The Standard

While you have been wondering where I have been for the past two weeks, I’ve been half way around the world visiting two of the most incredible cities in the world…Beirut & Istanbul. Don’t complain. I told you I was leaving! I played hard. I worked hard. I even found the time to announce our latest Standard hotel!

The trip was beyond magical, and here are some highlights…

When I first arrived, I spent the day in West Beirut where the streets are narrow, the vintage furniture stores are rampant and the falafel are the most delectable things you’ve ever tasted. The above ladies fashion boutique called Gougle was closed that day, but I’m sure if it was open, the lines would have been out the door. Gougle it.

Just about 30 minutes outside of Beirut, there is a small seaside town called Sidon which is most famous for its sea castle. It was built in the 13th century by The Crusaders while they made their way across the Middle East. I love a good ruin.

The next day brought with it a trip up to The Chouf, a mountain range just Southeast of Beirut. In Lebanon, mountain homes are the equivalent of American beach or country houses. They offer a respite from the heat and chaos of the coastal cities. CHIC! We lunched, we got drunk on the aroma of the Cedar trees and we reveled in the beauty of the silence.

On the way home, we came across the most beautiful monastery we had ever seen. Don’t ask me what it was called. I’ll butcher the name, but it was named after a monk who was purportedly shot in the chest in the 16th century and who, by the grace of God, found the bullets lodged in his garments and not his lungs.

In the chapel of the monastery (the one I had found after I snuck onto the grounds and started snooping around), there was the most interesting chandelier hanging…one that was not very Lebanese or monastery like. After asking a little old man sitting in a pew trying to pray, I learned that it was a gift from Napoleon III in the mid-19th century.

On my way out, I saw this old lady sorting through olives outside a big stone building. She saw me watching her, and invited me over to show me what she was up to. She asked me to help her with a basket and to follow her inside. She took me into the stone building, and I saw that it was filled with modern machinery. It was a miniature olive oil making unit. She explained the process to me. She first sorts all the olives…

Then they travel up this conveyor belt…

The olives are deseeded, and this man makes sure that no waste materials make it into the following pulverization process…

The crushed olive paste is then poured out in a perfect circle on these woven wheels which are then piled up on top of each other and placed in a hydraulic presser…

The pressure from the intense squeezing extracts all the olive oil from the fruit paste…

The oils drizzle down the sides and through the wheels and are collected in a large cement bin…

The freshly extracted oil is then pumped into a tub for bottling and aging. AMAZING!!!

A few days later, I went down to the Dora. No. The Dora is not an explorer, but probably the largest roundabout in the country. Over this roundabout runs the most beautiful bridge I had ever seen. The seamless and modern lines of the underbelly were the most attractive to me. Don’t you agree?

On my second to last day, I went to visit the Beirut Art Center. Founded in 2008 by Sandra Dagher and Lamia Joreige, the center is very quickly becoming a driving force in the support of young and emerging Lebanese artists. Next month, our very good friends over at The New Museum are hosting an exhibition brought to New York from the center in Beirut entitled Museum as Hub: Beirut Art Center: Due To Unforeseen Events…. If you can’t make it to Beirut, at least make it over to the Bowery. The show is already proving to be spectacular. Opens on December 14 through early February.

The next stop on my tour was Istanbul, Turkey…the only city in the world that sits on two continents, Europe and Asia, and is bifurcated by the Bosphorous. An incredible city Istanbul is, filled with old souks, mosques that date close to a thousand years old and Turkish people. A LOT of Turkish people.

Because I love to shop, I went straight to the Grand Bazaar. Filled with hundreds upon hundreds of stores hawking jewelry, ceramics, carpets, teas, lighting and local wares, this souk is packed to the brim with things you couldn’t possibly need…

…like these lights. Beautiful, but I don’t need them.

I had been to Istanbul before, five years ago with Zac Posen, but I didn’t get to see the greatest attraction the city has to offer…Hagia Sofia. An incredibly stunning church built in 360 AD, but then later converted into a mosque in the 15th century when the Ottoman Turks took over. Now it stands as a museum.

The interior is breathtaking and otherworldly. How man could have built something of this size and grandeur boggles the mind.

I overheard a fellow visitor mention to a friend that this sign says “Welcome to Istanbul, Stan D’Arde!” But I have a hard time believing that.

Just like the Grand Bazaar, there is also a massive Spice Market. The fragrances overwhelm and the colors mesmerize.

On my last day in Istanbul, I was offered a ride on a private yacht on the Bosphorous. I love exploring cities by water.

I saw this little house on the banks of the river. I think I’m going to buy it.

Just because you already know how much I love the underbelly of a bridge.

I was sad to leave Istanbul and all the beautiful mosques like that one above which cover the city, but I knew you were missing me. So I’m back now, and fully at your disposal. We have so many exciting things coming your way, so stay in touch. I’ll see you on the ice!

xoxo
Stan