Originally from Khonchara – Lebanon, Carole Samaha grew up surrounded with a warm artistic mood in her house: Her father Antoine, who always dreamt of witnessing the birth of a real artist in his family, unfortunately had only a glimpse at what his only daughter was capable of before he passed away. Unlike many artists, Carole had to fight her way to stardom alone! In fact, she is one of the few who created their own opportunities in the challenging world of fame.

Carole’s passion for art started showing at a very early age when she used to write scripts for plays, gather her friends at school, and play the role of the director. In addition to that, she participated in many talent shows for kids, and everybody noticed her singing aptitude back then.

When the time came to choose her career, art was an inevitable choice, especially when obvious talent and family support coexisted. Therefore, Carole majored in Acting and Directing and obtained a Master’s degree from IESAV Beirut in 1999.

At the university, Carole captured her teachers’ attention in acting, so she was given hard main roles to perform, such as the famous “Bernarda Alba” in 1996, in which she played the role of a 61 years old woman. Drama Theater was therefore Carole’s first step into the real world of fame.

Carole’s success in that area never seemed to be enough for her, she had a bigger aim: combining both singing and acting. This is when she moved to the next step: the Rahbanis Musical Theater! With a lot of confidence in her skills, Carole presented herself to the masters of the game and instantly grabbed both their eyes and their ears. Her first role “Theodora” in “The Last Days of Socrates” in 1998 left a huge impact on the audience, and her performance received a standing ovation from the very first opening night. For the next few years, Carole gained more and more attention in the Musical Theater and participated in three other plays with the Rahbanis.

Away from theater, Carole’s acting skills also showed in many TV series, both local and regional.

In 2000, Carole’s career witnessed a major turning point. She sang “Bi Sabah el Alf el Talet” (Enta Meen) that represented a huge hit in Lebanon and moved Carole up the ladder very quickly while she had barely started her singing career. At that moment, she realized her ultimate goal was not only theater; it was time for her to focus on music and allow her voice to conquer the entire Arab world. On another level, since theater didn’t give her the expansion she was looking for, Carole found it best to accomplish her aim through singing.

As a result, 2003 was when Carole officially started her singing career. She launched her first album “Helm” and immediately stormed the Arab market with her hit Lebanese song “Etallaa Fiyi” that got her the Best New Arab Female Singer award in Dubai in 2004. Although this new journey was a big challenge to her, she skillfully released two other albums and gained a lot of different awards.

Carole’s fan base grew intensely with every album release especially that she had a lot to offer and particularly her strong voice. In fact, many experts in the field acknowledge her having a very rare powerful and sensual voice, which allows her to sing different styles of music, like combining Oriental and Western which is a unique trait for a singer.

One other thing that distinguishes Carole from other artists is her appealing stage presence that conquers all boundaries with the audience and makes each concert a unique experience. Indeed, in a short period, she toured almost all the Arab countries, participated in renowned festivals and stood on the most prestigious stages of the world such as Rosemont Theater in Chicago, Detroit Opera house, Las Vegas Casino… and she was the first Arabic female artist to perform at the Windsor Caesars palace in Canada in 2008.

In addition, Carole’s trademark in the field is the fact that she is always a pioneer when it comes to new ideas, especially in her video clips, music styles and the exotic topics of the songs she chooses. This made of her a singer for all age groups and societies.

In 2007, the great Mansoor Rahbani wrote an epic play especially for Carole, which motivated her to go back to theater after five years. So for the first time, Carole played a sole female leading role in “Zenobia” that represented a challenging task which she pulled off gracefully and left critics praising her for many months. It was unquestionably her ultimate achievement in the Musical Theater!

It isn’t very weird for Carole to be nicknamed “The Chameleon”. She could switch smoothly from one character to another and indulge her audience in the process. A multi-talented artist! Her voice, dancing and acting skills simply mesmerize the crowd. The relationship she built with the stage couldn’t be described with words: It was and still is an eternal passionate love story!

Finally, Carole’s sense of self reliance also showed in another area. In 2009, having anticipated the market change in the musical industry, she established her own production company “LaCarma” and its first project was her forth album “Hdoudi el Sama”, launched in December 2009. And the best is yet to come…

Every third of December in Beirut, children in masks roam their neighborhood knocking on doors, collecting sweets and chocolate, to celebrate the Eid al-Barbara, the feast of Barbara. Screaming heyshlee Barbara – run away Barbara – it has become a tradition to compete with each other for the biggest stash of goodies.

A local legend, the historical figure of Barbara is considered a saint by many Lebanese. She is, naturally, the patron saint of gunmen and those who handle explosives, and her festival is celebrated rather like Halloween, which is a festival relatively new to Lebanon.

And, just like St Valentine and St Nicholas, this saint has become a marketable concept and an opportunity to sell, in this case, costumes and gory masks.

Scary like politics

In the past, local kids used to conjure up frightening disguises with whatever they could find at home. But today, every bit as scary, mass-produced plastic masks of monsters and Lebanese politicians bought from street vendors are the custom.

“Animal masks, such as lion and tiger, are the most popular with small kids,” says Jeanne d’Arc Zakkareye, a street vendor in Saide, Achrafieh. “Dora the Explorer costumes are all the rage, followed by Batman and witches.”

And, of course, “Aoun and Geagea masks are really popular around here. But if you ask me, I wouldn’t pick either of them,” she adds.

Does she believe in Barbara’s sainthood? “Well, no saint was able to cure my brother,” she says. Zakkareye points to a crippled man crouched on the pavement next to her stall. His legs are deformed.

In Hamra, “the Saad Hariri mask is the top seller in my shop,” says Souad [she prefers to be known as Em Samer], owner of Dani, a shop in Makdesi Street.  “Kids are coming in with their parents to take a look at the masks, but this year few people are buying.”

Zakkareye agrees, adding that if people buy they are going for the cheap masks. Maybe the global recession is even hitting the mask market even though they only cost 1,000 – 3,000 LL.

Local legend

According to local legends, Barbara was a young Roman girl who lived in the Beqaa region of Lebanon. Her father was governor of the Roman city of Baalbek and loyal to pagan gods. He kept his daughter under lock and key in a Rapunzel-style tower to avoid all contact with the outside world.

“In Baalbeck we celebrate Saint Barbara with a huge street festival,” says Rima El Berkachy, a Beqaa resident who swears that Barbara really does originate in Baalbek.

The story goes that instead of letting down her hair to welcome illicit suitors, Barbara used her solitary confinement to do some serious soul searching. She converted to Christianity and disguised herself when she escaped from the tower to elude her father – hence the tradition to dress up in costumes and masks.

Alas, Barbara’s story was no fairy tale, and there is no happy ending. Her father gave orders to have her beheaded. Legend has it that lightning struck and the earth swallowed her body; her father died shortly after.

The patron saint of gunners

“For most of us, Barbara is just a childhood tradition and we celebrate it regardless of our religion,” says Souad, pointing out that she was a Christian married to a Muslim. She believes that few Lebanese seem to ponder on the religious significance of the day, preferring to focus on the carnival fun aspect.

In 1975, it was a different story. “Militias smashed the windows of the shops in Hamra selling masks,” said Souad. Why? Back then, wearing masks to mark a religious custom was frowned upon.

Phallic fallacies

Traditional food for Barbara is a dish of sugared boiled barley. “We also eat qatayef, pancakes, stuffed with ashta, clotted cream, or walnuts,” says Kamal Mouzawak,founder of Souk al-Tayyib farmers market.

According to Mouzawak, the reason for serving the barley is linked to when Barbara tried to escape from her father. While hiding in a field, the wheat sprouted and kept her hidden – that’s until soldiers captured her.

The sprouting wheat is also considered a symbol of fertility by Baalbeck’s community, says anthropologist Joelle Haroun. Also the “stuffed” qatayef – go figure.

There are several churches in Lebanon dedicated to Barbara and in Baalbek the Greek Catholic cathedral is dedicated to her.

“In the early Byzantine era the court of Jupiter’s temple was converted to a church dedicated to Saint Barbara,” says Mouzawak.

There seemed to be fewer kids ‘trick-or-treating’ in our neighborhood this year. It would be a shame if traditional Barbara night of mayhem was left behind by Halloween. Perhaps if a politician’s mask doesn’t appeal, kids could make their own costumes again.

And then they should get out on the streets and be glad that this December no one went out on a senseless bender to smash up the masks and magic of a night all Lebanese can enjoy.

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Haifa Wehbe, born March 10, 1976, is a Lebanese model, actress, and singer who rose to fame in the Arab world as runner up for Miss Lebanon. Wehbe was born in Mahrouna, in Southern Lebanon. She became a model at a young age and won the title of “Miss South Lebanon” at age 16. In 2002, she released her 1st album, “Huwa al Zaman”, then in year 2005 her 2nd album “Baddi Eesh”. Her single, “Ana Haifa”(2006) and “Bous El wawa”(2006), were a great hit and became her novelty songs. In July 2008, Haifa released her latest album “Habibi Ana” which contains 15 songs.

Haifa is a spokesperson for Pepsi. She also won the Murex D’or award for 2 consecutive years(2005-2006) for “best artist of the year”. She debuted her acting career in 2008, with a leading role in the Egyptian movie “Dukan Shahata”.

Widad Abia belongs to Lebanon. Widad is a hardworking and intelligent arab girl doing specialization in human resources. Widad tells that once you done specialization in human resources you can earn your dream job easily. Specialization in Human Resources help you in large corporations that are responsible for developing and managing programs and policies, and for directing, coordinating, and managing company operations, job analysis, position classifications, training and development, employee relations, as well as compensation, benefits, and pensions.

Mariam Mahmud belongs to Batroun, Lebanon. Mariam is studying in a high school of Batroun. Mariam has joined us through our contact form. She writes in her email that Batroun is one of most beautiful, historical and oldest cities of world. In the photo Mariam is keeping teddy bear in her laps. She tells that teddy bear is her best friend.  And she spends most of her time with her friend after coming back from school.

Recently opened, Beirut’s most luxurious hotel Le Royal, is situated on a hill station just 15 km from the International Airport, the five-star hotel has 231 guest rooms and rooftop restaurant. It has bars, state-of-the-art health club, outdoor pool and terrace, and the exclusive Royal Spa, which offers lavish and famed Dead Sea Mud Baths.