+961

A Lebanese Blog

Tag: Beirut

  • What Al Murr Tower Was Supposed To Become

    I was searching for some info about Al Murr Tower last night when I stumbled upon some interesting stuff about it. I actually always knew the structure was built by Michael Al Murr back in the 70s but I never knew Solidere had plans for it in the90s.

    According to this article from The Daily Star in 1999, Solidere claimed the tower in exchange of shares from Michael Al Murr as part of the reconstruction plan for Beirut cnetral disctrict, and was originally intending to demolish it and replace it with another high-rise building to house their headquarters in addition to office spaces for other companies and a rooftop restaurant on the last two floors.

    The whole thing however was called off when Michael Al Murr felt unsatisfied with the terms of the sale and asked for his tower back. You can read all about it here.

    Other sources on Facebook also claim that the reason nothing was done with the tower during all the past years is basically due to the damage incurred to the building structure during war days which probably can’t allow for further works to be performed, but I’m not sure how credible is that.

    I know the everyone simply just got used to the tower its area was even named after it, but with all the fancy buildings nearby, it looks really ugly now and I don’t mind having it demolished. Doing it with explosives would make a good I guess! Otherwise, allowing graffiti artists to take it over would also be a cool idea.

    Second photos via Beiruti Atik FB Page

  • Inside the $27M Penthouse in Sama Beirut

    Check out this video shot inside a 1,400m2 two floor penthouse apartment in Sama Beirut that is reportedly selling for a whooping $27,000,000.

    Needless to say it is massively big and sports an amazing 360 degree view of Beirut, with a pond on the 1st floor and a pool on the second. Watch the video and eat your heart out! 😛

    The video was by the way taken by a guy called Thor from Denmark who left his home country in 2013 to travel the world countries without flying. On December 2017 Lebanon became the country number 143 on his list and you can follow his journey here.

    via reddit

  • Raising Awareness on Modern Architectural Heritage in Lebanon

    Banque Libano-Française recently started a blog to engage people with the progress made to build their new headquarter in Charles Helou area, and they’re taking advantage of it to also raises awareness on modern architectural heritage in Lebanon by talking about 12 significant landmark projects which influenced the architecture scene in the country between 1926 and 1997.

    As part of this project, the Director of the Arab Center for Architecture George Arbid will be sharing interesting notes, pictures, plans, sketches and studies once every week on a certain building/structure around town.

    So far they covered Charles Corm in Achrafieh, Saint-Georges Hotel, Carlton Hotel (demolished in 2008), and Starco building. The presented info are quite interesting and will certainly make you see the buildings that still exist nowadays from a really different perspective.

    They still have 8 buildings to talk about and you can follow the series here.

  • Emirates Airlines to Operate A380 Test Flight to Beirut

    Emirates Airlines announced last month it will be operating an A380 test flight to Beirut Airport on March 29th in order to test the operations and necessary infrastructure to later accommodate a regular A380 service to Lebanon.

    This is a (somehow) big deal now for our airport because when the A380 was unable to land in Beirut when it was first introduced 10 years ago since it needs special infrastructure unlike and other plane. So I assume the ministry of transport and the Lebanese civil aviation authority did the necessary upgrades in order to finally make it possible.

    The double deck A380 is by the way the world’s largest passenger plane, and I’ve heard a lot about the luxurious experience that Emirates offers on its first and business class from friends who tried the service (check what is it like here on Youtube). I’m not sure though how cost effective will this luxury be aboard the 4 hours Beirut-Dubai, but I imagine people who take long-haul flights will definitely appreciate it. I personally wouldn’t mind a refreshing shower on a 14 hours trip!

  • Direct MEA Flights From Beirut to Madrid Soon to Be Launched

    Middle East Airlines recently announced they will be operating direct flights from Beirut to Madrid three times a week starting June 16th 2018, and it is a good news to everyone planning a vacation to Spain this summer.

    The only way to reach Spain non-stop previously was to fly to Barcelona aboard one of the charter flights operated by local travel agencies, but ticket prices can reach ~$900 during summer season which is a total rip off just like the overpriced tickets to Paphos in Cyprus and Dalaman in Turkey. On the other hand, the advertised price by MEA (starting $358) seems very reasonable even if your final destination is Barcelona since you can simply take a train from Madrid.

    Still, the budget airline Vueling is also reportedly in talks to launch affordable Beirut-Barcelona flights so there’s still hope for this route to get cheaper as well.

  • Giveaway Day 12 – Two $50 Gold Combo Vouchers from VOX Cinemas

    Today’s giveaway is presented by the friends at VOX Cinemas who were kind enough to offer 2 Gold Combo vouchers that include a GOLD Movie Ticket, popcorn, and your choice of starter, main, drink and dessert from the menu. I personally have tried this Gold combo last summer and totally loved the 5 star experience, but it unfortunately makes it difficult to later attend regular shows! 😛

    VOX Cinemas recently launched a new loyalty program by the way which is a free to join program that allows you to earn points every time you visit the cinema to use on free movie tickets along with a number of other benefits. I think it is a must for those who regularly go to the movies and you can read more details about it here.

    To qualify for the draw, go to +961’s page on Facebook and interact with the giveaway’s post. One winner will be randomly chosen and announced tomorrow morning, and I will message him/her for instructions on how to claim the vouchers.

  • Beirut is Choking on its Traffic And It Wont Get Better!

    Traffic around Beirut is seriously unbearable these days. I know the increasing number of cars keep making it worse every year but it is just frustrating now with the road works at major highways.

    With the construction of the L bridges in Jal El Dib now, 2 lanes from each side of the highway have been closed and I can imagine how awful it is for people using that route everyday. On the other hand, the southern entrance is also no better, road works are being conducted on the airport highway and 2 lanes have also been closed on its eastern side.

    What’s puzzling though is that when such works are performed on vital roads, the government does not bother to oblige the contractor to work day and night shifts to finish whatever they’re doing in the least number of days. I’ve never someone working after 5 or 6 PM on the airport road for example and no one seems to care…

    Much needed maintenance is currently also being done for Salim Salam tunnel by the way, but fortunately only during the night. However, I lately heard that at some point it will be totally closed day and night for 7 whole months in order to complete the whole work! I already get stuck for 25 minutes sometimes to cross the distance from Beirut Sports City to Salim Salam, and I imagine it will be hell if the news turned to be true!

    And of course it doesn’t just stop at Beirut main entrances, some inside roads are closed in fear of terrorist attacks, but I don’t believe this is justified anymore especially that the authorities claim the situation is very well “controlled” nowadays. The blocks around ESCWA in downtown, General Security in Mathaf, as well as Adlieh all don’t make sense anymore. The one at ESCWA isn’t even logical since it gets lifted by 5 or 6PM everyday because you know, terrorists don’t work overtime.

    What’s funny though is that blocks around Nejmeh Square have all been lifted as if the parliament is suddenly no longer a target, so we should probably wait until other places get also suddenly lifted from target lists!

    Now some may suggest there must be a solution by at minimum improving the public transport system, but in a country that scores so low on corruption perception index thanks to highly inefficient officials, you better instead look for fun things to do when stuck in you car during the days to come!

  • Giveaway Day 7 – 3D Printing Pen from Virgin Megastore

    Today’s giveaway is presented by Virgin Megastore and consists of a 3D Printing Pen (3Doodler Start Essentials Pen Set). This 3D Pen is most suitable for kids as it inspires creativity, design, planning, building and spatial understanding. It is also quite safe to use since the pen nozzle and plastic can safely be touched with no burn risks.

    To qualify for the draw, go to +961’s page on Facebook, answer the giveaway post, and I will randomly select one winners tomorrow morning.

  • Giveaway Day 1: Dinner For 2 At Pier 78 Kempinski Summerland

    For the first day of the giveaway series, Kempinski Summerland Hotel & Resort was kind enough to provide a voucher for 2 persons for a dinner at their Mediterranean restaurant Pier 78 ($150 value).

    I personally have experienced Kempinski Summmerland’s service on several occasions and they impressed everytime. Aside from the programs they present on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays evenings at Pier 78, I specifically love the family brunch they also offer on Sundays. The open buffet has a lot of variety and is nothing less than what you would expect from a 5-star venue, but what really makes them stand out from other hotels offering similar formulas is that they also provide free kids entertainment so that parents can enjoy their meal at ease.

    So, to qualify for the draw, go to +961’s page on Facebook, like the giveaway post and tag your friends in a comment. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced tomorrow morning, and I will message him/her for instructions on how to claim the voucher.

  • The Housing Bank Just Screwed Home Shoppers in Lebanon

    The two most popular options for home shoppers in Lebanon in order to finance their purchases is to either get a loan from the General Organization for Housing in case the apartment price is relatively low, or from the Housing Bank if the price is on the higher end.

    However, earlier this month the Central Bank of Lebanon issued a new circular with amendments on subsidized loans, and as a result the Housing Bank increased its the interest rate from 3% to 3.75% while lowering the payment period from 30 to 20 years and toughening the lending terms in general.

    To give you an idea of how these amendments impacted the monthly payments, a loan of $250,000 used to cost ~$1,050 on the previous conditions, but currently cost ~$1,500 based on the new terms and rate (refer to their loan calculator). Needless to say, this 50% increase means that a lot of home shoppers now can no longer afford the apartments they were previously aiming for!

    I, for example, have been searching for an apartment in Beirut for a while now and the new terms mean that I have two options, to either settle for a significantly smaller one in space, or simply look for one of the same size outside the city. The latter is unfortunately a deal breaker for me so I just decided to halt everything now in hope for the prices to go down maybe… I guess it is only logical for this to happen now that the demand is expected to take a hit.

    Things are by the way also quite ugly now for people who are already engaged by contracts with real estate developers. Those usually pay monthly installments directly to the developers until the project is fully complete, and then apply for a loan to finance the remaining amount, but they definitely didn’t see a 50% increase on their future payments coming! And while people like me can simply stop searching, others who are bound with contracts can do nothing but go for the loan anyway or pull out of the whole thing and pay a certain penalty to the developer for doing so.

    I’m not an expert in economics but things seriously don’t seem right with the new Housing Bank decision, I mean you can’t simply cut down the people’s purchasing power just like that. I just hope this isn’t an indication of the Lebanese Lira being in a bad situation now and I also hope these amendments are only a temporary measure. Otherwise, I guess the real estate market is expected to go into stagnation no matter how developers try to convince the public that it is a resilient sector!