Georges Zgheib

Georges Zgheib’s modest family store (70 515600 – 70 154419) has stood by the roadside for 40 years in Helweh, bordering Aamchit. The store’s every corner is filled with hand woven artisan items; shelves are piled high with different shaped baskets precariously balanced atop each other.

From the coastal towns of the north, to the mountainous villages of Lebanon, basket making is rooted in Lebanese tradition   There’s a distinct nostalgia attached to traditional Lebanese hand-woven basket crafts, which are often seen piled up on the roadside for sale along the coastal roads of the country. Visit Saida or Tyre and you’ll see their connection to the sea, where they have a strong presence in the harbor, filled with fishing nets or used to carry the morning’s fish. In rural parts, these rustic baskets were used to carry figs, olives and fruits during harvesting season, or flat woven circular mats were used to dry keshik on the roofs of houses in mountain villages.  - See more at: http://www.lebanontraveler.com/en/magazine/Lebanon-Traveler-Woven-roots#sthash.eokqKyHh.dpuf