So, even if you can't understand Lebanese, this episode of a travel show on Murr TV (owned by a politically prominent Orthodox family) is worth looking at. It goes north along coastal highway and visits several Orthodox churches and monasteries. Visually it gives exactly the feeling of a Saturday afternoon drive in the summer up the coast... the soundtrack, however, is left me alternately giggling and wincing... actually, it's the worst soundtrack ever. But don't let that scare you off!
11 minutes in is the absolutely gorgeous Dayr el-Nouriyyeh, one of my favorite views in Lebanon....
Around 26 minutes is the new, fancy, Church of St. Nicholas which is quite beautifully frescoed. Though they don't show it ,I think this is the church that has a fresco of the Last Judgment to the back with a car being driven out of Tripoli and into the jaws of Hell.... Like just about everywhere in the Orthodox world, the unfortunate aesthetic choices of the 18th and 19th centuries are avoided in newer churches and monasteries in favor of the neo-Byzantine style, often enough done by Romanians...
Around minute 29 is Hamatoura.... interestingly, the monks there did not have a blessing to talk in front of the camera, though the cameras were allowed lots of access to the monks' daily life and they were allowed to narrate off-camera...
Around minute 55 is Dayr Natour, which is built almost on top of the water.
So if you've never been to Lebanon or want to have a bit of a nostalgic trip, this video is very pleasant...
Watch it here.
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4 comments:
Thanks for the memory trip, and for the wonderful blog. I'm also cringing at the soundtrack. Couldn't they have chosen some good Byzantine chant instead?!
Did you get to the part where they played 'nights in white satin'?!
But yeah, if the narration hadn't been actually pretty decent, especially when they let the monks talk, I would've watched it without sound....
Yes, that was hilarious. The Western choral was also so out of place. I guess it's the price to pay.
I've heard so much about Saydet El Natour and sister Katherine, so I was happy to see her and her small convent in the movie. It made my resolve to visit her even stronger. Do you know if there are any plans for expanding the convent and for other nuns to join her?
I haven't heard anything about expanding the monastery, though that doesn't really mean much....
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