Beit Beirut, or the Yellow building, has been standing since 1924 when a Lebanese couple, Nicolas and Victoria Barakat, assigned the Lebanese architect Youssef Afandi Aftimos to design the building.
After surviving the Lebanese Civil War that lasted for 15 years (1975-1990), the Lebanese architect, Dr. Mona Hallak, fought for the building to not be demolished and to be turned into a museum and an urban cultural center. Unfortunately, it is not a museum yet, knowing that there is not a single museum that discusses the Lebanese Civil War. It will stay open as a center for art exhibitions and cultural events.
As you pass by Beit Beirut, you will see the neon sign "Photo Mario" in the Arabic language, with some portraits of unknown faces. This non-stop exhibition shall always be part of the museum, because Photo Mario was the studio of a neighbourhood photographer located on the building's ground floor.
The city of Beirut needs a space that talks about the Lebanese Civil War in an objective manner. It makes it harder for Beit Beirut to come to life because there are various narratives from several political parties about the war that is shaping our current country's state.
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Singing Mama has a variety of food items and drinks and the interior is warm and lovely, with colorful furniture, flowery wallpapers, and a big oven.
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I'm no art connoisseur, but walking into Art Scene in Gemmayze, I immediately spotted some pieces that I could have stared at for ages.
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We tried the Chelo Kabab Waziri and Ghorme Sabzi, a traditional Persian stew made of a beans and herbs sauce, served with chicken and rice with saffron.
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The Barn is an organic and healthy eatery that serves breakfast and brunch items, as well as hot dishes for lunch or dinner and a range of desserts.
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This mural reflects how whenever we think of Ziad Al Rahbani, we think of how his plays and scripts still reflect our current situation in Lebanon...
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"Second Base" is a thrift-concept store in Beirut invented by FabricAID. They sell vintage, hipster revealing, extroverted clothing items...
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A healthy lifestyle requires freshly concocted dishes with seasonal vegetables and ingredients that are preferably sourced locally. This is what the concept of Salata is all about.
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Falafel Joseph broadened his menu and opened a "restaurant" a couple of hundred meters away. The restaurant serves one of the tastiest chicken shawarma in town!
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What you will be able to see is the bath's infrastructure, which includes fired clay or terracotta with some other mosaics that are still preserved.
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179 Insider Tips from our local Spotters
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