki of Villa Moda, Damascus, Syria Ghiath Machnok, Art House, Damascus, Syria Mr. and Mrs. Samawi, Ayyam Gallery, Damascus, Syria Janine and Tony Maamari, Beirut, Lebanon Kamal Mouzawak, Tawlet Restaurant, Beirut, Lebanon Nora Jumblatt and Mr. Walid Jumblatt, Moukhtara Palace, Lebanon Nada Debs, Beirut, Lebanon Mr. and Mrs. Prabhakar, Dubai Mr. & Mrs. Farbod Dowlatshahi, Dubai Dr Farhad Farjam, Dubai Paula Askari, Abu Dhabi Dr. Oliver Watson, Doha, Qatar

and so many more….

PHOTO CREDITS: Most photographs are by Beatrix Barker

Other contributors were: Lois Neiter Homeira Goldstein Ann Barrett Linda White Barjeel Art Foundation

Some photographs are from internet research

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