Birthday celebrations in Lebanon

On the eve of the New Year, Miamouna Al-Amin celebrated her 122 birthday in her hometown of Aldababi, Akkar. She was in the company of her son Hassan who was born in 1931 and her grandchildren. Al-Amin was born in 1890 according to her official ID, but she claims that she is older than that:  “I was born in the town of Fneideq, and I married Khalid Hassan Sabha then I moved to Aldabiba 100 years ago," Al-Amin said. Al-Amin said that she met her husband and immediately fall in love with him then when he decided to travel to Turkey, she travelled with him and had to carry him on her back for a very long distances until they reached Turkey. However, he died 38 years ago. Al-Amin has only visited a doctor once in her whole life when she suffered from Glaucoma. She still enjoys a very good health and a strong memory. The secret to her health lies in avoiding fatty food and subsisting on vegetables, cheese, milk and eggs. Also, she doesn’t smoke and remains active. Al-Amin lives with her son Hassan in a very modest house. She has a lot of visitors and she welcomes all of them, however, she criticized the authorities saying they didn’t offer her any help, she wondered: "why they don’t care of the oldest woman in Lebanon?" She concluded: "I wish the best for Lebanon in 2013 and the whole world." Hassan described his mother as "a miracle." He explained "she still looks young but we would like to call on the state to give her the care she needs as the world's oldest woman."