Photo by Emily O'Dell
Photo by Emily O'Dell
Oh dear. Everyone I know in Beirut is getting ready for war. Redlines are being drawn (over cocktails)–as friends and colleagues debate how bad it has to get for them to leave. Between last week’s car bombings–and Israel’s recent bombing south of Beirut–some people are already skipping town, and others are refusing to come back from summer vacations abroad.
War is in the air–we all feel it coming. It’s just a matter of time, people say. All of our eyes, of course, are focused next door–waiting to see what happens next.
“Go stock up on groceries.”
This has been the refrain of one of my Lebanese friends all week. Today, I finally decided to follow her advice. Only something unexpected happened along the way–and I was dragged away from the usual route to my favorite organic supermarket by an unforeseeable detour.
You see, after I left my house–I didn’t find myself in the grocery store. Instead, I found myself shopping up a storm in boutiques across Beirut. Really–why buy vegetables, when you can buy treasures from Beiruti boutiques? While some people are drinking away their anxiety, and others are dreaming up their escapes–a few of us (I wasn’t alone in those stores–I swear!) are turning to retail therapy to process our impending doom. Considering the alternatives, it seemed like a healthy way to temporarily escape.
My shopping spree started at Orient 499–a stunning Atelier with exclusive, eclectic handicrafts, artwork, furniture, and clothes–located across from the old Holiday Day Inn–which still sits empty, after having been bombed to bits during the infamous Battle of the Hotels during the civil war.
Not only did I want to buy everything inside of Orient 499’s sleek galleries–but I also wanted to move right in (it would save me the trouble of transporting the heavy furniture to my house). Arabic leather notebooks, hand woven towels, silk Afghan pants, mother of pearl bracelets, Yemeni silver, Turkmen belts, calligraphic mirrors–for me, it doesn’t get much better than that.
To decorate my home from the divine collection at Orient 499 would absolutely be a dream come true–but the problem is, if we have to evacuate, I’ll have to leave it all behind. And truth be told–I wasn’t really shopping today for myself–I was on the hunt for some inspired souvenirs for a few generous and compassionate souls back home–to whom I owe a gift of thanks. Anyway, I’ve always found it more fun to shop for others, since I don’t need much myself (but that didn’t stop me from getting a few things for myself along the way today).
Perhaps the best advice I got today by email–from the same Lebanese friend who told me to get groceries–was:
Keep
Calm
&
Take
Pictures
And take pictures I did–so in my upcoming blog posts, I’ll be sharing a number of photos from my Beirut shopping bonanza–and trying, of course, to keep calm…
Photo by Emily O'Dell
