Tag Archives | Beirut

The Backyard Hazmieh – A New Restaurant Complex in Town

By Rami on May 26, 2016 in Restaurants

Hazmieh--Backyard

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.

Review – Beirut Fawq Al Shajara بيروت فوق الشجرة

By Rami on April 21, 2016 in Art, Reviews

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!

That’s One Weird Car Accident in Hamra!

By Rami on April 8, 2016 in What the fuck!

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!

This Guy Deserves A Trophy!

By Rami on April 7, 2016 in Lebanon

Well played! 😀

Australian 60 Minutes Show Crew Arrested for Documenting Children Abduction in Beirut

By Rami on April 7, 2016 in Lebanon

TaraBio

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.

It’s Official: Assafir Will Stop Publishing

By Rami on March 24, 2016 in Lebanon

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.

Beirut Hippodrome in Danger of Closing Down?

By Rami on March 23, 2016 in Lebanon

_46465000_theracecourse(2)

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!

Best Free Places to Bring Your Kids in Beirut

By Rami on March 20, 2016 in Lebanon

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

bgp2

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

Hisham-Nasr-Beirut-Yoga-Forest-3

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

playground3

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!

Tiny Beirut – A Cool Tilt-Shift Video

By Rami on March 2, 2016 in Lebanon

tiny beirut

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.

Is Charles De Gaulle’s Residence In Beirut Set for Demolition?

By Rami on February 13, 2016 in Lebanon

charles de gaulle

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.

charles de gaulle 1

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!

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