“Why paint on walls when you can convey your message on rooftops in a bigger and better way?” asked Mohamed Kabbani, one half of the Lebanese artistic duo Ashekman, following the completion of their mile-long project, Operation Salam, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.
The work spells “salam" (peace) over 82 rooftops in neon-green Kufic calligraphy. Kufic calligraphy, which originated in Iraq in the seventh century, is one of the oldest forms of Arabic calligraphy. It took Ashekman three weeks to complete the project that is best viewed from the city's rooftops. But this artistic triumph extends beyond its physical breadth: The art piece calls for unification in the historically divided and neglected communities of Jabal Mohsen and Bab el-Tabbaneh in Tripoli.