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On May 16th, Solidere announced opening of the new Beirut Waterfront to the public as the first bicycle lane in the city. According to The Daily Star, the lane would start at the Beirut Souks on Tripoli Street and pass through Patriarch Howayek Street in the direction of Beirut’s new maritime front, through Allenby Street, and back to the starting point.

Before getting too excited about it, access to the waterfront will be granted on Sundays only from 10 AM to 8PM! And that’s why I’m having mixed feelings about it, I’m glad we finally have a public space away from the pollution that we got used to, but opening it on Sundays only is sort of disappointing, why can’t they keep it open everyday?

Soliders is acting like someone who invites you over to his house, but then tell you beforehand that he will be kicking you out at 8PM.

Anyway, hoping we get a permanent access to the waterfront, I leave you with this cool video of the place made by Rawad El Hoyek.

“Beirut survived the war, but it’s not going to survive peace. What survived two decades of war, we are destroying now, in the name of modernity,” Mr Kodieh says.

Across Beirut, hundreds of high-rise buildings have replaced old buildings. The city’s architectural heritage is being wiped out because there is no legislation to protect it.

“What’s happening is very sad, but it’s not in our power to stop it,” says Rasheed Jalekh, representative of the Beirut municipality.

Via BBC News

Destroying the architectural heritage is indeed ugly, but is Beirut really turning into an ugly city?

The first video is taken in Tariq El-Jadida and the second in Ras El-Nabeh.

Among the top 29 cities to live in, Beirut was ranked number 19 scoring 80.5/100.

Our formula has ranked the best cities for men – the best cities in which to live, work and party – based on data that includes the number of guaranteed vacation days per year, weather, unemployment rate, new restaurant and club openings, the cost of a Nissan 370Z, and more.

Via BabaGannouj et La Zaytouni

Two days ago I went to the newly opened Beirut Souks, Beirut’s new largest shopping area, which was rebuilt by Solidere according to the original grid plan and location of the old souks that were destructed during the civil war while maintaining the landmarks and street names.

To my disappointment, the new Beirut Souks look nothing similar to the image I have in my mind for the old Beirut, and I’m pretty sure the new image defies the memories that old people who knew the old souks have in their mind.

Souk El Tawileh (via yabeyrouth.com)

In my opinion Solidere did a horrible job at preserving our heritage there as the new souks no longer reflect the real identity of Beirut, in fact the new souks have no identity at all! Nothing inside that big mall makes you feel like you’re in Beirut except for the “decorative” street plates of course. Be the judge yourself by looking at the photos I took below, it can be Dubai, Paris, or whatever other city!

Add to that the fact that the old souks were a destination to almost all society classes prior to the civil, while right now Beirut Souks is another destination for the snobbish people in Lebanon, I really cannot imagine a low income individual being able to spend a day there. Once again, Solidere probably had the Arab tourists in mind when they designed this place! Just like what they did when they were rebuilding the other parts of the central district.

To me, the Hamra street is a much more authentic Beiruti street than the new Souks of Beirut, though it is full of new restaurants and outlet stores but it has at least maintained its spirit throughout the years.

At the end, I will leave you with this comparative video between the old souks of Beirut and the new ones.

Parking meters around Beirut all allow free parking after 5 or 6 PM except in Solidere! As you can see in the below photo, free parking is only allowed after 11 PM (Monday to Saturday).

In addition, as shown in the below photo a flat rate of 3,000L.L applies between 8 & 11 PM (Monday to Saturday), and to my knowledge it doesn’t exist anywhere else, even in the busy Hamra street.

So what’s so special about Solidere to set the parking meters in it that way?!

As of yesterday, Beirut is the new book capital of the world.

BEIRUT: Culture Minister Tamam Salam is expected to fly to Paris next week to take over the presidency of the “World Book Capital 2009,” his media office said on Wednesday. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced in April 2007 the nomination of Beirut as the “World Book Capital 2009.” “Beirut should raise awareness about the importance of reading, books and publications all through 2009,” Salam addressed reporters during a lunch at Le Bristol Hotel in Ras Beirut. The official program of Beirut World Book Capital 2009 starts on April 25, 2009 and ends in April 2010. Beirut is the ninth city to be designated World Book Capital, after Madrid, Alexandria, New Delhi, Antwerp, Montreal, Turin, Bogot‡ and Amsterdam. According to a statement by UNESCO, the city of Beirut was selected “in the light of its focus on cultural diversity, dialogue and tolerance, and of its diverse and stimulating program.”

Source: The Daily Star

I believe minister Tammam Salam has to do double the effort here in Lebanon and the Arab world, as our people simply hate to read. I don’t know the average number of books an Arab reads per year, maybe half a paper? Could be!

Last Sunday I thought of taking advantage of the nice weather and go shooting some sunset photos at Ain El-Mrayseh, but the outcome turned out far away from what I had in mind.

For some reason, every single Beiruti has apparently chosen to go have a ride on the corniche, so I ended up getting stuck in a traffic jam for more than 30 minutes… and you think it was boring? Hell no! It was not!

Next time you get stuck there like me, try to look for the clowns who drive their cars with their feet. YES WITH THEIR FEET!

(Click to enlarge)

So, this guy decided to stand up like a monkey on the driver’s seat, in the middle of the road, and control the steering wheel with his feet, without forgetting to raise the radio volume to the max while listening to Goerge Wassouf (you thought he was listening to Nostalgie? you silly..!)

And it looks like being cool these days is associated with getting out of the car window when you’re going for a ride on the corniche! Then you’ll get to open your mouth to the air and literally “teikol hawa” like our 2 friends below.

Conclusion:
Ain El-Mrayseh + Sunday Afternoon = Bad Idea. New York (aka Hamra) could have been a much better option.

… is BEIRUT!

Among the top 44 places to visit in 2009, published in the New York Times, Beirut is ranking number ONE. That is, people are recommended to choose Beirut as their next destination instead of Barcelona, Venice, Paris or New York for example.

Don’t ask how and why we’re ranking number one, all I know is that people are invited to Beirut to enjoy a good drive on the seaside while trying to avoid falling into potholes, then go to Hamra and get stuck in traffic, and why not going to ABC for shopping and spending 30 minutes before finding a car parking.

Not to forget Gemmayze akid! There’s only one Gemmayze street in the world and it’s right here in Beirut.

Bkaffeh? tab khalas bikaffeh…

I was driving near the Beirut Marina today when I noticed new concrete blocks placed on the sidewalk.

Click to enlarge

I drove further to find the same concrete blocks supporting metal rods.

Click to enlarge

Now if you take a look at the inside of the marina , you will notice that these block and rods are meant to form a visual block (as in the photo below) to PREVENT people from watching the sea and the parked yachts.

Click to enlarge

Very soon, the Beirut Marina will be pretty much like the Movenpick and Riviera, where the sea view is blocked for the public just because they own the land on the seaside.

Anyway, it’s Solidaire’s time now! Bravo! After stealing the center of Beirut now they’re stealing the sea view from the Beirutis.

I know there’s still the rest of the corniche, but still, fuck whoever came up with that idea, they do NOT have the right to do it.