CritterBlog

Dead Animal Art in Lebanon

April 6, 2008 – 4:50 pm by R. Gilbert

Sidon is the third largest city in Lebanon. It has been inhabited for 4,000 years, and was a major city of Phoenicia. The ancient city was invaded and conquered by Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. During the Phoenician era, Sidon’s most important enterprise was glass manufacture. Homer, the legendary epic poet of ancient Greece, praised its craftsmen for their skill in making glass and producing purple dyes.

Fast forward to 2001. The Daily Star of Lebanon reports that residents of Sidon are rushing to an open air exhibition hall to buy stuffed dead animals. The owners of the exhibition hall, Mohammad and Maher al-Baba, told the Daily Star “that many consider the items pieces of art.”

The Daily Star reports that sick animals are imported by the al-Babas from Turkey, Russia and Africa “in a legal way.” The animals are left to die, and then are stuffed and sold to the public.

“The animals we have are brought from foreign zoos and circuses after they stop working,” Maher said. “They arrive here desperately sick before passing away after a short time. We then stuff them, tan their skin and sell them.”

This enterprising pair is selling stuffed snakes, lions, tigers, crocodiles, deer, hyenas, bears and falcons. However, the best sellers are “cows and sheep due to their affordable prices,” says Maher. He adds that the locals “are rushing to buy these art pieces as they consider them outstanding ornaments for their homes.”

I wonder what Homer would say.

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Further Information
Some call it a dead animal, others call it ‘art’ (The Daily Star, Lebanon News; April 1, 2008)
Sidon (middleeast.com)
Sidon (Wikipedia)