Tiberias Canvas Print

Gorgeous calligraphy canvas print by Nawaf Soliman as part of the Cities in the Heart exhibit. 

Numbered giclée on wood-stretched canvas

The black basalt stones from which the houses of Tiberius were built bear witness to an old sadness felt by its inhabitants, starting with a volcano and then continuing with the onslaught of wars and earthquakes.

Tiberias has long welcomed tourists; the people of Tiberias, with one foot in the water and another in the mud, were mostly farmers and fishermen. Amateurs made strong fishing lines from horsehair, and the wives of professional fishermen enlarged the holes of their nets so that the small fish could escape.

Tiberius has valued tolerance. Arabic was the language of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian inhabitants. To celebrate Tiberius' quaint tranquility ("sakina" in Arabic), the holy Sakina Shrine was built and became a site sought for its blessings by visitors of all religions and confessions.

This piece was done in Diwani modern calligraphy. The name "Tiberias" was searched for in many Arabic references; the artist found two different spellings: Tiberia and Taberiat. The two names were used adjacent to one other and were repeated four times to form a circle. The name is repeated eight times. In old English calligraphy, there are wonderful endings not found in Arabic script, but that added a beautiful aesthetic to the writing. In mixing Arabic and English calligraphy, the artist added one of those special emphasis marks onto the alif (an Arabic letter) in this piece.