In the Svenska Dagbladet of 29 April 2009, under the tittle Damaskus kulturskatt dammas av Bitte Hammargren reports on the gentrification of old Damascus and in particular one of the 18th century mansions of the Farhis: the largest one also known as Beit Mouallem Raphael Farhi (1774-1844). The household had about 60 to 70 people living there, probably several families related to Raphael.
When Hakam Roukbi, a Syrian architect based in Paris, saw the Frederick Leigh's 1873 painting of the Farhi courtyard (La Ceuillette des Citrons) in the 2000 Damascus book by Brígida Keenan and Tim Beddow, he decided to restore the Farhi mansion and convert it into a luxury hotel. Opening of the Pacha Palace is due in late 2009 or early 2010.
The Beit Mouallem Farhi is in the Jewish quarter of Old Damascus and was described in many historical reports by foreign visitors such as F. Lowe, secretary of Sir Moses Montefiore, Lady Hester Stanhope and John Wilson. A description of the Farhi Houses can be found on Les Fleurs website.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Holocaust Remembrance Day and Movies
Yesterday, to celebrate that day, I watched Schindler's List on HBO. It is still a powerful movie 16 years later. In 1993 & in Singapore, I remember seeing it with a Chinese audience that found funny the scene where children hid in the latrines' septic tanks.
Schindler's List should be shown every year on Yom HaShoah as the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston are shown every Easter weekend in the US. It should also be beamed via satellite to every household in Iran and Arab countries as well.
I did noticed in the final credits a Ruth Farhi paying the role of an "Old Jewish Woman". Since they were so many, I could not identify her. A quick check on Google indicated that she also played in many Israeli films including the Syrian Bride. On Les Fleurs main tree, we have two Ruth née Farhi of similar age (Ruth Hai and Ruth Asher).
A year or so ago, I saw a documentary (Inheritance, 2006) about the daughter of Amon Göth (the SS Commander of the Płaszów Camp who was hanged after the war) and his last mistress who had passed away in 1980. After her mother's death, Monika Göth discovered her father's war history. The documentary related her efforts to meet a Jewish slave (Helen Jonas) who shared the Göth house with her mother. They both traveled to Plaszów to meet. A very moving story.
Schindler's List should be shown every year on Yom HaShoah as the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston are shown every Easter weekend in the US. It should also be beamed via satellite to every household in Iran and Arab countries as well.
I did noticed in the final credits a Ruth Farhi paying the role of an "Old Jewish Woman". Since they were so many, I could not identify her. A quick check on Google indicated that she also played in many Israeli films including the Syrian Bride. On Les Fleurs main tree, we have two Ruth née Farhi of similar age (Ruth Hai and Ruth Asher).
A year or so ago, I saw a documentary (Inheritance, 2006) about the daughter of Amon Göth (the SS Commander of the Płaszów Camp who was hanged after the war) and his last mistress who had passed away in 1980. After her mother's death, Monika Göth discovered her father's war history. The documentary related her efforts to meet a Jewish slave (Helen Jonas) who shared the Göth house with her mother. They both traveled to Plaszów to meet. A very moving story.
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