January 06, 2009

The Corniche

Not much happening these days here. The eyes of the world are on our southern neighbors and the people of Gaza. So some very local, and trivial, news.
H. got herself a pair of rollerblades from cousin O. and so now we must rollerblade. Beirut is a pretty big city, with very little space for kids. But the Corniche in West Beirut is the one place where you can rollerblade your heart out.

The word corniche comes from the French route à corniche or road on a ledge. The word corniche typically refers to a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising on one side of the road and falling away on the other.The word also, in the Arabic language, refers, in general, to a headland formed at land's end, which describes a most remote geographical border of a mainland by a water line, with a natural corner, usually, or a cliff. In Lebanon and Egypt, the word typically describes a waterfront promenade usually paralleled by a main road, such as the renowned, Corniche Beirut. (source)

And so she rolled,
and rolled,
and rolled some more.
When night had fallen, she finally decided it had been enough. Time to go home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful!

I wish you'd duplicate this article, with some modification, on your other blog -- H, rollerblading, and the source of the word Corniche would be of interest to the kids here and beyond.

B

Unknown said...

At the côte d'Azur: boulevard des 2 corniches ! :)