MARCH, 2016.

WELCOME TO THE GEM OF THE MIDLLE EAST: LEBANON.

When i came to this country i found a powerful culture whose secret weapon is nothing but FASHION!.
 Despite Lebanese are really touchy, they learned how to be involve with western culture. Lebanon it's considered one of the most liberal and  fashionable in the Arab world and its capital city Beirut, is marketed as the paris of the middle east and the source of thousands of successful businessmen.

.Beirut was always a liberal spot, but since the pre-civil war days of the 1970s, the country has certainly become more conservative and you can see it in its traditional costumes.

This country it's a mish-mash of six human civilizations, Roman, Persian, Greek, Arab, Ottoman and the most recent french, so yo can easily see its roots are really strong. 
I had the opportunity to learn about all the cultural aspects, but as always i fell in love with the traditional custome. Even thouhg in the urban areas people wear western outfits, in the countryside mountain people prefer their official customes.

There is a complete picture of a lebanese costume for both men and women.

THE SHERWAL (pants)
THE LABBADE (headdresses)
THE SCARF and lebanese VEIL.

Also there exist:
 THE DRUZE worn by men.

And THE ABAYA:

 

One of the main reasons what i choose lebanon as a travel destiny, is because my favorite designer is lebanese, his name: ELIE SAAB. He's one the most important designer of the world and the reason i'm such a huge fan of him is because he could leave his country and made of him a man of vision and an artist, but never ignoring his people. When we talk about  dresses, there's no one who could do it better, when i was in lebanon i had the honor to attend one of his fashion shows, i literally couldn't stop thinking in a fairy tale, his dresses are for pricesses. it was an unforgettable experience.

I'll leave you a small sample of his great work.