Friday, November 11, 2011

Façades of Beirut

I have been doing a lot of traveling around/sight-seeing in the past two weeks. My mother came to visit for a week, which was nice family time. I was finally reunited with my camera charger, which means one thing: this site can finally have visuals to satisfy you!, my ADD-prone brethren of the Millenial generation who avoid big blocks of text like the plague!

I also spent two days this past weekend on a road trip in the South of Lebanon. A lot to talk about there. And since I know you are all clearly dying to know what Hezbollah Land is like, the new blog header is a picture taken during that trip. Consider it a teaser of sorts.

In the meantime, here are some photos which are a good representation (in my humble opinion) of some of the diversity of the Beirut urban landscape. These might just be buildings, but I can't help but think they give an idea of the dynamics of the city, which I might discuss one day once I've mulled it over long enough to have something halfway decent to write about it.



(click on photo to enlarge)

The Mohammad Al-Amin mosque, which was completed in 2007. It's also known as the Hariri mosque, as former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri helped fund its construction, and was buried next to it after his assassination in 2005. On the bottom right-hand corner of the photo, you can see part of the white tent sheltering his grave, where people come pay their respects.
This building is seen as particularly controversial by some because of its affiliation with Hariri and its dubious architectural style. Every time I pass by it, its shiny brand newness tends to remind me of  the Disney castle, or the kind of monuments you see in snow globes. But even if there is some odd fakeness to it, if there's one thing you can't deny, it's that the mosque is transfixing.






















Ubiquitous construction is a staple of Beirut.



A close up of the façade of Beit Beirut, a building that was taken over by snipers and severely damaged during the Lebanese civil war. It is currently being turned into a museum.



Curtains.




Balconies.



Scars of wars




As a bonus, a non-building picture of Pigeon's Rock, in the Raouché neighborhood.

(All photos by Mamma Wayward and myself)

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