Festival Hotel

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a city nestled on the shoulder of a shore, a city that embraced the dreams of its inhabitants. In cosmopolitan Nari, Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived in peace, drinking from the same spring, and the hopeful ones of the sunset perished for different reasons. The narrator witnessed the city's golden age, embodied by the Festival Hotel—Nari's jewel and its kiss—under the management of the Jewish Haim Levinor and the captivating Nissa. The velvet era, the stories of the guests and the "tales" of the staff, the mystery of the forbidden worlds behind the walls of the Hebrew language, the glitter of its nights... But things are not as they seem in cities cursed by names, attributes, origins, and lineage. That volcano was destined to erupt one day. Especially the sea, which caressed the curtains of the gilded Festival Hotel, quickly transformed into a storm, decimating the Jew, then the Armenian, and the Christian, and ravaging every lover who dared to follow their heart within the hotel's walls. The narrator witnessed all of this, his dreams clinging to a single pearl, all that remained of his beloved Skel. A pearl that would inevitably return to him and bring him back to it all. A pearl to which he would follow every thread that led him. A pearl that might have been a mere illusion, born of imagination and desire... In the not-so-distant past, a legendary city nestled on the shore, embracing the aspirations of its inhabitants. Nari was a multicultural city where Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived together in peace, sharing the same resources and contemplating the same breathtaking sunsets. As a child, our narrator witnessed the city's golden age, embodied by the Maharajan Hotel, the jewel in Nari's crown. This hotel was under the capable management of a Jewish couple, Haim Levi Hanor and his captivating wife, Nissa. It was a glorious time, brimming with captivating stories of guests and staff, hidden worlds within the upper class, and enchanting hotel nights. Yet, life in cities with such complex histories is rarely as idyllic as it appears. The dormant volcano, simmering beneath the surface, finally erupted. The gentle sea breeze that had adorned the festival's golden curtains transformed into a tempest, uprooting Jews, then Armenians and Christians, and shattering the dreams of lovers who had dared to sneak into the hotel's walls. The narrator witnessed this transformation, his dreams bound to a small pearl—the sole remnant of his lost paradise. This pearl held him, guiding him whenever he strayed, offering solace to his imagination and his unfulfilled longing.