The 11 million dollar Christmas Tree.

An 11 million dollar Christmas tree, art and wine in Amman, the little town of Bethlehem, pictures from Aleppo, and do advertisements imitate life?

An Emirati man walks past an 11-million-dollar Christmas tree at the Emirates Palace hotel in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on December 15, 2010.

4TH RINGROAD [3]

Abu Dhabi unveils an 11 million Christmas Tree

The 4th ringroad blog writes about how the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi has unveiled what is thought to be the world’s most expensive Christmas Tree – at more than 11 million USD. According to the blogger, the record value comes down to the fact that the tree is draped with necklaces, earrings and other jewellery, rather than presents under the tree!

SABBAH REPORT [4]

O Little Town of Bethlehem!

A post from a year ago, which recalls a Christmas story from 1991, by Francis A Boyle, a negotiator at the time for the Palestinians. He recalls how he missed Christmas with his family, attempted to explain the situation between Israel and Palestine to his 5 year old son, and how in the end working with congregations and Christian groups never achieved anything…

UNDER MY OLIVE TREE [5]

Where is Palestine on the Map?

Under my olive three asks where is Palestine on the map, pointing out that insufficient media coverage means ‘one of the oldest modern conflicts’ in often misunderstood, and pointing out a video on Youtube currently doing the rounds, and included on this page (see to the left). The video attempts to explain the geography of the West Bank, and terms like “Settlement.”

SYRIA NEWS WIRE [6]

Syria as it used to be – part 2

Syria News Wire release the second installment of its “Syria as it used to be” collection, from a local family collection. This week the photo’s include a band of musicians in Aleppo in 1915, the Aleppo Citadel in 1910, the Nestle building, a sabeel in Damascus 1870 and tree-lined avenue in Damascus from 1913.”

MOEYS [7]

Sunny art fair & alcohol

A large art event opens in Amman, but it serves wine, and one of the artists refuses to attend as a result. Moey reports on the controversy online, and draws his own conclusions… suggesting that the artist involved was either seeking attention or just plain wrong.

BEIRUT NTSC [8]

Art imitates ads, ads imitate life!

Beirut NTSC reveals how adverts can play on current events… like body scans at airports and “wikileaks.” One advert reads “Be proud of your body scan: go vegan” while in Pakistan wikileaks is compared to a sanitary pad. Click below for the images.