Tag Archives | city

Top Lebanese Festivals Happening This Summer with Their Full Programs

By Rami on July 19, 2017 in Events

With so many festivals happening across Lebanon this summer, it’s definitely hard to keep track of all the performances taking place over the coming weeks. So I compiled to you this list from Lebtivity of the top 20 Lebanese festivals along with their full programs in order for you easily pick the concerts/performances you want to attend and book your tickets ahead of time.

Beirut Just Got Its First Bike Lane

By Rami on April 23, 2017 in Beirut, Traffic

In a public post on Facebook, Jawad Sbeity the owner of Beirut by Bike shared some photos from Waygand street showing the setup of the first bike lane in Beirut.

It wasn’t clear where exactly does the lane start and where does it end, nor the streets that will cover or when will it be finalized, nevertheless it’s definitely some good to those who take their bikes around the downtown.

However, the only and most important concern remains whether driver will acknowledge this bike lane or not. Waygand street gets quite busy during the day with some shops there have valet parking service and most of the time you find cars parked on the right lane which narrows the road… so whether you like it or not drivers will have no option but to drive over that bike lane especially during rush hour. Still, neither Sbeity nor the municipality can be blamed for that, but rather the lack of urban planning that should have provisioned wider streets around Beirut.

Anyway, let’s see how long will this lane live on!

Follow Fadi Bou Karam As He Visits All The Lebanons in USA

By Rami on October 25, 2016 in Travel

Fadi Bou Karam is a Lebanese photographer who’s currently in the US on an unusual yet cool quest to visit all the towns and cities called Lebanon there.

The number of cities he’s planning to visit are 43 and it will take him around 5 months to go over all of them. His starting point was Seattle where he rented a used caravan in order to save on hotel costs, and the closest Lebanon town to him right now is 1 week away in North Dakota. This massive road trip he’s doing should end in San Francisco around March 2017.

You can follow his news and the photos/videos he will be sharing on the blog he set up LebanonUSA.com.

His first post included a cool find from the 1950s about the late president Camille Chamoun who invited the mayors of 7 American towns called Lebanon in order to introduce them to the “real” Lebanon. Back then they spent two weeks touring the country and each one was given a small cedar tree as a souvenir on their way back to the US.

Wishing Fadi Bou Karam good luck in this fun quest! It’s hard not to envy people who go on such long trips by the way as I always dream of doing something similar in the far east!

via @ritakml

A picture of Beirut at night from space

By Rami on February 19, 2014 in Lebanon

I just stumbled upon this photo of Beirut from space on Reddit but its original source was never mentioned. Anyone knows where can we find similar photos with higher resolution?

Pierre and Friends among the world’s most awesome beach bars

By Rami on August 16, 2013 in Lebanon

All women stalk listed Pierre and Friends, which is one of the main attractions in Batroun, as one of the most awesome beach bars in the world.

You know those times when you just want simplicity, no frills, just great drinks and great company in a great setting? Well, then it’s time for Pierre and Friends, one of the most unassuming beach bars in the world. It’s not flashy and it doesn’t rock with the latest tunes, nor do the beautiful and good gather here. But Pierre and Friends occupies a darling little strip of pebbly beach between Byblos and Batroun (closer to Batroun than Byblos). There’s no pretension here, so grab your favorite tipple and settle down to enjoy the company and the endless views of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

You can check the full list here.

via @LeSoupi

A new Solidere in the making?

By Rami on July 19, 2013 in Lebanon

Adjacent to downtown Beirut is a small area called “Khanda2 el Ghami2”, and if you happened to pass by it someday, you can’t but notice the many abandoned buildings there. Once street in fact, the Tayyan street which is pretty close to Beirut Digital District, looks deserted with many vacant buildings. And what’s weirder is that there isn’t a single construction site there even though we all know there’s always a high demand for Land in Beirut.

Upon asking around a bit, one trusted source told me there’s a real estate company that is slowly purchasing every single building in Khanda2 el Ghami2 (the area enclosed in red), and have so far purchased many of the buildings you see in the picture above, in order to later demolish them all and reconstruct the whole area to make way for commercial spaces, residential towers, etc… and thus making it quite similar to what Solidere looks like.

Not that I oppose the idea, since the company isn’t doing anything illegal and is actually offering good money to the owners, but if would be interesting to learn more about this project. So if you have any information about it, please do share it in the comments.

Here’s what Waterfront City will look like

By Rami on July 13, 2013 in Lebanon

It seems like a second Solidere to me, minus the controversy that surrounded the expropriation phase in the early 90s.

I guess the biggest challenge that will face the developers is most probably trying to convince zouzou ebba drivers to show off their skills somewhere else than the marina!

Beirut then and now

By Rami on June 18, 2012 in Photography

via Facebook

Haze over Beirut

By Rami on April 7, 2012 in Lebanon

I was driving from Tripoli to Beirut yesterday when I was surprised with a haze covering the area from Zouk all the way to Khaldeh. It was actually the first time for me to see a haze that thick on the coastline, even flights were halted for a couple of hours at Beirut airport.

Here’s a couple of photos that I found on Facebook taken by Mr. Mohamad Mashnouk around sunset. You’d think the first one was taken in Dubai.