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#UberTOUR: Plan a Day Long Trip in Lebanon for $50

By on August 31, 2017 in Activities

Over the last few months I’ve been relying more on Taxi Hailing apps such as Uber to get around Beirut especially when I’m out with my kid and don’t really want to care about finding a parking spot. The apps are quite convenient and frequently run promo codes, so you end up riding most of the time at a discounted rate.

A new offering by Uber recently caught my attention so I thought of sharing it here. In an attempt from them to promote tourism within our country, they’re offering what they call the UberTOUR between August 28th and September 11th which basically allows you to hire a driver for 7 hours to take you wherever you want around Lebanon for a $50 flat rate. You can also extend the trip for a maximum of 3 hours at $7.2/hour.

$50 might sound like too much for some, but when thinking about the gas price and the less stress you have to endure in weekend traffic, in addition to the fact that you can share the ride with a couple of friends, I guess it quickly becomes to sound very reasonable!

If you intend to use the service simply open the app during the above mentioned period and make sure choose to slide to “UberTOUR” to request an Uber and enjoy your next outing!

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Best Free Places to Bring Your Kids in Beirut

By on March 20, 2016 in Lebanon

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My little kid Malek is turning 3 in a couple of months, and ever since he learned how to walk we started adjusting our plans every weekend to make sure the places we’re going to are suitable for him to play around and have fun. But soon after we began searching and trying few places, we’ve came to realize that Beirut is quite unfriendly for kids simply due to the lack of open and green spaces.

There are very few public gardens around the city, and the well known ones like Sanayeh garden get super crowded on weekends that a kid can barely take a turn on the toys, which eventually makes you opt for some private playgrounds instead. So here are five outdoor places that I’ve found to be pretty suitable for toddlers and can be enjoyed during Spring before it gets too humid.

1. Horsh Tabet Public Garden

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Among the public gardens in Beirut this one is my favorite because it doesn’t get as much crowded as others. It has a small playground at the lower level and open green spaces for kids to enjoy running around, not to mention that you can easily find a parking spot outside it.

2. Ramlet El Bayda

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I never go swim in Ramlet El Bayda and I wouldn’t recommend it. But a few weeks ago I decided to take advantage of the beach being empty and took Malek for a walk there. I first thought we were going to spend no longer than 30 minutes before he gets tired but ended up staying more than 2 hours since he totally enjoyed playing in the sand. If you’re up to it then I recommend you do it while the weather is still relatively cool before it gets crowded with swimmers.

3. Baadba Forest

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Ok this isn’t technically in Beirut but it only takes 10 minutes from Achrafieh to reach there. It is a private property owned by the Antonin Monastery in Baabda but accessible for public. You can go there for a small hike with your little ones and some kids bring their balls to play football in an area that serves as a small field.

photo via Hisham Nasr

4. Horsh Beirut

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Horsh Beirut is unfortunately closed on weekdays and only opens for families on Saturdays only. Needless to say it’s pretty cool there and feels very liberating for the little kids due to its large area. If it only was open during the rest of the week though!

Photo via Beirut Report

5. American University of Beirut

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I know The American University of Beirut isn’t a public place, but accessing it is free as long as you know someone who can admit you to it. And in a city where everybody knows everybody it shouldn’t be a hard task for you! A friend of ours got us in a while ago and Malek enjoyed it so much there. We first got into the green oval where he played for a little while before moving to the lower part on Ain El Mrayseh side where there’s a very nice and well maintained kids playground. And best of all it’s very secure, it really felt like an escape from Beirut.

Photo via AUB

No matter which place you choose to go, I highly recommend you go there early in the day as you might sometime have the whole place for you! We usually head to our destination around 10 which gives us enough time to enjoy almost any place before it gets too crowded.

Let me know if there’s any other place worth adding to the list!

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Cabriolet Film Festival 2013

By on May 23, 2013 in Events

Cabriolet Film Festival 2013 will be held on 24th, 25th, and 26th of May at 8 pm on Saint Nicolas Stairs in Gemmayzeh.

A total of 47 short films from 21 different countries will be presented to the public during this three day event, with free entrance for everyone. The festival program is available here if you’re interested.

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Massive graffiti in Hamra street

By on September 10, 2012 in Lebanon

A Chilean artist called “INTI” who’s a member of “White Wall” drew this awesomely massive graffiti on a building in Hamra street!

WHITE WALL, organized at Beirut Art Center in association with Fondation Saradar and a team of three curators, is an exhibition in which one of the main objectives is to give new impetus to the Lebanese graffiti scene. Fourteen international artists, from Europe, North America, South America, together with artists from Egypt and Tunisia, with diverse visions an

d street art practices, have been invited to share their passion and expertise. Beirut Art Center will host an exhibition, while the show will also spread over the streets of Beirut, creating a dynamic interaction between the exhibition’s venue and the city.Nineteen Lebanon-based artists- the figureheads of the Lebanese street art and graffiti scene- will participate in the various WHITE WALL activities and outdoor interventions throughout Beirut.

Since the Civil War, public space in Lebanon had been occupied by inscriptions and stencils related to war and sectarian politics. Western-style graffiti appeared infrequently as of the mid-1990s. It was not until 2005 that a new scene emerged, taking on the task to create a uniquely Lebanese style of this art
form. This scene is now burgeoning and the streets of Beirut have witnessed the birth of new artists mixing caustic stencils, western influences and Arabic graffiti. These interventions contrasted with public expectations, since they promoted unity over division and maintained a humorous and often critical look at Lebanese society.

One of the key issues raised by this event is to understand how it is possible to bring an inherently outdoor and accessible art to an indoor space like Beirut Art Center, without betraying the idiosyncrasy of this art. While the first graffiti exhibition was already held in 1976 in New York City, this remains a challenge until today. The title, WHITE WALL, confronts the white walls of the galleries with
the streets of the city, a challenging prospect for a street artist.

For more about While Wall, you can check their website here.
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Car crashes into Wardieh pharmacy in Hamra

By on August 7, 2012 in What the fuck!

That pharmacist must be so lucky!

 

This was shot off the monitor of the security cameras of Al-Wardieh Pharmacy in Beirut Lebanon on 12 July 2011.

After midnight, while my buddy mahmoud K. (pharmacist) was walking out the door of the pharmacy, this car slid off the main road after getting into an accident and then hit the pharmacy’s main entrance and display, barely missing Mahmoud(you can see him jump away once he sees the car coming straight to him).. Nice reflex buddy 🙂

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