Mini Nos Nos promoting Lebanese half-culture

Two half-Lebanese friends, Jordana Fawaz and Nour Samaha, otherwise known as the “The Nos Nos”, are setting off on a road trip around Lebanon in a MINI Cabrio on a heartfelt mission to discover their roots.

“Nos Nos”, Arabic for ‘half half’, is a term derived for a population who have one parent of Lebanese origin. Like many other half halves from other countries, there can be a lot of confusion around national identity, allegiances and origins, not being entirely from one country but many; the “Nos Nos” are British, American, Canadian, Brazilian, and Australian with representation in over 120 different countries. In fact it’s estimated that The “Nos Nos” amount to 14 million people across the globe, many of who have either never visited Lebanon or visit only during the long summer period.

For this reason, the girls have decided to embark on a trip of a life time to visit the country where they, their parents and grand-parents are from, a place that in many ways is still unfamiliar, and for Jordana in particular, not a place she calls home. With two very different backgrounds, diverse interests, different hobbies and differing beliefs these young women are united by one common goal: To discover their homeland, its spirit and perhaps work out how, why and what they feel about the magical country filled with culture, history and tradition. With all the stories told and the national ferver in the country, they want to discover the real Lebanon and see how and if they fit into it.

Bound by this mission Jordana and Nour plan to visit the north, south, east and west of Lebanon in a MINI Cabrio, the perfect complement for such an exciting adventure. MINI of course is no stranger to supporting such projects and is known across the globe for celebrating culture, creativity and design. MINI supports urban projects, and events that champion culture and creativity and this is one such adventure that MINI is interested in.

Whatever the experience, whatever the perspective (and the two girls rarely agree) they will observe it, blog it, photograph it and publish their experience. With plenty of suggestions from friends and people interested in the project, the two girls plan on visiting the their fathers‘ villages, Beaufort Castle, a 12th century castle in south Lebanon, a traditional souk in Tripoli, hiking trails through the mountains, the famous vineyards in the Baaka area and of course take time out in the Chouf region, south east of Beirut.

Speaking about the adventure Jordana Fawaz said: “The Nos Nos is such an exciting adventure, and one that is very close to our hearts. We are really grateful to be given this opportunity to discover, document and catalog our voyage, made all the more exciting to be doing this in a MINI Cabrio, being able to drive through Lebanon discovering its lesser known sights, sounds and spirit. There will be no cooler way of discovering the hidden Lebanon.”

Nour Samaha agreed, adding that such a journey will open the eyes of people who are not only ‘Nos-Nos’, but also not Lebanese at all, to a part of Lebanon that is rarely spoken about. “We want more people to be aware of the other side of Lebanon, and hopefully with that we can eradicate the stereotypes that have been created as well as gain a better understanding of what this place is all about.”

On the 10th June Jordana and Nour will be picking up a ‘Mid-Night Black’ MINI Cabrio from Bassoul-Heneine sal who have kindly sponsored the vehicle for one month. Sporting a uniquely branded design on the MINI Cabrio, these two girls will clearly stand out on the roads of Lebanon during the month. To find out more about this adventure and party in Beirut when the girls complete their travels, you can follow it on Facebook, just search for the page “The Lebanese Travels of the Nos Nos”, Twitter search for “The NosNos”