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A Lebanese Blog

Tag: Beirut

It’s Official: Assafir Will Stop Publishing

Several people from Assafir confirmed the rumors we all heard last week about a possible closure of the newspaper. Sanaa Khoury, a journalist in Assafir, was among the firsts who announced it on twitter.

Assafir has been in print for 42 years now and was among the leading newspapers in Lebanon, so it’s definitely odd to see it closing down with its employees getting laid off. But then again, it’s only logical for the publishers to halt their operations if there’s not enough revenue.

Throughout my teenage years I got used to reading Annahar as it was my parents favorite, but that was up till 2005 when Gebran Tueini was assasinated and they then switched to buying Assafir. And although I personally enjoy flipping through the physical copy, I never felt the need to subscribe to a newspaper when I got married and moved out in 2011, mainly because I was staying up to date with news through the available news websites and feed readers.

This actually brings me to a related news on ministers Sejaan Azzi and Ramzi Jreige calling for support to media outlets suffering from financial difficulties. Times are changing, and any support a newspaper will be getting is going to be temporary in my opinion if people simply don’t feel like buying a physical copy anymore, just like stone tablets were abandoned for documentation hundreds of years ago. Moreover, the closure of a newspaper will not affect the culture in Lebanon if journalists kept expressing their opinions online because it’s the content that matter and not the medium. Publishers should simply adapt to the changing news consumption habits and act accordingly, and if the government feels like being nice then it should probably consider helping the laid off employees.

Photo via Al Arabiya

Update:

It was reported today that Assafir got some financial support and will keep publishing at least for the next few months. A press conference will be held by the management on Wednesday to talk about the issue with the public.

March 24, 2016
Beirut Hippodrome in Danger of Closing Down?

I was a bit surprised to read this news on several news outlets reporting that Beirut Hippodrome is facing financial difficulties and is in danger of closing down due to lack of funding by the municipality of Beirut.

According to the report, the mayor of Beirut Bilal Hamad is reluctant to invest additional money in the racecourse because betting that is prohibited in Islam takes place there, which sounds quite absurd to me. Regardless if a religion prohibits a certain practice or not, if it is legal by the law then no one should be allowed to keep people from practicing it, otherwise it’s definitely a case of abuse of power.

Better yet, Hamad said he will authorize additional funds to Beirut Hippodrome only if it was turned into what he calls “Beirut Central Park” consisting of a golf course and a riding school. So he basically wants to shut down the racecourse and turn it into a second park just like Horsh Beirut where no one is allowed most time of the week.

If things continued to go downhill for the Hippodrome, then it won’t be weird to read about some development company taking over it someday and starting some mega structure there, just like the resort that was planned in Ramlet El Bayda a couple of years ago.

At a time when we still can’t figure a permanent solution for our garbage, I know this is isn’t a priority but governmental institutions should really consider maintaining places like Beirut Hippodrome before they deteriorate further. I recently came across the below photo of the Sports City Stadium on Facebook and it looked absolutely awful, notice the missing seats in the stands area. We deserve a bit better than that for our tax money!

March 23, 2016
Best Free Places to Bring Your Kids in Beirut

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

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

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

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

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

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!

March 20, 2016
Tiny Beirut – A Cool Tilt-Shift Video

I found this cool tilt-shift video on Vimeo today with scenes from Beirut, Jounieh, and Byblos and thought it is worth sharing on the blog.

It was made by a photographer named Eirik Evjen and I personally found it quite nice for a change at a time when most of the viral videos lately showing parts of Lebanon are taken using drones.

You can check more of Eirik’s work on his website.

March 2, 2016
Is Charles De Gaulle’s Residence In Beirut Set for Demolition?

During the early days of the French Mandate for Lebanon, Charles De Gualle who was still a commander back then was among the army units that were assigned to Beirut at that time. He used to serve at the Grand Serail and was looking for a place to stay with his family within a close proximity, so he rented the first floor of a house owned by Elias Wehbe in Mar Elias.

Over the years, and despite being owned by people of Al-Hoss family, the house has always been known as Charle De Gaulle’s place because of a marble plaque fixed above the door saying “Here lived commander Charles De Gaulle. November 1929 – January 1932”. I even sometimes refer to it the same way when providing directions for someone to a nearby place.

The house has been vacant for many years now and is poorly maintained, but I was quite surprised yesterday to come across a photo by Khaled Hamadeh on twitter showing that the plaque has been removed, which could possibly mean that there might be plans to demolish it and I really hope it isn’t the case.

With the current property prices in Beirut nowadays, I totally understand it might be unfair for the owners to be forbidden from bringing down the house to make way for a new building to earn some really good money, that’s why there should be a plan by the government or municipality to buy these old houses/building to either just preserve them or turn them into small museums. But then again, in a failed state it’s much easier said than done, so I really don’t want to be in the shoes of the current owners!

The second photo is taken by Ginane Bacho

Update:

The governor of Beirut Ziad Chbib posted on Facebook that the house owner removed the plaque because he was afraid that George Abdallah supporters might vandalize it. It is currently in the hands of the ISF and will be restored to its place, which simply means that the house is safe!

February 13, 2016
Belghalat – A Satire Musical by Michelle & Noel Keserwany

The famous Michelle and Noel Keserwany are collaborating with M Media on a satirical musical called “Belghalat”. The project is made of four episodes each criticizing a certain side of life in Lebanon through their witty songs.

Judging by the songs they made so far like Jagal El Usek, 3al Jamal bi Wasat Beirut, and Zaffatleh El Tarik, I highly doubt the upcoming series will be any less better than the previous videos.

The first episode will go online on February 15th, but I have no idea if the subsequent ones will be posted on a daily or weekly basis. Anyway, for now you can watch this teaser that M Media posted today.

February 12, 2016
Little Free Library

I was at Horsh Tabet Public garden with my kid last Sunday when I came across this cool box called “Little Free Library” by Arcenciel.

The purpose of this box is to promote reading among people by simply allowing them to take any book they want from it, and in the same way also add their own books to it, thus the sign on top that reads “Take a book, return a book”. Pretty cool, don’t you think?

Arcenciel’s initiative is part of an international movement going by the same name “Little Free Library” that encourages people to put up similar boxes in their neighborhood to exhange books among each other. And there’s no restriction on the genre of books that people can add to the box, which makes it interesting for you to check on the available books every time you stumble upon these little libraries.

I tried looking up if other boxes are available in Lebanon and only managed to find an additional one in Tripoli. It would be nice to have more of these boxes at public places and even private ones like coffee shops maybe, where people would more likely be in the mood to read something.

February 3, 2016
AUB 150th Anniversary

This year marks 150 years since the establishment of The American University of Beirut in 1866.

AUB is by far the oldest university in Lebanon and has to some extent played a role in shaping the history of Beirut by influencing the culture of the surrounding area in Hamra and making it a meeting place for avant-garde thinking and revolutionaries during the 60s and 70s.

I have always admired their campus which is in my opinion the most beautiful one among other Lebanese universities, and a stroll in their green areas always feels like an escape from Beirut’s polluted atmosphere.

To celebrate their 150th anniversary, AUB built a dedicated website http://150.aub.edu.lb that has their calendar of events throughout the year, in addition to a history timeline highlighting their milestones and accomplishments, and a cool page sharing the stories of couple that have met at AUB.

I highly recommend you check out the website for some bits of history and interesting old photos of the university.

photo via flickr

January 30, 2016
Blink My Car – The Latest On-Demand Car Wash Service

“Blink My Car” is a new mobile app that allows people in Beirut to book a car wash for their car or motorbike wherever they are around the city. All they have to do is place an order through the app and a team will show up at their place to clean the vehicle using waterless products.

The idea is not new to the market since two similar services were previously launched in 2010 (Yara Service) and 2014 (Just Wash), but Blink My Car seems easier to use since it doesn’t involve calling any phone number.

I actually downloaded the app and it required me to register and enter basic details about my car in order for them to identify it once they arrive (car model, color, and plate number). I’m not sure though how much helpful will these info be in crowded areas, but anyway I was mostly curious to know how much is their fees. It turned out they charge $10 per car/motorbike and an additional $2 for the car interior, so that’s a total of $12 of 18,000L.L to properly clean your car.

I honestly found the fare a bit too high since I usually can get my car cleaned for anything between 5,000L.L and 10,000L.L. But then again, if I ever felt like I really really need to wash my car ad was unable to go out, then I will probably consider using “Blink My Car” and will be willing to pay the extra 8,000L.L.

I wish their team all the luck anyway!

January 28, 2016
3 Reasons to Avoid The Early Screenings of Bennesbeh Labokra Chou
Don’t get me wrong, just as you guys probably felt, I was also super excited to learn that Ziad is finally releasing Bennesbeh Labokra Chou in cinemas and I’m already planning to go see it but I personally really prefer to skip to the first few screenings for these reasons.
1. Ziad fanatics
  
  We all have that one annoying friend who literally worships Ziad Rahbani and takes every possible opportunity to quote a line from his plays. Some even take it a bit further and imitate the way Ziad speaks. These guys have definitely already booked their tickets and will be all present at the early screenings. Chances are no one wants to be present wherever these people gather and start talking to each other… at least I dont!
2. The joke spoilers
  
  Some people can recite the play like the alphabet since they know it by heart. To prove their skills, they will be spoiling every single joke before the actors even start with it. These ones will also be there for the early shows and you probably don’t want to be with them in the same theater!
3. We all know the ending anyway
  
  There’s no way for someone to ruin the play for you since we’ve almost all heard it a thousand times and know how it ends. I personally want to go see it because it’s a privilege seeing Ziad Rahbani and Joseph Sakr performing together after 35 years of hearing them on the radio, so waiting a little until the craze cools down a little bit won’t hurt.
January 14, 2016