Re: Of Men and Henna!

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: Thanks for your compliment. : I haven'nt been in Aleppo for a few years now, but here : is my input on music there. : Aleppo is a city throughout its long history has been : obsesses with two major things in life. Music and food. : In the arena of music, it excelled on not only local level : but across all the Arab world. It was at the hands of Sabah : Fakhri ( A proud Halabi singer) that the traditions of Andalucia : music and songs (which was from the era of Arabs in Spain) that : this form of music was revived, and later embraced by all Arabs : again. Sabah Fakhri is still alive, and I think I heard recently he : something about him making a concert in Houston ( I could be wrong : though on the exact location.) : Another famous singer whom you might be interested to know : and is relevant to henna, is a singer named Mayada Hennawi, : obviously the family name indicates that she came from a progeny : of henna dealers. She made it big across the Arab World, and : attracted the attentions of great musicians in Egypt (our Holywood) : who flocked to compose music for her wonderful voice. Maybe : it was the henna tradition in her blood that oozed so much : talent :-) : Food is a whole area of study when it comes to Halab (Aleppo) : because the people there take their food very seriously. : Kibbah, across the Arab world, is sometimes followed by : the adjective Halabiya denoting excellence and precision. : I don't if it is nostalgia or hunger that brings to mind : the kibbah that my mother makes, whom I believe to be best : chef in the world ( being very objective I guess :-) : When I say they take their food seriously, I'm referring to the fact : that a good worthwhile meal made by a Halabi cook would take : around 5 hours of preparation. Don't even mention fast food : stuff if you want to enjoy food the Aleppo way. : When in Halab (Aleppo) do as the Halabis do. My simple advice to : people thinking about visiting Halab. : My Regards : Babaganooj : : : Could you hang around this forum a whole lot? You write : wonderfully, : : and I really like hearing what you have to say! : : Henna certainly has a strong scent, and when a strong smell is : : associated with something frightening or stressful in childhood, a : : feeling of revulsion can stay long after the memory of the even is : : largely gone. There is a men's aftershave that affects me that way. : : : When I was hennaeing a Moroccan family here, the teenage boy turned : : white as a sheet when he smelled the henna, and began trembling. : His : : mother specifically hugged him and murmered "They don't do that : here, : : you don't have to worry." , and it was in reference to late : : circumcision. She was very highly educated, she was a French : teacher : : in Morocco, and had come to visit her brother runs a business in : : Cleveland. I think they were arranging to leave the boy with him : for : : high school and college. The man watched the henna, and wrote out : : Arabic words for me to copy. I asked him to write the word : "blessing" : : and he didn't seem to know what I meant. I asked "baraka", and he : : said, "oh. that bullshit we USED to believe in." : : It's often difficult to keep in mind that every place is diverse, : : because every person and their experiences are different. Am I : : correct in thinking there is a very good annual jazz festival in : : Aleppo, or is that another city in Syria? We have a CD called "The : : Sultan's Picnic" that was recorded from a jazz festival in Syria, : that : : we absolutely LOVE, and I know there are more in the series but : don't : : know where to find them.

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