This collection of painted portraits and scenes is a tribute to El Qaa—my hometown in the northern Bekaa Valley. Inspired by archival images of villagers, landscapes, and everyday moments, the paintings reflect fragments of a time that feels both distant and intimate. El Qaa, perched at the edge of Lebanon near the Syrian border, has long existed as a threshold—between mountains and plains, tradition and change, resilience and memory.

Each scene captures a piece of that identity. Women gathered around the tannour, shaping bread with hands hardened by seasons. A trio of women descending the mountain trail on a donkey, embodying grace in motion. An old couple resting in front of their earthen home, watching the road in quiet observance. An elderly woman draped in black, a silhouette of dignity. A man in traditional garb, armed and standing with the confidence of protection and legacy. A woman cradling a stack of freshly baked bread.

This collection doesn’t aim to document or recreate the past, but to emotionally reconnect with it. To honor the quiet beauty of rural life, the strength of its women, the pride of its men, and the rituals that continue to echo through its fields and stones.

These paintings are offerings to memory, to belonging, and to the spirit of a place that raised generations with bread, with dignity, and with a view of the horizon.