I took the below photo while having a walk around Beirut Souks. Seriously, why would anyone want to call his store “Derriere”? (Equivalent to “butt” in English) Imagine “طيز” being hanged above some place in Beirut, it would be something eh!
Tag Archives | beirut souks
The new Beirut Waterfront
On May 16th, Solidere announced opening of the new Beirut Waterfront to the public as the first bicycle lane in the city. According to The Daily Star, the lane would start at the Beirut Souks on Tripoli Street and pass through Patriarch Howayek Street in the direction of Beirut’s new maritime front, through Allenby Street, and back to the starting point.
Before getting too excited about it, access to the waterfront will be granted on Sundays only from 10 AM to 8PM! And that’s why I’m having mixed feelings about it, I’m glad we finally have a public space away from the pollution that we got used to, but opening it on Sundays only is sort of disappointing, why can’t they keep it open everyday?
Soliders is acting like someone who invites you over to his house, but then tell you beforehand that he will be kicking you out at 8PM.
Anyway, hoping we get a permanent access to the waterfront, I leave you with this cool video of the place made by Rawad El Hoyek.
New Beirut Waterfront from Rawad EL HOYEK on Vimeo.
On Beirut Souks and demolishing the city spirit
Two days ago I went to the newly opened Beirut Souks, Beirut’s new largest shopping area, which was rebuilt by Solidere according to the original grid plan and location of the old souks that were destructed during the civil war while maintaining the landmarks and street names.
To my disappointment, the new Beirut Souks look nothing similar to the image I have in my mind for the old Beirut, and I’m pretty sure the new image defies the memories that old people who knew the old souks have in their mind.
Souk El Tawileh (via yabeyrouth.com)
In my opinion Solidere did a horrible job at preserving our heritage there as the new souks no longer reflect the real identity of Beirut, in fact the new souks have no identity at all! Nothing inside that big mall makes you feel like you’re in Beirut except for the “decorative” street plates of course. Be the judge yourself by looking at the photos I took below, it can be Dubai, Paris, or whatever other city!
Add to that the fact that the old souks were a destination to almost all society classes prior to the civil, while right now Beirut Souks is another destination for the snobbish people in Lebanon, I really cannot imagine a low income individual being able to spend a day there. Once again, Solidere probably had the Arab tourists in mind when they designed this place! Just like what they did when they were rebuilding the other parts of the central district.
To me, the Hamra street is a much more authentic Beiruti street than the new Souks of Beirut, though it is full of new restaurants and outlet stores but it has at least maintained its spirit throughout the years.
At the end, I will leave you with this comparative video between the old souks of Beirut and the new ones.