I was at a mountain wedding in Lebanon in the summer of 1974 when I met Gaby. He was handsome, well-spoken, cultured, elegant. “Let’s leave the wedding, let’s go have dinner, I’ll take you home to change your dress,” he insisted. I decided right then and there that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We drove to Brummana, a town east of Beirut known for its pine trees and views of the Mediterranean, and had steak and chocolate ice cream at the popular French eatery, La Gargote.
That summer, we attended every show at the Baalbeck International Festival. Those were some of the best days of my life, the golden years of Lebanon. Gaby was an amateur photographer, loved literature, read voraciously, and was obsessed with becoming a writer. He never hid his dislike of working in the family business – a 200-year-old tradition of craftsmen, antiquaries and decorators that originated in Syria, spread to Morocco, and eventually settled in Lebanon. In 1862, the family established Maison Tarazi, an antiquities and interior design house that specialised in Oriental design in Beirut, and furnished palaces and mansions across the region as well as in Europe. In 1959, the Tarazis opened the waterfront Alcazar Hotel (now the HSBC building), decorated in the maison's style and which stood as the epitome of Beirut luxury. Gaby was eccentric, averse to floral motifs, preferring geometric patterns instead, and could shock people with his honesty. Even customers, too.
And yet, for all his joie de vivre, intellect, wit and love for stories and storytelling, I got the sense that something gnawed at Gaby. Beyond his professional displeasure was an underlying torment, a deep ache that continued to swell and throb throughout his life. Once, amidst chatter, laughter, and the haze of cigarette smoke over dinner with friends, he joked: “I was born in Damascus, raised in Morocco and Lebanon, and though I was taught Catholic studies, my mother would say we are Roman Orthodox, and my father worked in Islamic art. I say I am damned!” Our friends and Gaby roared with laughter, but the words wailed like a siren in my ears. I understood then and there that that was Gaby’s pain: his identity.
We married in December 1974 and honeymooned in London and Paris. No sooner had we settled into Gaby’s apartment in Wardieh in Hamra, the heart of Beirut’s commercial core, and conflict erupted in Lebanon. Our country as we knew it was ripped apart. Refugees flooded Beirut, the city was divided, snipers and checkpoints marked neighbourhoods, bombs blew, kidnappings and murders started to happen, and a family feud broke out among the Tarazis as the business took hit after hit, eventually shutting down. We didn’t have the means to leave Lebanon, with family money frozen in land, but moved to Ballouneh, a quaint mountain town to the north-east of Beirut. In 1978, Gaby and I joked that we both gave birth together – I delivered our daughter Yumna and Gaby wrote a novel, Le Pressoir a Olives. Two years later, we had Marc. Gaby was such a hands-on father; he was warm and tolerant, spoke to them endlessly, read them stories, taught them about music and really nourished them.
Becoming a father was among the best things that happened to Gaby and provoked him to think and work. I’d say it took him to another level mentally in his attempt to find himself. One day, he showed up with some wood and decided to make a chest. Something clicked and it seemed as though everything he ever wanted to express in literature, he did in art. Our friend, master calligrapher Samir Sayegh, visited Gaby and told him this isn’t furniture, this is art.
Perhaps I started losing Gaby to himself then. He revisited an old motif, Qayem-Nayem, a traditional pattern of four rectangles in a square, and dove deep, so deep, in its exploration. He took it to serve as a visual metaphor for identity and through this classical motif of "oriental abstraction", relentlessly explored what it means to be from the Orient. In his examinations, he poured regional history and his own experiences and chronicles scattered between Syria, Lebanon and Morocco.
Gaby rented an apartment in the same building where we lived and in there, he tested mathematical equations, first intuitively and then practically against a plethora of colour combinations on wood, carton, canvas and paper. When he mixed colours, he vibrated in a trance-like mode, and I saw his eyes flicker as he put together about seven colours per artwork. “When you can’t replace the colours any more, it’s complete,” he would say. “Just like literature: when you can’t replace the word, it’s all said and done.” He ate late, smoked more, developed back pain, and had no structure for time. Our circle of friends shrunk as I watched Gaby plunge into this excavation and investigation of identity. Though his pain and frustration erupted like a volcano spewing lava, there was also relief and realisation. He made a conscious decision that he is Oriental and Mediterranean and did not want to be Muslim or Christian or Lebanese or Moroccan or anything else. And he said it all in his work. I guess I always knew it was a matter of time before Gaby figured out how to express himself.
The political situation escalated and in 1985, Gaby was kidnapped for a few hours. The experience was traumatic for him, and for us, as he started to get panic attacks. “I’m not afraid of bombs,” he would say. “I’m afraid of humans.” Relentless, he continued to explore and though his works are plentiful, varied and so synergetic in their colours, I think he and I both felt that all of it was one work. It had to have been. Is it Sufist? Perhaps the repetition was a prayer, a desire to find oneness. And that is definitely what he sought.
I loved him, respected him and his work and really believed in what he was doing, sometimes even thinking it was more important than me. I missed him when he was working and loved the rich ambience he infused in our home. Gaby never asked me to protect his work, but he dreamt of it being housed in an institution. If he had lived longer, he would have ventured into architecture. Now that I’ve catalogued it all, I feel like I understand him more. He was a man who wanted to find out who he was, took pride in being from the Orient and wanted to infuse his countrymen with the same sentiment.
Remembering the Artist is our series that features artists from the region
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Zayed Sustainability Prize
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
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More coverage from the Future Forum
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m
Winner: Arjan, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Jap Nazaa, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi.
6pm: Al Ruwais Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 1,200m
Winner: RB Lam Tara, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinal.
6.30pm: Shadwell Gold Cup Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Sanad, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
7pm: Shadwell Farm Stallions Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Canal, Harry Bentley, Satish Seemar.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More on animal trafficking
Chinese Grand Prix schedule (in UAE time)
Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am
Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am
Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
Company%20Profile
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
