Located in one of Beirut’s oldest areas, Zuqaq al-Blat, this beautiful villa-mansion has been there for many years since the 1930s, yet was abandoned during the civil war. 6 years ago, the mansion was bought by 2 Lebanese that wanted to bring the mansion alive again by turning into a place for the community.

The community that has been going in and out of this mansion are artists, architects, designers, writers, musicians, fashion designers, dancers etc — basically a community of artists enjoying their art space. In the whole mansion, there is only one person living there permanently and he is a Syrian writer; the rest of the rooms are rented out to outsiders who come for events, exhibitions and workshops. In fact, renting a desk of your own literally costs just 25 US dollars per month, which is very affordable.

I personally loved this mansion for its uniqueness, its vintage feeling and its history. It is open for the public and for anyone that wants to just come by and chill. Anyone can come to work, write, chat and basically just have a moment to enjoy.

Also, the whole area is full of old buildings that are nice to walk around and look at.