If you go around the Nejmeh Sqaure at night, there’s a high probability you will be frightened by a street seller yelling “BEIRUT!!!” from behind your back in an attempt to later sell you images of old Beirut. To my knowledge, this man, Saadallah Basha, is probably the only street seller in Downtown Beirut…
It was probably about time someone writes about him, and yesterday he made it to The Daily Star!
According to this article in The Daily Star today,the municipality of Beirut is planning to start constructing an underground parking (with a capacity of 2,000 cars) at the Martyrs square by the end of 2012, to “improve” the appearance of the downtown area. And a garden will later be created in the square once the project is done.
“Work will start before the end of this year. Once finished, the parking space will accommodate between 1,500 and 2,000 cars,” Hamad said, adding that a Build, Operate and Transfer contract would be signed by the company selected to carry out the project. Under the BOT contract, a company will build and operate the facility – earning revenue – before the municipality assumes ownership. Source
There’s no reference however to what’s going to happen to the current parking spaces around the Martyrs square, Solidere might be planning to build some new towers there?
The article also mentions a similar project in Ain El-Mrayseh where a parking space with a capacity of 680 cars is set to be built, in addition to a 7,000 square meters produce market between Tayyouneh and Shatila.
Photo via Stefania Facco
A guy who participated in the Lebanese Laïque Pride march for a secular state on March 15 2011 started one of a kind blog calling for help, and it’s nothing related to the cause of the demo he attended, he’s actually searching for a person.
He found himself extremely attracted to one of the girls in that march, and it was his second time to notice her after last year’s march, so he took that as a sign and decided trying to approach her one way or another, and he got really close to his aim until she disappeared!
That’s why he’s now calling for the help of the internet people in Lebanon in an attempt to find her. And in a country where everyone knows everyone, I guess there’s a good probability for that man to find her!
You can read all about his story and the updates he will be posting on his blog Finding Dulcinea, and below is the description of the girl he’s trying to reach:
I can’t but wish him all the luck!
Photo via Blogging Beirut
Back in 2008 when the political tension in Lebanon was reaching its peaks, visual artist Nada Sehnaoui installed 600 toilet seats in downtown Beirut in memory of the 15-year long Lebanese war, a time when people used to hide from bombs and shrapnels in the bathrooms.
I guess the same seats can be installed once again somewhere around Beirut, and this time not deliver a message, but rather to describe the current situation in the country!
In Lebanon we have a saying that goes like “Just like a toilet that has no water” (متل الحمام المقطوعة مايتو) to describe a mess. Seriously, what’s worse than people using a toilet with no water? That’s how Lebanon feels nowadays 😉
Just as in a similar photo I published during the early days of +961, another foreign chick seems to be really enjoy taking photos with our security forces!
I wonder what’s so attracting about them…!
And here’s the second round of the Christmas decoration shooting. The following photos were taken on Sunday night at Sassine Square Achrafiyeh.
I was on my way back home from Antelias last night when I decided to take photos of the Christmas decorations I encounter on the road, so I got you these photos while passing by Zalka, Bourj Hammoud, and Downtown Beirut.
On my to-shoot list, I still have Jdeideh street, the Ice creche at ABC, the other decorations at downtown and whatever I may encounter in the coming days!
Zalka:
Bourj Hammoud:
Downtown Beirut:
P.S: Sorry for the low quality, photos were taken with my phone.
Parking meters around Beirut all allow free parking after 5 or 6 PM except in Solidere! As you can see in the below photo, free parking is only allowed after 11 PM (Monday to Saturday).
In addition, as shown in the below photo a flat rate of 3,000L.L applies between 8 & 11 PM (Monday to Saturday), and to my knowledge it doesn’t exist anywhere else, even in the busy Hamra street.
So what’s so special about Solidere to set the parking meters in it that way?!
After breaking the world records for the longest Dabke chain and the largest Kebbe plate, the Lebanese people decided it is time to set a new world record, making the biggest Hommos and Tabbouleh! And this time the event IS for a purpose, it will be a part of the campaign to reclaim ownership of the 2 traditional dishes after Israel started to export them as Israeli.
The event is going to take place at Saifi Market in Downtown Beirut on October 24 and 25 and will also include various other entertaining activities. The dishes are expected to spread over an area exceeding 5,000 square meters, I wonder where are they going to get THAT MUCH parsley and hommos from!!
Last but not least, and while talking about world records, the people of Arnaoun (A northern Lebanese village) thought it would be cool to break to world record for the longest bridal scarf! Check this article for more details. It seems that we have nothing to worry about nowadays other than breaking world records… w habal.
P.S: I bet some Israeli is going to read this post and laugh really hard at it. At the end they’re still exporting their goods, and we’re still busy thinking of a way to reclaim ownership of a couple of dishes…
