Tag Archives: Lebanon

Ministry of Culture To Buy Land & Save Lebanon’s Oldest Church in Downtown Beirut?

Source: The Beirut Report

Source: The Beirut Report

The site in Downtown Beirut, which is called “The Landmark” and at which a future hotel and mall were to be built, turned out to be an archeological jewel for Lebanon, unveiling three very important entities:

  1. A Roman gate,
  2. The old Roman road,
  3. Lebanon’s possibly oldest church (source).

I wrote on the issue yesterday. The matter has since made the rounds online. And it seems we’ve made a ripple. Lebanon’s ministry of culture is now considering to purchase the land where “The Landmark” is to be built because of its historical importance according to the following source (link – Arabic).

While the news is definitely welcome, I have to wonder – is it really Lebanese-like to have a ministry with a proven track record – the Roman hippodrome, Phoenician port and Amin Maalouf’s house are all destroyed – somehow respond this fast to demands and act on them? Isn’t it all too fast and too efficient to actually be plausible taking into consideration Lebanese standards?

Perhaps this whole “land purchase” deal is a decoy in order to calm down everyone whilst the real plans go underway. It’s not a conspiracy theory as much as it is the reality of a place like Lebanon where such things happen almost all the time. The question to be asked though: what truly got the ministry of culture to act this time while they didn’t regarding other sites despite all of them getting the same attention and vocal opposition to the demolitions?

It’s quite simple, in my opinion. “The Landmark” land has had a Church discovered in it. Prior to the discovery of the Church, and even though the Roman gate and road were both potentially discovered, the ministry of culture had no problem leaving the project underway and everything demolished in the process (source). But when a church comes into play, can a “Christian” minister truly leave the place be especially with so many “rights” at stake lately? It’s not about “culture” at all.

Ancient churches obviously trump everything else in archeological importance. And quite honestly, it was probably really smart to add a “Church” twist to the affair in order to get people – including the minister – to act. Can you imagine the even bigger outrage if the Church wasn’t saved?

Moreover, isn’t it despicable for us to now start hoping religion factors into the undiscovered aspects of our history in order to have a decent chance at having them saved, documented and potentially turned into a viable economical outlet that doesn’t require their demolition?

Based on a comment on my post regarding the matter (link), a law in Lebanon actually exists in order to protect ancient ruins from the claws of real estate and developmental projects with no other aim but blind money. The law in question was put into action prior to the civil war and hasn’t probably been put on hold akin to our new driving law.

Shouldn’t a country as archeologically rich as Lebanon, and a city with layers upon layers of history such as Beirut, have devised a method by now in order to accommodate the need for contemporary development with the need to also preserve history? How did cities like Rome and Athens manage to move into the 21st century? I guess it all comes down to the basic flaw in everything Lebanese: we never, ever, have a plan and a vision for a future.

How will the moguls behind “The Landmark” take the news that their entire investment will now go to waste? Is this even charted territory for us whereby the billionaire developers don’t get their way – in theory at least?

I hope for its sake that the next site to be unearthed in Beirut has some Umayyad mosque in it.

A Rape Attempt in Hamra

A 20 year old girl recently suffered through a rape attempt while going back to her apartment in Hamra. The man followed her to her apartment where he attacked her and ordered her not to scream. But she did scream. So he beat her up and she kept on screaming until the neighbors and people on the street ran towards her.

The man was given to authorities. The man was a married man with children and who worked with our army, an entity theoretically tasked with making sure our women and children are protected from the travesties that living in Lebanon entail.

I salute that woman’s courage. Not only for standing up to her rapist and shouting her lungs out despite him threatening her life, but for having the courage to stand up to him when he was taken into custody and tell her story for the world to hear.

A friend of mine was sexually assaulted in Gemmayze almost a year ago (her story). It wasn’t as physical as the story in question but what my friend and that woman are is lucky Lebanese women.

How many more stories that are similar or worse than this should we propagate and hear before we get a law that makes sure that, if the worst case scenario were to happen, the rapist in question wouldn’t roam the streets with the least repercussions possible?

How many more times should I hear the phrase “you’re lucky you’re a guy” from friends who happen to be girls and who are afraid to walk certain streets alone at night? Till when are our women supposed to live in legal and protective dark ages while the country boasts liberalism that is truly anything but?

And till when should the violation of our women be a matter of taboo that should rarely be discussed through public means?

Lebanon’s Byblos Festival Line-up: Yes for Lana Del Rey

Apologies for the hassle regarding the festival’s lineup. I guess that’s what happens when your source is being sabotaged by someone.

Calvin Harris is NOT replacing Lana Del Rey at Byblos this year. She will be performing, along with several others.
The official line-up will be announced today at 1 pm. However, for your leak in advance, here you go:

  • Yanni – June 30, July 1
  • Nightwish – July 4.
  • Cee Lo Green – July 8.
  • Lana Del Rey – July 10.
  • Pet Shop Boys – July 13.
  • Paco de Lucia – July 22
  • Crazy Opera – July 24.
  • Scorpions – July 26, 27
  • A Rahbani family concert

Byblos Festival Line-Up.

 

Lana Del Rey Coming To Lebanon For The Byblos International Festival on July 10th

Lana Del Rey Byblos Festival Lebanon

 

It’s OFFICIAL (link)

According to Frodo’s Blog who has been actively leaking major performers throughout the past several months, the rumors about Lana Del Rey coming to the Byblos festival this year are true.

The singer who’s famous for her melodramatic songs will be coming to Lebanon as part of the aforementioned festival for a concert on July 10th, beyond her showing up for the opening of Skybar on May 30th.

I’m not a fan of Lana Del Rey but I’m actually surprised the organizers of any festival in Lebanon were able to draw in such a currently “in” name to come perform here. I expect this to be the most hyped concert of the summer, if no other surprises happen.

For those who don’t know who Lana Del Rey is, you may recognize her sultry voice from the most depressing songs you encounter on Lebanese radio (if you listen to it). The songs that I know and which I believe are good enough are the following:

Born To Die:

And The Great Gatsby song, Young & Beautiful:

You can check out ALL of the lineup for the Byblos Festival here.

What Happened At LAU With The Lebanese President’s Son

I can say with absolute certainty that terrorizing campuses is not something they teach us in medical school – and I’m going to the same medical school Mr. Charbel Sleiman went to. Why can’t I be the son of the Lebanese president so I get to have my own henchmen following me around, threatening security guards who are doing their job just for the fun of it?

A sense of unlawful superiority isn’t restricted to our politicians nowadays. It has become infectious and spread to their offspring. I have no idea why Charbel Sleiman wanted to enter LAU’s campus but does it really need armored vehicles and security personnel? After all, pardon my honesty, but how is Charbel Sleiman relevant again?

This is political inheritance fair and simple. If Mr. Sleiman doesn’t manage to create a halo while his father is the president of the Republic, how will he manage to do that when his father’s term ends in 2014? How will he make absolutely sure he will have a political future for himself?

It starts with simple measures: threatening journalists at basketball games, injuring campus security guards… until everyone accepts your situation as something special, something important, a force to be reckoned with. I, for one, sincerely hope the protective laws governing our president’s stature don’t extend to his son.

They can park in handicapped spots. They can box in your car on the highway. They can do whatever they want. And they get away with it every single time. It’s worth mentioning it for the sake of venting. But at this point, is it really something worth getting upset about? It’s their country and we’re just doing our best living in it.

W ya Charbel Sleiman, ya m3ayyishna – what the people of Jbeil will probably find themselves saying a few years from now.