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A Chinese Trading Hub is Set to Open in Bekaa

By on March 28, 2019 in Commerce, Lebanon, Shopping

Business News announced today that Cascada Mall in Bekaa will soon transform into a Chinese trading hub called “Chinatown” that will serve the markets in Lebanon and the neighboring countries.

The hub will be similar to Dubai’s Dragon Mart which is massive mall full of low cost Chinese products and good bargains (think of it like the offline version of Ali Express). I once went to it there and it is so big that you can literally waste a whole day moving from one shop to another in it. Chinatown will not be that big though as the premises stretch over 60,000m2 but the area should double in the near future as the owners claim.

The project is expected to start operating by the end of April and will create no less than 5,000 job opportunities which is a great news to the Bekaa region.

Thanks @ghazayel

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The Day Batman Came to Beirut

By on September 3, 2017 in Comics

I was on Reddit the other day when I landed on a thread about an issue of Batman from the 80s titled “A death in the Family” in which Batman pursues the Joker all the way to Beirut and the Bekaa valley!

The story is full of misconceptions about the Lebanese people and relates a lot to the politics back then (and unsurprisingly now as well). In the comic book, Batman and Robin go to Beirut and cooperates with a Mossad agent named Sharmin Rosen in order to stop the Joker from selling a nuclear missile to a “Shiia” terrorist group who intends to use it against Israel. They eventually succeed but at the expense of the Joker killing Robin and escaping to Ethiopia where he meets with Iran’s Khomeini and gets offered to become his ambassador at the United Nations (LOL?!).

Putting politics aside, especially if you Support Hezbollah, “A death in the family” is a fun read and is regarded as one of the highly rated Batman comics. If you are interested in checking it out you can do so in high resolution graphics on the below links:

Also check Claude El Khal’s post about the same comic book story here.

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Lebanon’s Pablo Escobar is Making Rounds on TV Stations

By on January 23, 2016 in Lebanon

nouh zaiter

Noah Zaiter, the infamous drug lord living in Bekaa, has for some reason started to make rounds on Lebanese TV stations the same way you see some singers moving from one show to another over a short period of time. A  few days ago he was interviewed by one of Tele Liban’s comic shows, and he’s also set to appear on Aljadeed next week with the super dramatic Tammam Bleik.

The guy can seriously be compared to Colombia’s Pablo Escobar as he claims to be helping the poor people out of the drug money he earns. I’m not sure though about the messages he’s trying to deliver through his appearances now…!

What puzzles me the most however  is that TV stations can easily reach Noah Zaiter for interviews while the Lebanese authorities will probably never be able to arrest him.

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News coverage in Lebanon

By on June 10, 2013 in Lebanon

It’s funny how Lebanese news outlets publish whatever is coming their way when an incident occurs in the country.

Here’s what Tayyar, ElNashra, and LBC posted about today’s blast in Taanayel.

Tayyar.org:

tayyar

Elnashra on twitter: (A rocket!)

“النشرة”: الانفجار في تعنايل ناجم عن سقوط صاروخ على الطريق الدولية

Bassam Abou Zeid from LBC on twitter:

انفجار تعنايل ناجم عن عبوة صغيرة استهدفت فان أبيض وسيارة ب أم زيتية زجاجهما داكن وقد سقط زجاج السيارتين ولكنهما تابعتا طريقهما نحو المصنع

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Kidnapping is the new profitable business in Lebanon

By on March 4, 2013 in Lebanon

mokdad clan

Check out this interesting report in Al-Safir today about the recent kidnapping incidents that happened over the last year in Lebanon. So far, the responsible groups for these kidnappings were able to collect more than $16 million out of 19 operations, moreover one gangster is even coordinating these operations from inside Roumieh Prison where he’s arrested!

And it doesn’t seem like kidnapping for ransom is going to stop anytime soon, due to the fact that the kidnappers belong to well known large crime families in Bekaa, so arresting few members will not eventually put an end to the whole thing. In addition, these groups just seem to have a strong appetite for making big money.

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5 Things to do in Lebanon

By on January 29, 2013 in Lebanon

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The Wall Street Journal compiled this list of five fun things to do around Lebanon in an article published yesterday.

  1. Visiting one of the vineyards in Batroun or Bekaa and do wine tasting.
  2. Sitting down at a Beirut couple’s table for a home-cooked meal.
  3. Visiting Mleeta museum in the south.
  4. Vising Moussa Castle in Chouf.
  5. Snowshoeing in the mountains.

It’s good the articles mentions nothing about the nightlife in Beirut for a change! Anyway, I’m familiar with 4 out of the 5 things the author listed, but it’s the first time for me to hear about this couple in Beirut (Sylvia Khoury & Charles Ghorayeb) who welcomes visitors in their own apartment in Beirut and offer them home cooked dishes for the price of $20 per person, and $30 including wine. Has anyone heard about them before? I tried to look them up online but found nothing except what the article mentions that they previously used to organize tours around Lebanon for tourists.

2. Sit down at a Beirut couple’s table for a home-cooked meal

Sylvia Khoury and Charles Ghorayeb welcome visitors into their Beirut apartment for an evening of Lebanese food, wine and conversation. The couple, who formerly offered tailor-made tours of Lebanon to tourists, now focus on their home-kitchen venture. They serve dishes such as malfouf (stuffed cabbage leaves), shankleesh (ripened cheese) and makanek (little sausages). The food relies on seasonal staples that are grown in the couple’s garden in Damour, just outside the city. $20 per person, $30 with wine; to make a reservation, email Ms. Khoury at skhoury131@hotmail.com

Would you give them a try?

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Angelina Jolie in Lebanon

By on September 12, 2012 in Lebanon

You probably have heard about Angelina Jolie’s visit to Jordan yesterday to meet with the Syrian refugees who are currently living on Jordan-Syria border in order to help focus international attention on them and possibly attract more funding to help them (more here). It turned out that her plans also include visiting the refugees in Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq during the rest of her trip to the region.

Unfortunately no photos/videos have yet surfaced of her visit to the refugees here. The below 2 photos however are of Jolie at the Grand Serail in Beirut as she was addressing the journalists.

Thanks to both of @maytham11 & @ivysblog

Update:

At the Grand Serail.

And here are some photos of her with the refugees in Bekaa.

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