+961

A Lebanese Blog

Tag: Lebanon

  • 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

  • Heyoka Arabic Productions

    Most of what I watch on TV at home are foreign movies and series that I get from torrent websites, and except for a couple of shows, I rarely follow Lebanese TV channel because most of their stuff are either pointless like the famous talk shows or utterly stupid like the murex d’or worthy drama series.

    However, I’ve been recently loving some of the Lebanese content I’m finding on Youtube and Facebook and the ones I follow the most are the shows produced by Heyoka, a collective founded by a group of movie enthusiasts. They currently have two main shows, Movie Court presented by Anis Tabet and Daniel Habib, and Kazdoura presented by George Khalaf and Stephanie Atallah. The two shows are really simple, one reviews movies and the other is about street food, but I personally find them more entertaining than anything on TV.

    Anis and Daniel are quite knowledgeable about the film industry and you got to enjoy the episodes they do to butcher some Lebanese movies, and apart from that they sometimes host Lebanese actors/directors for interesting talks about their work and the movie industry in Lebanon. On the other hand, George and Stephanie have a cool chemistry in Kazdoura, they have a good taste and it’s always funny to watch them tease each other in each episode.

    Other projects they were involved in also include “El3ama malla show” featuring Ghayd Chammas a few months ago which was also pretty cool to follow.

    You can follow Heyoka’s new videos on their Youtube channel as well as on Kazdoura’s Facebook page and Let’s Talk About Movies 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 13 – Two $40 Vouchers from Crepaway

    Crepaway is in for giveaway #13 and their cool people are generously providing two $40 vouchers to be used at any of their branches.

    I recently really loved the new items they added to their menu especially the ones with far eastern flavors (Kim Chick Fries anyone?), and for burger lovers they just launched the “Thrilling Raclette Burger” which will be available for a limited time. I tried it yesterday and the first thing I thought about when I was done was wishing to have it permanently on their menu! The burger is made with Angus beef, potato hash brown, a spread of steak sauce, lettuce, tomato, and the right amount of melted Raclette cheese that is added on top by the waiter just as you get served. Needless to say the combination works really good with the beef and cheese doing all the talking while still letting you feel the crispy hash brown and the special steak sauce they used. I highly recommend you try it before the promotion ends.

    Anyway enough burger talk! To qualify for the draw, just go to +961’s page on Facebook and interact with the giveaway’s post. Two winners will be randomly chosen and announced tomorrow morning, and I will message them for instructions to claim the vouchers.

  • Meet Rana Hayek – Lebanon’s First Female Car Mechanic

    Check out this piece by Sputnik News about Rana Hayek, a 22 years old electrical engineering student currently working at a Porsche car repair shop in Broummana.

    Rana Hayek from Lebanon is currently a last-year student in the electric engineering university course. “I chose this specialization because I have loved cars since childhood. I like to dig around motors and look for the cause of faults,” she told Sputnik Arabic.

    “No one took me seriously at first, as they thought I had come to the car repair shop together with my father.”

    “But then they got used to it, saw a professional in me and now entrust their cars to me,” Rana pointed out.  “Nevertheless, there are still those who think car repair services are a job to be done by men and I am not suitable for it,” she added.

    I really don’t mind having anyone working to repair my car as long as they get the job done well, but I’m not sure how far can women like Rana go in their jobs with all the sexism they have to face in our society! You can read the full article here.

  • Lebanese Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya to Direct Netflix First Arabic Original Series

    Netflix recently announced it is launching its first Arabic original series titled “Jinn”, which will be directed by Lebanese Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya (best known for Very Big Shot) and written by Jordanian Bassed Ghandour who scripted the Oscar-nominated Theeb.

    Fortunately for us, Jinn is neither a Lebanese drama nor Bab El Hara kind of series. On the other hand, it is supernatural thriller that tell the story of teenagers who discover a genie (Jinn in Arabic) in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra.

    Filming should start towards the end of the year with a cast from several countries around the Middle East and it should be available for streaming somewhere around 2019. You can read more details about it here.

  • 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.