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The people who make the things, the places and the arguments worth reading about.
Gabriel Yared had me at “hello”. For a world-renowned multi-talented musical genius, Oscar-winner, international award winner, composer, captivating conductor and self-taught pianist, Lebanese-born Yared is modest, courteous, warm and an extremely likable individual. In short, this genu…
Rifaat Sheikh El Ard is unique amongst collectors of art from the Middle East. In an exhibition currently in show at the Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris, he and the Furusiyya Art Foundation have covered new historical ground and established original areas of interest and study of the …
Normandy is famous for the D-Day landings, the Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel and horse breeding. Issam Michael Fares’ breathtaking property ties all three together in just one place. Nicolas Shammas takes a closer look. What do the Battle of Normandy, horse breeding and the Abbaye du Mont…
Azza Fahmy is one of the most internationally renowned jewellers to emerge from the Middle East, creating pieces that best represent Arab culture. Bespoke went to London during Fashion Week to meet with the master craftswoman. Azza Fahmy reclines in her seat looking out beyond her red f…
A walk in a beautiful garden, breakfast on a sunny terrace with just the right view, relaxing and recharging are just a few assets your outdoors can offer. And as landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic writes, designing your landscape with close attention to the environment and in harmon…
Prince Bandar, one of the sons of the great King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, has undertaken a project of both huge ambition and vision in order to save the indigenous wildlife of the kingdom. Nicolas Shammas sat down with His Royal Highness to learn more. It is a late afternoon on a hot sum…
Olga Berluti rarely grants interviews. Her mind, soul and body are dedicated to her trade. So much so that she also has no time for financial analyses or other diversions that may take her away from her passion. Her quest in life is beyond fashion and art – it is about crafting perfect …
At the age of seventy-four, hotel magnate Adrian Zecha is an hotelier phenomenon, though he’s quick to dismiss it. Currently the executive chairman of Aman resorts and chairman of the luxury hotel management company GHM, Zecha, in a rare interview, talks to Nicolas Shammas about hotels,…
Local artisanal work may bring to mind images of your typical uninspired creations. But in the midst of Beirut’s pulsating city, Carole Corm discovers a strong tradition of fashionable and costly cross-stitches that are all heart. Just tucked off Sidani Street in Beirut’s bustling and n…
“We’re in the wrong bloody airport,” says our Libyan host as we touch down in Tripoli International Airport on board the Learjet 45. Of course it wasn’t the city we had faulted on but the actual airfield. It seems that after decades of isolation, Libya has re-emerged still somewhat slee…
The most pertinent question for oil producing countries is what will happen when the oil is gone. But as some of the world’s largest oil producers, the Gulf countries have different ways to cope once the rigs stop pumping. Petroleum and economic expert Dr. Marwan Iskandar debates this i…