An article by DM (992 Words, 5 Min. Read)
On the every July 19, 2025, Under the Sacred Branches of the Cedars of God in Bsharri, Time Seemed to Stand Still. As the Sun Set Behind the Mountains, Bathing the Land in Amber and Gold, The Mountain Whispered with Memory … and the world listened.
The Repening Was Orchestrated by MP SETHRIDA Geagea, Whose Vision and Determination Brustification This Cultural Beacon Back to Life. HER PRESENCE, Alongside Her HusBand Samir Geagea, The Leader of the Lebanese Forces Party, was Marked by Grace and Charisma. Her Speech Echoed Through The Mountains Like An Invocation; Eloquent, HeartFELT, and Proud. She is wincomed the Crowd Not Only to A Performance, But to a National Awakening. Her Words –“Lebanon is Coming Back”– –we more than a hop; They was a promise.
The Audience, An Assembly of Dignitaries Including the First Lady of Lebanon, His Excellency the Prime Minister of Lebanon Judge Nawaf Salam and his Wife, His Beatiade the Patriach of Antioch for Maronites Mar Bechara Al-RA’i, and a Host of Foreign Ambassadors and Dignitaries, Stood totether Beneth The Ancient Trees, Watching as Lebanon’s Cultural Spirit Came Alive Again.
A SunSet Painted with Fire and Music
As Twilight Deepled, The Sky Eropted in a Cascade of Fireworks, Showering the Mountaintop in Radiant Colors. The Air Trembled with Music and the Voicees of Melhem Zein and Jahida Wehbe. Their Melodies Stirred The Soul, Especially When Zein Sang “Aatini El Nay Wa Ghanni,“ The Eternal Ode of Khalil Gibran. In Those Few Suspended Minutes, Lebanon Felt Infinite.
The Mountaintop, Crowned with People, Cedars, and Light, Transformed INTO A Sanctury of Heritage and Hope. The antiquation was ack, and though the show started An Hour Late, The Mood Remained One of Reverent Expectance. The Crowd Was Vast, Eager, and Passionate. There was a visible tension in the transportation and Bus Cooordation, Yet It Was A Reflection of the Magnidde of People Who Had Come to Witness Something Unforgettable.
Al Awda: a choreographed resurrection
And then it began. “Al Awda“ – The Return – WAS Not Just a Performance. It was a spiritual end Created and directed by Nadim Cherfan, and present by the 58 Fierce, Divine Women of the Mayyas Troupe, The Show Was A Symphony of Movement, Story, and Soul.
Inspired by Gibran Khalil Gibran’s Life and His MasterPiece The Propehet,, “Al Awda“ WAS A Semi-Fightingal Odyssey of Gibran’s Journey from the Caves of Wadi Qannoubine to the Oceans of Exile, and Finally to the Immortal INK of Revelation. The Mayyas, Through Exquisite Designed Costumes, and Spectaculation Choreographies, embodied not only Gibran’s Narrative But the Collective Lebanese Yearing for mening, RTURN, and Creation.
The PropeTe As Dance
The Scenes Unfolded Like Poetry.
Scene 1: The Prayer Opened with Monks in Caves, attacked by Evil, and rescued by Angels.
Scene 2The Oracle Whispered Riddles Between Worlds.
Scene 3Cedar Saw Gibran Born Beneth the Arms of a Living Tree.
Scene 4: Yabni Tore Him Between the Safety of Homeland and the Lure of Destiny.
Scene 5: The Sea Saild Him INTO The Unknown.
Scene 6Painments Reveled His Yearing Through Brush and Light.
Scene 7Winter Confronted Him With Exile’s Cruelty.
Scene 8Good and Evil Battled with him The Propehet.
Scene 9: The Funeral Brough Him Home in Death, carried by the Winds of his Words.
Scene 10Another Woman Embodied his Believe in Cycles and Reincarnation.
Scene 11Celebration of Cycles Resurrected Him Again, Not AS Man, But as an Eternal Prestnce.
Almitra, Portrayed with ETAREAL Power by Cynthia Karam, was the Guiding Muse. Gibran Was Broght to Life in Phases _By Edmond Jadam (Age 5), Rayan Rayfouni (Age 12), Chabel Rayfouni (Age 18), Badi Abou Chakra (Age 35), and Ammar Chalak (Age 48).
Each One carried a fragment of his, each danced not only for gibran but for every lebanese Soul who left, Dreamed, FOUGHT, and RTURNED.
Light and Echo: A Sensory MasterPiece
The Lighting and Sound Design of “Al Awda” Transformed The Mountainous Stage Into A Living Canvas. Each Beam of Light Painted a New Emotion – Sometimes Divine, Sometimes OMINOUS –WHile The Sound Reverberted Through The Trees Like A Celetial DrumbEat. From the Soft Whispers of the Oracle to the Thunderous Clash of the Battle in Wadi Qannoubine, every sound was immersive, every visual minute a heartbeat of its OWN. The technology never over the art. Yet it seried it, elevated it, and Wrapped the Audience in a Sacred Atmosphere that Blurred The Line Between Dream and Really.
Lebanon: Refleted in the Mayyas
There is an undeniable synergy between the Story of Gibran and the Journey of the Mayyas Themsels. Lebanese-Born, Yet Finding their Recography on America Stages, Winning Season 17 of America’s Got Talent in 2022, the Mayyas are echoes of the prophet- Wandeers Turned Icons, Exiles Turned Messenger. Their Success Abroad, Crowned with Global AdMness, Only Made Their Return to the Cedars More Poignant, More Personal, More PowerFul.
The Cedars Stood Still
Despite The Crowd, The Wait, and the Logistical Chaos that Flared at the End, Nothing Course Dull The Shine of that Night. We, the People of the Mountain and the Sea, Watched from the Soil when Gibran now. As his epitaph declares:
“I am alive like you, and I am standing beside you.
Close Your Eyes and Look Around, You will see me in Friday of you.“
And he was there. In the Silhouettes of Dancers, in the Light, in the Wind.
He had recurned. So haad we.
A word of GratTude
To MP Sethrida Geagea, for Her Tireless Efforts and Moving Presance.
To the Mayyas, for showing the world our story thrive dance.
To Lebanon, for Still Believeing in the Return.
The Cedars Whispered that Night -Not of Sorrow, but of PRIDE. And we listened.
