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A Lebanese Blog

Tag: Beirut

New Parking Tariffs in Beirut
Due to the disproportionate tariffs set by parking owners across Beirut, governor Ziad Chebib and the municipality recently issued a new decree setting the maximum fees you should pay for private parkings around the city after dividing it into 4 regions as shown above, and the new tariffs are as follows:

First region (Blue):
- from 0 to 3 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 3 to 5 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
- from 5 to 8 hours:
  5,000 L.L.
- 8 to 10 hours:
  6,000 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours:
  7,000 L.L.
Second region (Green):
- from 0 to 4 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 4 to 7 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
- from 7 to 10 hours:
  5,000 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours:
  6,000 L.L.
Third region (Yellow):
- from 0 to 3 hours:
  2,000 L.L.
- from 3 to 5 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 5 to 8 hours:
  3,500 L.L.
- from 8 to 10 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours:
  5,000 L.L.
Fourth region (Red):
- from 0 to 4 hours:
  2,000 L.L.
- from 4 to 7 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 7 to 10 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
As for covered parking spaces, the following tariffs apply:

First region (Blue):
- from 0 to 3 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
- from 3 to 5 hours:
  5,000 L.L.
- from 5 to 8 hours:
  6,000 L.L.
- from 8 to 10 hours
  7,000 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours:
  8,000 L.L.
Second region (Green):
- from 0 to 4 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
- from 4 to 7 hours:
  5,000 L.L.
- from 7 to 10 hours:
  6,000 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours:
  7,000 L.L.
Third region (Yellow):
- from 0 to 3 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 3 to 5 hours:
  3,500 L.L.
- from 5 to 8 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
- 8 to 10 hours:
  4,500 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours:
  5,500 L.L.
Fourth region (Red):
- from 0 to 4 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 4 to 7 hours:
  3,000 L.L.
- from 7 to 10 hours:
  4,000 L.L.
- from 10 to 14 hours
  4,500 L.L.
Note that the time is rounded up to the nearest hour after 10 minutes.

I’m not really sure how serious will the municipality be about obliging parking owners to abide by the set tariffs, but the chart will at least help you know whether you’re being ripped off or not!
July 2, 2016
Generator Provider in Chiyah Offers Free Electricity During Ramadan

While the owners of private generators are generally hated in Lebanon for forming cartels and making illogical profits sometimes from the government’s failure, you can’t but respect Ishtirak Al Nour’s gesture to provide free 5 Amperes electricity during the month of Ramadan for the people in Chiyah. He also has no problem if someone wants to subscribe for free during this month only.

Many poor families cannot afford paying for a generator subscription and will definitely appreciate being able to keep a fan turned on during the day to make Ramadan a bit easier for them.

Hat tip to you sir, whoever you are!

June 2, 2016
LC Waikiki is Finally Opening in Lebanon!

Almost all those who have traveled to Turkey are probably familiar with the famous clothing store there called LC Waikiki.

I’ve been twice to Istanbul with my wife over the last couple of years and each time we went to LC Waikiki we ended up buying more than a dozen items each, we even got enough stuff for our little boy that had him covered for a whole year. The brand delivers products that are of seriously good quality at very affordable prices.

A friend sent me these two photos from City Mall Dora yesterday showing LC Waikiki are set to open their first branch in Lebanon. And while it’s definitely a great news, I really hope they expand into other places because City Mall is my least favorite shopping destination.

Thank you Chady

May 31, 2016
Cool 350Z Drift Video at Beirut Harbour

I just saw this video of Xavier Massaad drifting a Nissan 350Z at Beirut Harbour and thought it’s worth sharing.

I’m not really sure when was it video shot, but Xaview definitely pulled some cool moves and aside from the ones made by Abdo Feghaly we rarely get any good drifting videos here.

May 29, 2016
Horsh Beirut Now Open To The Public All Weekdays

Following the opening of Horsh Beirut to the public for once per week last year, Nahnoo announced last night on Facebook that a decision was taken for the pine park to be open to the public all weekdays as of June 6th 2016.

I’m not sure whether it was the governor of Beirut Ziad Chbib or the municipality who authorized it, but it’s definitely a much needed step to let people enjoy this beautiful green space. I just hope the municipality will allocate enough and adequate personnel to ensure the cleanliness and security of Horsh Beirut, otherwise I’m pretty sure it won’t take long until people ruin it.

Horsh Beirut will be open from 7AM till 2PM on weekdays, and from 7AM till 7PM on weekends.

May 27, 2016
The Backyard Hazmieh – A New Restaurant Complex in Town
The Backyard is a new open-air complex that is set to open next week in Hazmieh and comprises 17 restaurants and pubs in addition to a gym and a kids play area.

The concept is quite similar to that of The Village Dbayeh as it’s developed by the same people, but I’m more excited about the The Backyard simply because it’s closer to my place. The kids area also means I go there with my 3 year old kid without worrying about him getting bored quickly.

A good variety of names in the F&B industry will be ofered by The Backyard, and here’s a list I was able to get for the places that will be available there:
- Abdel Wahab
- Backstage
- BarTartine
- Brick Lane H
- Classic Burger Joint
- dip n dip
- Divvy
- Kitchen Yard
- Le Bon Vivant
- Lina’s Paris
- Pablo Escobar
- Olio
- Roadster Diner
- Starbucks
- Trumpet
- Tsunami
- Zaatar W Zeit
The Backyard Hazmieh is located in Said Freiha street, and you can refer to the map available here for directions to go there.
May 26, 2016
Review – Beirut Fawq Al Shajara بيروت فوق الشجرة

I recently watched “Beirut Fawq Al Shajara” written by Yehya Jaber and starring Ziad Itani, the same duo who brought us “Beirut Tarik Jdideh” a couple of years ago. And while the latter featured stories inspired from the day to day lives of people living in Tarik Jdideh, the new play focused on events that took place around other areas in Beirut. It might sound redundant at first, but trust me it isn’t. Ziad Itani delivered once again a solid performance without feeling fake on stage, and never failed to crack the audience up at the stories he was illustrating.

Beirut Fawk al Shajara follows the story of Fouad, a Beiruti influenced by his Turkish grandmother as a child, who manages to engage into relationships with many women of different nationalities as he ages while working as tailor. With each relationship we get introduced to some event that took place at a certain time in Beirut’s recent history in a humorous way.

What makes it all interesting is that despite the whole story being fictitious, the events Ziad Itani tells are all pretty accurate. So you’ll be laughing your heart our over the play duration but still learn a good deal from the recent history of the city. You are also guaranteed to be leaving the theater and for some reason humming “Oh lali 3ala Oh lala”!

All in all, and as a side note, I’m really satisfied about the plays Lebanese artists have performed over the last few years such as Venus, Ka3eb 3aleh, and Injazat 7ayat to name a few that do not speak to the audience in a dumb way the same way Lebanese movies and drama series mostly do.

Beirut Fawq Al Shajara is showing at Teatro Verdun (Dunes Center) on Mondays and Thursdays, with tickets selling for 35,000L.L. Needless to say, I highly recommend you go watch it!

April 21, 2016
That’s One Weird Car Accident in Hamra!

I just stumbled upon these car accident images on Yasa’s Facebook page. It took place in Hamra a while ago today.

Knowing how jammed the area is during the day, someone must have certainly been driving like crazy because it takes great effort to get 7 cars involved in an accident at a small intersection there.

Hoping no one got hurt!

April 8, 2016
This Guy Deserves A Trophy!

Well played! 😀

April 7, 2016
Australian 60 Minutes Show Crew Arrested for Documenting Children Abduction in Beirut

News outlets reported yesterday morning that two kids were kidnapped in Hadath by gunmen while waiting for the school bus with their grandmother. As hours went by, the police claimed that their Australian mother was behind the whole thing since she was separated from the father and the two were apparently fighting over the custody of the kids.

Such affairs are not unusual in Lebanon and they sometimes get eventually settled between the parents at a police station, but I was quite surprised this morning to read that it wasn’t really that simple as it turned out the mother planned the abduction in coordination with some private child recovery agency from Australia that helps recover parentally abducted children, and wanted to get them out of Lebanon through the sea to Cyrprus. And it doesn’t end here, she even got the Australian 60 Minutes show involved to film the whole operation as it happens.

The Lebanese police however uncovered the whole thing and ended up arresting the abductors and 60 Minutes crew including presenter Tara Brown (the Australian media is currently buzzing about it by the way) while the mother managed to escape to the Australian embassy along with her children.

I’m not sure how legal this children recovery thing and if journalists are even allowed to document such operations, but it definitely sounds baffling! Let’s see how things will unfold for those in custody right now.

April 7, 2016