Tag Archives | ottoman

Beirut Heritage Trail – 5,000 Years of Beirut’s History

Walking through Beirut Souks, you can’t but notice these medallions fixed into the ground at various spots around the streets. I never knew their purpose until a couple of weeks ago when I looked closely to notice that they have “Beirut Heritage Trail” engraved on them and that each one points to a different direction. So I googled them a bit and found these medallions actually link archaeological sites, historic public spaces and heritage buildings over a 2.5Km walking circuit around the Souks and Beirut downtown.

The circuit will start at the Beirut Souks, which retain the 2,500 year-old ancient street grid and Ottoman access gates, and incorporate several archeological remains including the Phoenico-Persian quarter, the city wall and moat, the restored Mamluk Zawiyat Ibn Iraq and Majidiya mosque. Among the sites featured in the trail are the Emir Munzer mosque, the Roman Baths, Riad El Solh Square and the Grand Theatre to name a few. Source

The project also consists of 50 site panels providing information about the historic places around the heritage trail, so I assume one can learn a great deal about the history of Beirut by following the marks. I personally only know the history of very few sites in downtown, so I will be soon trying to make that walk especially that my kid loves to ride his scooter around the area there.

1

A 110 year old Ottoman palace destroyed by fire in the South

palais_429085_large

Dar El Darwiche (or El Darwiche palace) in Zefta was unfortunately destroyed by a fire incident last week.

The palace is considered as a historic Ottoman heritage due to its architecture and the old antiques inside it, same as some of the palaces in Beirut like Al Daouk, Salam, Boustros, and Sursock.

Un incendie a ravagé dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi le palais historique Darwiche dans le village de Zefta, à Nabatiyeh (Liban-sud), rapporte l’Agence nationale d’information (ANI, officielle).

Les flammes ont détruit tous les meubles et antiquités historiques que le palais renfermait.

“Après l’avoir entretenu durant 100 ans, tout a été détruit”, a déclaré le propriétaire des lieux, Hussein Darwiche. Il a précisé que le palais avait été construit au début des années 1900 sur une superficie de 1.200 mètres carrés. L’édifice comptait 15 chambres.

Le palais contenait des trésors historiques remontant à l’époque ottomane. Le palais Darwiche était l’une des rares bâtisses historiques bien conservées dans le sud du pays. Source

Below are some of the photos I managed to find on Facebook through Rabih El Darwiche. It definitely sucks to see it all gone now, and I hope El Darwiche family will be able to restore it soon.

1619476_10201432529403694_988794344_n 1620667_10201432749889206_1076242108_n 1618478_10201432536403869_1142277319_n

1604561_10201432532963783_334658861_n 1620576_10201432531043735_1077129611_n 1901425_10201432535083836_2141703789_n

2

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes