A wonderful  character. Calm strength, kind , sweet, always smiling.

With order in her life, in the chaos  that prevails around us.

An open   heart for all.

All this makes up a wonderful character.

After all, Alia Al Sawaf is a true princess. For years,  by the side of her husband, Mahmoud Hadid.

With great joy, I went to our meeting, where she promised me,  to describe  her new, handmade creations. She apologized for the delay because for her, it was time to pray. I was waiting  for her for a while,  with absolute respect and admiration for her habits.

When she came back into the living room, again apologizing, I asked her if she does this every day.

She answered me simply and in a normal way, that dedicates four times every day, to her prayer. Analyzing the movements, he explained to me that they protect the body, giving kinetic protection to the human body, flexibility to the knees and largely preventing brain diseases.

Her answer made me think. Why don't we have something like this in our culture? Frequent movements, which put us in the process of protecting our body...

Simplicity in magnificence...

She holds the shyness like a protective blanket, masterfully, artfully expressing her skills.

Extremely high level of empathy, creative mind full of ideas and perfectly tuned listening skills. And this is just the beginning, since calmness and composure are her huge advantages.

In a culture where excessive extroversion prevails and everyone imposes their ideas, the quietests remain cool, logical, but with very special and interesting ideas and opinions. She knows that noise does not always make an impression. Maybe sometimes, it is a nuisance, noise pollution. She retreats to her constructions, creating amazing handicrafts. She is simply herself.

And of course, whenever she gets the chance, she talks with love and obvious enthusiasm about her constructions. Her personal  creations.

Talking about her handmade creations

“I started working 25 years ago. I love whatever has something to do with art, but I was always too busy, so I didn't go to study anything related to it. I am from  a large family, so there was no motivation to study art. I realized that I'm really interested, since I came to Rhodes, as soon as I saw the wonderful mosaics everywhere and that excited me and inspired me to start.

I immediately told Mahmoud, my husband, asking him for something on which glass panes could be placed. I bought a vase initially and the appropriate glass and Mahmoud was willing to help me. It was terracotta.

He himself is an artist. So, he made a drawing and I started to install the glass. Next, I wanted to create my own design. At first, with  figures. Then, through the internet, I found more informations and realistic colors, matching the nature, like this bird (she showed me a handmade bird).

At first, I used medium glass, with the intention of cutting it, but later I learned how to do it. Experience brings better results. Mahmoud helped me put them together, to connect them.

I didn't intend to use only glass, I connected my work with acrylic paints, I never saw it as a simple occupation and I was very happy with that. It's my psychotherapy.

It takes me time to decide the design, the colors and the general concept. I polish every bit of the surface because it is extremely rough and stick it with the right glue. 

So far, I have created about 30 projects. Each of them takes about a year, in order to be complete. My last project, which I started before I leave from  Florida, which means before the summer, was a butterfly. It is a project in 3D dimensions,  that I have to work each piece twice. Front and back.

From pieces of glass, pressed glass. These pieces, the matching colors, are beautiful to me”. 

The reason why she prefers to create pieces that are related to nature.

She likes animals very much. She  doesn't like people's faces. She believes, that nature has a lot to give us.

For that reason, she has made birds, fish, alligators, etc. She uses a space in her house  as a workshop, which she likes very much, but the fact that she travels a lot, by living in Rhodes most of the year, delays her a lot, in terms of completing the project, which is usually heavy, since she has so many materials . 

The material is called check pressed glass. It's colorful and not cheap. To create a project, hundreds or thousands of pieces are needed, depending on the size of the construction, which are placed one by one. Before her creations, Mrs Alia Al Sawaf, knows the result. She has seen it, she has dreamed of it, placing one by one the glasses, first of all, in her imagination.

It is in her plans to create an exhibition, however, she cannot specify the precisely time, because usually, she is away from Miami for a long time. In addition, the constructions that will have to be moved from her workshop to the exhibition space are large and heavy. She  has to sort all that out, make sure that the works can be moved, without risk of damage.

She was ready to do all this, of course, until covid season, that changed everything for us. The about 30-33 art constructions, are made by different types of glasses, in very small pieces, which, combined with each other, compose a very beautiful result.

For now, she dreams of completing the butterfly, which she thought of placing outside, but it is certain that the weather conditions, rain and sun, will cause damage to it. In fact, when you see it, you think that it’s  a real butterfly.

She really feels all these as psychotherapy, it is something that relaxes her and makes her particularly proud of the result, because it is her own inspiration, her own plans, her own creations. 

And when she give to her husband one of her creations, she considers it is more valuable as a sweet memory.

How did she form in her mind, the desire to make this kind of art? She just loves colors! She looked for a way to use them creatively and decided to channel them through colorful glasses. 

Her course of...

She is originally from Palestine, where she left with her family and moved to Kuwait. After 1946, they went very close to Gaza and through Egypt, they were transferred to Kuwait. It was a rising country, because of the minerals.

She met Mahmoud Hadid through her aunt, whom she married, after first working for two years in his company as his secretary. Then, her family and everyone in general had to leave and they all moved to Jordan. 

Comparing her life in Rhodes to her life in Florida…

Every country, every place, has its own beauty. She thinks Florida is beautiful, it is her permanent residence, she lives in a very beautiful area, clean and has more retirees living there.

Rhodes is also beautiful. She likes nature, the sea, the mountains, the greenery, the culture, all of that. So they come to Rhodes in the summer, where they have a great time, but in the winter, most places are closed, the temperature drops and there are not many options. So, the combination  is the best for them.

About the recent hurricanes…

It is a frequent and unpredictable phenomenon, with incalculable damages many times. One can see the damage, many times, to have hit lanes. It depends on the strength and direction of the phenomenon. Huge disasters also, are caused because of the force of the sea which rises quite high and runs with excessive speed and force. The houses are wooden structures, strong, nevertheless, the sea swallows everything in its way.

“For a few years, we were lucky enough to only have one hurricane every year. It is best to build houses on tall pillars, so the sea passes underneath. And it's different thing to live by the sea and quite another to live near  the ocean.

The Atlantic is not easy, in 2004 two category 5th degrees hurricanes turned the area into a desert. Everything disappeared. The first floors went to the basement. No one had the courage to see the damage in the area. It is a big risk to create a building there.

However, she considers herself lucky, since she has these options and alternatives. But, I feel more active, healthier and calmer in Rhodes. Due to the climate, but also due to the fact that the diet here, contains more organic, natural products and this is health insurance.

Also, there is no crime, one can feel safe even walking alone at night, there is a social life, restaurants and cafes are very close, no far distances and entertainment venues too. In Florida, we have to travel a long way to have fun.

We  have also made family friends in Rhodes and are having a great time. But in general, both countries have their own advantages”.   

An ordinary summer day...

From the morning at the beach of course. Having a good time with friends, tasting Mediterranean  flavors and resting their bodies. This is how summer goes. There is balance as they live where they want and how they want. And if it wasn't cold enough, Rhodes would be very beautiful even in winter.

Describing her husband Mahmoud Hadid…

“He is one of the smartest people one could ever meet in life. He focuses on goals, works on them, until he accomplishes what he wants. He is a very power and strong personality. He likes to create.  

This is a blessing, but sometimes, things don't go as planned. And then, he gets disapointed. But just for a while. He restarts very soon. 

He is a good hearted person, sensitive, he likes to help people. 

He is an investor. He wants everything around him, the environment he lives in, to be clean, beautiful, with flowers, trees and excellent constructions.

He works so that he and the world around him, like the results. For all those, he works hard himself, with his own hands. His creations are always very beautiful.  He has incredible energy and  kindness. He is generally a successful businessman, a complete personality, who gives love, joy and smile around him.

He adds beauty to his surroundings. And because of his friendly nature, he has made many, good friends. And he is very simple, he talks to everyone. And even though he comes from a very famous family in many countries, because he is of blue blood, he maintains this simplicity and authenticity. This is my husband, Mahmoud Hadid. A true prince”!