I couldn't decide whether or not to make a thread about this. I didn't find another thread this would fit in. If its already been done, I will leave the mods to move this stuff around:)

Basically, I want this thread to be an extension of the Save Beirut Heritage (on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106647959367804)) initiative where people protest and call for the end of destruction of old Beirut homes and cultural landmarks.

So what we can do is post any picture (and information) on any known buildings that are facing demolition and help support the initiative in getting the place restored and protected (ie. e-mailing ministers, speaking with ministers, petitioning, protests if you are there etc..).

To start, I want to share this video on Lebanon's Heritage by MTV. This program basically collects Lebanese citizens to discuss issues and propose solutions. This one is with direct regards to how our heritage is being slowly stripped away...
http://www.mtv.com.lb/Akid_Fina/Lebanon%27s_Heritage?type=1&filter=0

I believe we must thank Naji Esther amongst others for getting this draft law going!

New initiative aims to preserve country's architectural heritage
If passed, law would see buildings given mandatory protected status
By Patrick Galey and Carol Rizk
Daily Star staff
Friday, July 02, 2010



BEIRUT: Culture Minister Salim Warde unveiled on Thursday a new initiative aimed at getting Parliament to agree to a draft law which, if passed, would protect some of Lebanon’s oldest and most endangered buildings.

The legislation, which would see mandatory protected status bestowed upon buildings deemed important for national heritage, will provide financial incentives to developers in order to prevent Beirut’s architectural deterioration.

“It is no longer acceptable to postpone passing laws,” Warde said on Thursday.

“Without roots and heritage there is no future.”

The draft law to “protect heritage buildings and sites” was initially presented to Parliament in 2007 and again in 2008. Warde said that the need to pass such legislation was more pressing than ever.

“[When] we destroy a house, we’re destroying part of our Lebanese identity. I won’t be lenient in this matter. The only solution is to pass a law to preserve what is left of Lebanon’s heritage buildings,” he said.

“The draft law has many solutions. We’re not robbing the owners of their rights. We will preserve their rights and properties and we will give them solutions so that they can, in turn, save our heritage.”

Speaking at the launch of a combined campaign between his group and the culture minister, Green Party President Phillipe Skaff warned that Beirut was fast becoming “the ugliest city on the Mediterranean.”

He said that public intervention was crucial in pressuring lawmakers to act in favor of heritage buildings.

“This is something to do with government policy,” Skaff told The Daily Star. “We are supporting this law and doing all we can to promote it but we don’t know why it has taken so long.

“What we can do is influence the government’s actions. If they feel there is public support, they are bound to respond. In this country, [protecting buildings] is not a priority,” he added.

The current heritage law shields individual or isolated estates, leaving terraced or semi-detached buildings with artistic or historic value vulnerable.

As a result, buildings across Lebanon, many having sustained structural damage during previous conflicts, are being torn down to make way for lucrative high-rise developments.

Under the new proposal, all buildings deemed worthy of heritage status will be sacrosanct; owners seeking to gain financially from owning a protected home would receive compensation to prevent its sale and demolition.

“The law has foreseen economic incentives in order to compensate house owners. Private property is sacred but this law will change that,” said the culture minister. “You cannot destroy your house, but we will give finance incentives to help protect it. It is a balance between the owners’ and the public’s interest.”

Warde said that the issue of protecting historical and cultural sites was looming increasingly large on parliament’s agenda, following years of inaction.

“We are trying to save what’s left of the heritage houses in Beirut and all over Lebanon, whether they are privately owned or not,” he told The Daily Star.

When asked about the timing of his initiative, Warde responded: “If not now, when? Every minister, when appointed, comes and builds an axis of interest and this is mine. But [the draft law] will require cross-ministry support.

“Once the law is passed, it is fair enough in order to give everyone their rights. Once we pass it, it will be applied correctly,” Warde said, adding that anyone who violated the new law would be dealt with harshly.

Skaff, however, was not optimistic that a draft law for heritage buildings would be fast tracked through legal avenues.

“We are not represented in government so we cannot give any guarantees,” he said.

“They [the government] have to give guarantees.”

Beirut (Libano)

Conosciuta in passato come la “Parigi del Medio Oriente”, è stata poi martoriata da una lunga e sanguinosa guerra civile. Beirut, “metropoli araba mediterranea e occidentalizzata” nelle parole dell’intellettuale Samir Kassir, è la città dei contrasti: chiese e moschee convivono vicine, divise tra Achrafieh, il quartiere cristiano, e Hamra, quello musulmano.

Donne chiuse nel velo passeggiano su La Corniche, la suggestiva promenade panoramica sul lungomare, accanto a coetanee in attillate vesti occidentali. Nel Downtown, il centro storico della capitale, moderne residenze sorgono gomito a gomito con edifici storici segnati dalla guerra. Molte delle palazzine in stile ottomano, dai caratteristici balconi di marmo, si trovano in stato di rovina o sono andate oramai perdute a causa dei bombardamenti. Quel che rimane del patrimonio architettonico della città, oggi deve, però, far fronte a un nuovo nemico: gli immobiliaristi.

La demolizione degli edifici storici è un evento che si ripete quotidianamente a Beirut, dove, nello stesso tempo, grattacieli di dubbio gusto e giganteschi parcheggi auto si diffondono sempre più rapidamente. Le gru sono sempre in attività: non per riparare ma per abbattere[1]. Si demoliscono anche le case antiche, con i tetti rossi e le tipiche finestre a tre archi, che in piedi ci starebbero benissimo. Al loro posto sorgeranno costosissimi alberghi e centri commerciali. Ricchissime società immobiliari saudite, fiutando l’affare della ricostruzione, approdano a Beirut per costruire cattedrali di cemento dai costi proibitivi con vista mare su La Corniche. Da ultimo, alcune società del Golfo, come l’Abu Dhabi Investment House e la Roads Holdings del Qatar, si occuperanno dello sviluppo di un gigantesco progetto immobiliare, circa 100mila metri quadrati nel centro storico, denominato Beirut Gate. Il progetto prevede la costruzione di unità residenziali e commerciali, luoghi di ritrovo e hotel[2]. Laddove un tempo, nel cuore della città, sorgevano i caratteristici souks con i loro profumi e la confusione delle voci, oggi sorge Beirut Souks, un enorme complesso commerciale con oltre 200 prestigiose boutiques, ristoranti e sale cinematografiche.
http://www.mediterraneaonline.eu/public/image/Economia%20internazionale/AGOSTO%202010%20CITTA%27%20DEL%20MEDITERRANEO/untitled.bmp

Il modello di ricostruzione promosso da Solidere, la Compagnia Libanese per la Sviluppo e la Ricostruzione, è stato quello di azzerare il passato e ricostruire la città in forme nuove, trasformando anche la rete stradale[3]. Il progetto Solidere è stato spesso definito come una novella Disneyland. E’ la Beirut dei ricchi del Golfo che rischia di trasformare la ‘Parigi del Medio Oriente’ nella ‘Dubai del Levante’. Anche a seguito della crisi finanziaria globale, che ha dirottato in Libano ingenti capitali provenienti dalle monarchie del Golfo, Dubai sembra essere il modello da emulare. A suggello del rapporto tra la città e i ricchi petrolieri è stato recentemente presentato il progetto ‘Cedar Island’, di cui si è fatta promotrice la Noor International Holding, sede a Beirut e capitale ad Abu Dhabi. Il progetto prevede la costruzione di una futuristica isola a forma di cedro lungo la costa, a sud della capitale, per far spazio a hotel e ville di lusso, country club e impianti sportivi, seguendo l’esempio delle isole artificiali di Dubai[4]. La distruzione del patrimonio architettonico della città ha suscitato la reazione sdegnata di molti libanesi: negli ultimi mesi è nato su Facebook un movimento, chiamato “Save Beirut Heritage”[5], nel tentativo di salvare quel che rimane della vecchia Beirut. Oltre alla campagna di affissione massiva per le strade della capitale, questi cittadini, in collaborazione con l’APSAD (l’Association pour la protection des sites et anciennes demeures), dopo aver recensito tutte le case tradizionali di Beirut, contano di proporre delle interessanti alternative finanziarie ai vecchi proprietari decisi a vendere. L’obiettivo dichiarato è rinnovare il patrimonio invece che distruggerlo.

L’anima della città è “mille volte morta, mille volte rinata”, come scrisse la poetessa Nadia Tueni, a testimoniare le tante vite di Beirut. Multi-religiosa, crocevia di differenti identità e culture, Beirut è sempre stata un luogo in trasformazione. Lo scempio urbanistico del distretto centrale, però, rischia di snaturarne per sempre lo spirito e l’identità, trasformando la “città dei giardini” in un residence per ricchi turisti. L’amnesia e la rimozione del proprio patrimonio architettonico e culturale sembrano essere gli imperativi sottesi ai progetti urbanistici di ricostruzione, laddove invece il recupero del proprio passato sarebbe la chiave per salvaguardare il presente e il futuro della città. La speculazione edilizia sta distruggendo le ultime aree verdi della città e le abitazioni in stile tradizionale. Poche ancora resistono, come assediate nei loro giardini, dove fioriscono buganvillea, oleandri e fiori d’arancio. Nel vecchio quartiere di Achrafieh sorge rue Sursock, famosa per le sue storiche ville, i giardini e gli alberi secolari. Presto qui sarà costruito un grande parcheggio auto. All’inizio della via un cartello scritto in caratteri arabi recita: “Strada a carattere tradizionale”. Un passante, con un pennarello, ha pensato bene di aggiungere il termine “Kana”: “Lo era”.[6].

[1] Robert Frisk, Beirut Is Determined to Kill Its Rich Ottoman Past, in ‘The Independent’, 22 May 2010.

[2] Notizia ANSA del 25 febbraio 2009, in http://www.freelypress.com/freelypress_beirut.html

[3] Elena Pirazzoli, Locali Notturni e Macerie Abitate: La Ricostruzione Ambigua di Beirut, Rivista dell’Associazione Italiana di Studi Semiotici On-line, 15 marzo 2006.

[4] Vedi ‘In Libano, Periodico d’Informazione Economico-Commerciale’, maggio 2009. Il numero è reperibile all’indirizzo www.ambbeirut.esteri.it

[5] http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106647959367804

[6] Francesca Caferri, Pace e Turismo, la Rinascita di Beirut e la Città Diventa un Cantiere, in “La Repubblica” del 22 luglio 2010


Paolo Sigura [ 10/08/2010 ]

© mediterraneaonline.eu

-fMbBDkNv8c
His french is aweful, but he made his point, we don't value our heritage, our history and identity, and one day we will forget who we are.

NB: i stand to correct our architect who obviously sucks at history.. and french, the french were not occupying lebanon in the mid 19th century.

CAFE GEMMEYZE (Ahwet el ezez) CLOSING DOWN IN 2011 to become new Bank AUDI headquarters

bank audi will take part of the Shares of the building and the building behind it
and these old cafe rentees are forced to leave by the end of this year.


This is a disaster..... it doesnt make any sense. Do we have some sort hate for our culture, or ourselves. Why dont we value anything ???

what about the Audi family residence (villa audi) near saint nicholas in sursock street?
Its garden will begone soon, people are gonna hang their linen from the towering balconies above the villa!
This is Beirut, we sell everything and anything for a couple of bucks

CAFE GEMMEYZE (Ahwet el ezez) CLOSING DOWN IN 2011 to become new Bank AUDI headquarters

bank audi will take part of the Shares of the building and the building behind it
and these old cafe rentees are forced to leave by the end of this year.


This is a disaster..... it doesnt make any sense. Do we have some sort hate for our culture, or ourselves. Why dont we value anything ???

A new headquarters? They just built one dwntwn....doesn't make sense

I know it doesnt, but I have 2 contacts from " SAVE BEIRUT HERITAGE " that spoke to the owners. They are closing early 2011 and moving to antelias. The building wont be destroyed because is under protection but all the renters are being evicted and the building is going to be another bank headquarters and the bottom shops turned into a retail venue.

60 years of history and tradition being closed down for shopping and banking.
Yalla sa7tein, akalna kh**ra marra tenyeh. Be3te2id hal akleh sarret min ta2aleed el tawleh el lebnaneyeh.
Yalla 1 LESS reason to go to Beirut.

well at least it wont be knocked dwn and will be renovated. Feel bad for the people tho

hmmm.... you dont get it. This isnt about a building of concrete and glass... This is about a tradition, a heritage cafe that was open for more than 60 years and has survived every change, even through the civil war the cafe was open.

This isnt about that cafe as a business and it isnt about the building as architecture, its the marriage of both that is sacred, and this bank is bastardizing and gentrifying any value it ever had.

ok i see your point

http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/600811/n/Saving-Beirut

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/golf/10/22/golf.lebanon.club.hezbollah/