Now I know one swallow doesn't make a summer, but I think summer is definitely announcing itself. Today I saw the first sign in the city; two older men, in suits, sat next to the road in a busy neighborhood, playing a game of ‘tauwle’ on the side walk. You will see this all summer long on the sidewalks of Beirut.
‘Tauwle’, or backgammon, is a very popular game among the local population. The game is ancient, originating from Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), and was played already some 5,000 years ago, in Ur. The old version is known these days as the Royal Game of Ur.
And so here we are, some 5,000 years later, and we still play (a slightly different version of) the game’: a sign that the winter is definitely over
More on the history of the game here. You want to play the Royal Game of Ur? Go here.
‘Tauwle’, or backgammon, is a very popular game among the local population. The game is ancient, originating from Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), and was played already some 5,000 years ago, in Ur. The old version is known these days as the Royal Game of Ur.And so here we are, some 5,000 years later, and we still play (a slightly different version of) the game’: a sign that the winter is definitely over
More on the history of the game here. You want to play the Royal Game of Ur? Go here.
2 comments:
I used to hate this game and its sounds, associated in my memory with the period of the war...
and also, I didn't understand that chance is not so important.
but I'm still convinced it's an important sign...
just before 2005 events, I noticed that this game was disappearing among new generations, and considered it was a great sign for the country...
you know why?
because what you don't know, as lebanese as you can be, you..., is that the game here has two versions in lebanon :
the first one is called "frangieh" (the french), and I have no idea why... maybe brought from the west ;
and the second called "mahboussé", = in prison.
so...
you have the choice between colonisation and emprisonnement...
that's why I consider it's a good sign that these two players are so old.
I used to play ma7bouseh with my father during the war.
One of the player in this picture must be the textile store owner, Mr. Soubhi Yamout :)
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