Courtesy of http://lebscape.com/default.asp
You guys should go check out the website, there is more spectacular pictures

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1876/aerialjj0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1499/aerial2qb0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8026/aerial22yx1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/3971/aerial22ssgq1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/581/aerial22ssdsmi8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/994/aerial22ssdssxsai3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2325/aerial22ssdssxyh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/9721/aerial22ssdssxsaet7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7500/aerial22ssdssxsalta1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/1213/oldhg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/640/aerial22ssdssxsabg1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/640/aerial22ssdssxsabg1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8631/stgeorgesjr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9623/stgeorgessdcj6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Wow, thats impressive and good looking.

Btw, what ever happaned to that a tram that is on the pictures?

It's Gone Gilgamesh :D
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW,nadini,thanx girl :)
:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: look at the 1st pic u posted??????raouche area was nothing :eek: and the beash of ramlet-al baida was just amazing :eek: ,UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first pic, do you have any idea of the year it was taken??

:bash: :bleep:

What the ......????!!!!!!!!

This site stole some of my pics and has the nerve to copyright!!!!!!!

^^ lol Beirut

Virtual its dates from 1895 to 1975

Very nice photos, but kinda sad. I love Beirut

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them!

Thanks!! There are many pics (almost all) I have not seen...

wow those pics are great ! Jounieh was soo empty Jounieh devloped so fast !

in one of thoes pics the Phenencia Hotel was still getting built
one thing hasnt changed the city densed

Jounieh was just perfect,i mean they really MUST stop building there or we'll just see concrete jungle with no green areas.

cool pics! Thanks Nadini! Always nice to see what cities looked like in the past :yes:

ahhh the good ol' days of lebanon...

Jounieh was just perfect,i mean they really MUST stop building there or we'll just see concrete jungle with no green areas.

Yeah they must stop building in Jounieh, or at least build something nice lol
And I liked how the Sursock Meseum looked in the past more then it does now.

Cool, I could see my old school from one of those photos.

The last pic is weird because it's a mirror image.

The pics minus the corniche are just unbelieveable... New Beirut is a great improvement.

awww I love these pix! makes me sad a lil tho
my grandparents have loads of pix like these ... ill look for this one pic of verdun street when it was 3 big farms
crazy how fast everything went!
Beirut, wat pix did they steal?

Is that a face???????? :nuts:

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7641/facebeirutvk2.jpg

and,is it legal to paint on such old pics???????

omg No Hassoun !!! what did u do the Police will track u down ... lol i dont know what im saying im talking crap

i like trams to bad they dont have any more in beirut

What an amazing set of pics :eek2:

Beirut 1960

http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/9756/1960qo8.jpg

Beirut 1970

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/3913/1970eh2.jpg

anyone know what that sporting event was that packed the stadium?

and Hassoun, how the hell did u c a face?

Great photos!

Beirut, wat pix did they steal?

There are two pics on their website of the Sanayyeh Park in Beirut that I took back in 2005. I dont mind them being circulated all over the internet since I want many people to see them and thats whats happened to most of them anyway, but these people have the nerve to Copyright them and then sell the images?!

OOOOOMMMMMMGGGGGGG

THHAATT HHOUUSEE IIISSS STUUNNNIINGGG!!!!!

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO

I AM SPEECHLESS!! :eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2:

GREAT PPICS WONDERFUL WOWOWOWOW!!!

What house,Mahdi???????

lebgurl,wleeeeee:D I donnu,i thought that was a face :D

^^ I think he was talking about the Sursock Museum

OOPS?! a museum :D:D:D
myyyy baaaaddddd

heheheheheheheheheh

Wow guys, this is the first time I see an old picture of our corniche, look at all the trees and the mountain in the background!, this is quite special!
notice that there is no water
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/972/cornichezx2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Courtesy of Farid Rushdi

wow that pic is beautiful!

when is it from? would you know?

thanks Kristelle

^^ it looks like 1950s or 1940s

Thanx Nadini for the pics,and yes it looks it's 50s,No water,,YEs,,,Talking about Global warming,,thank god Beirut is A bit high :D

but, why is there no water? was there before? and it had dried up a bit?

otherwise what would be the need for that 'fence' or 'rail', the barrier of the corniche?

lOl yup yup, Global Warming
:runaway:

^^ well not sure Mahdi, but I guess they did it like that cuz thats where the coastline ends?? Remember that Beirut is not at the sea level, its like a little cliff but im not sure why they did it like that, maybe during summer the water didnt reach up to there and during winter it did. If you go to the rawche right now, u can see that during summer the water doesnt get all the way to the end, it's like a mini beach but during winter the water goes up to the rocks.

^^^^
Ahhhaaa

kk thanks
:D:D:D

^^ global warming the water is riseing and where all going to DROWN !!!!

^^ :D
ok,I'm ready :(

notice all the Mercedes Pontons in the old pics, they were the old taxi's i think, too bad they're gone, they look so much like the London taxis, i wish they could bring them back , they have some charm and elegance compared to the rusty bangers used as taxis at the moment.
and hasnt anyone noticed that the two churches on nejmeh square ruined the whole grid thingy. ppffff...

those two Churchs are nice ^^ I like them im glad that were on that sqaure.....

well they're nice, but maybe if whoever designed them actualy integrated them into the "star" grid, it would have looked nicer.

btw, how do i upload pics?

there is a thread in the home page of the Lebanon Fourm that explains
I like to use Photo Bucket ...lol when i first joined i didnt know how either

ok i just set up a photobucket profile, uploaded some pics i wana put on this forum, now what? thats soo confusing!!!

oh wait, i figured it out...kk cheers!

beirut suburbs 61-71
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/john2890bucket/af6.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/john2890bucket/af5.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/john2890bucket/af4.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/john2890bucket/af7.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/john2890bucket/af8.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/john2890bucket/af5.jpg


across the street from the horseshoe is where my old school was :( that corner stayed the same up until like 3 years ago

Gr8 work JOHN :)

wow great

well i wasnt alive in 61-71 ! i found those pics on an old camera that my granddad owned. fairly interesting, do those big houses still exist? (in the 3rd pic) they're beautiful!

Some of them still EXIST.

^^ none !! all the buildings around the martyr's square were destroyed...

oh yea i never noticed it was martyr's square, i just saw the statue just now.

^^ me too,never noticed it was martyrs square :D

Check these 2 links for lots of really old pics (1890's)

http://www.habeeb.com/lebanon.photos.62.html

http://www.habeeb.com/lebanon.photos.63.html

damn man! great work! thanks alot John, and Rubisco
:okay:

here u can see old pics from Beirut (an article in hebrew)
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3382246,00.html

^^Thanx ,there's another city there,,,aleppo???

^^ I think its Damascus. Which one is it Zohar?

first pics are from Halev,Syria and after that from Beirut

Halev=aleppo,So my guess was right :)

Thanks so much for the pics John, those are very rare since they are personal (private) photos and they are very good quality considering how old they are.

^^ yayyyy look whos back :nuts:
good pictures John!

Photos of Lebanon in 1960's


http://ww22.tiki.ne.jp/~ikuzo1201/img120.jpg

http://ww22.tiki.ne.jp/~ikuzo1201/img121.jpg

http://ww22.tiki.ne.jp/~ikuzo1201/img122.jpg

http://ww22.tiki.ne.jp/~ikuzo1201/img123.jpg

^^ I like those days,less Buildings on the hills overlooking Beirut,and jounieh was just a piece of Heaven :)
Thanx Fox-Tale :)

Thanx Nadini for the pics, I always wanted to see how Beirut looked liked before the war! It looked awesome, in short!

Very nice!

Although most of the SSC members were not alive when those pics were taken (including me), it always makes a lot of fun to look at old city scapes!

^^ I like those days,less Buildings on the hills overlooking Beirut,and jounieh was just a piece of Heaven :)
Thanx Fox-Tale :)

Yes at that time Jounieh did not have tall buildings like now..
and was more natural.
Now it has lots of tall buildings including "Queensland Hotel", a dormitory for Russian girls working at a supernight club.
You can even see their rooms from the teleferic.:lol:
I was surprised to see one of them getting a sun tan at the balcony
in underware, not caring about eyes of the passengers!

wow man it looks better and safer then than it does today if it had continued today i think beirut would have been like Milan, london, paris

Yes at that time Jounieh did not have tall buildings like now..
and was more natural.
Now it has lots of tall buildings including "Queensland Hotel", a dormitory for Russian girls working at a supernight club.
You can even see their rooms from the teleferic.:lol:
I was surprised to see one of them getting a sun tan at the balcony
in underware, not caring about eyes of the passengers!

lol :D Nice teleferique Experience :D :lol:

wow man it looks better and safer then than it does today if it had continued today i think beirut would have been like Milan, london, paris

Of course, it would have been a far bigger and important city than Dubai!

More than 3,000 Japanese people were living in Lebanon
until early 70's and there was even a direct flight between
Beirut and Tokyo operated by Japan Airlines.

Even in Dubai, Japanese population of today is only 1,700
and there is still no direct flight between Dubai and Tokyo, but
instead between Dubai and Osaka(second biggest city in Japan).
operated by Emirates Airlines.

Many people say Dubai is a boring city after visiting it,
but I have not heard of any Japanese who said Beirut was a boring city after visiting it..

Until early 70's Beirut had a branch of Japanese bank, Japanese companies, and some authentic Japanese restaurants because it was the center of the region.

Even now many Japanese people who used to work in Lebanon before the war remember good old days in Beirut.:)

Of course, it would have been a far bigger and important city than Dubai!

More than 3,000 Japanese people were living in Lebanon
until early 70's and there was even a direct flight between
Beirut and Tokyo operated by Japan Airlines.

Even in Dubai, Japanese population of today is only 1,700
and there is still no direct flight between Dubai and Tokyo, but
instead between Dubai and Osaka(second biggest city in Japan).
operated by Emirates Airlines.

Many people say Dubai is a boring city after visiting it,
but I have not heard of any Japanese who said Beirut was a boring city after visiting it..

Until early 70's Beirut had a branch of Japanese bank, Japanese companies, and some authentic Japanese restaurants because it was the center of the region.

Even now many Japanese people who used to work in Lebanon before the war remember good old days in Beirut.:)

well lets be honest Dubai is artifical city built over very short period of time and only attracts the people who cant make it in thier own respective countrys, they can " buy" technology but never "make it"

beirut is unqiue city with long history at cross-roads of important trading route going back centurys with diverse and rich culture and religion, ive visted both citys (dubai numerous times) but beirut has something special about it

dubai is now destinations for the worst UK chavs who have no idea of culture and religion

the people of a country make a city not the shiny fake buildings with bill-boards advertising western goods, the same can be said about Damascus in Syria people make that city one of the best in the world even although its very basic, people of the country make the country what they are, hope beirut returns to its good old days but yeah your right old beirut was amazing ive seen the pictures

IMO Tehran Would have become the most important City in the Middle East,

of course that means working with Israel and USA

I mean, Dubai would have been nothing if Iran was still the power, no?

Bahrain belonged to Iran during the 60-70's, the Arab nations hated Iran because it was in support of Israel and USA

i think Dubai only started to grow once the revolution occrued and wealthy Iraninas poured into surorunding nations




I CANT wait to go to Beirut this Summer :D:D
:okay:

Thanks Fox-Tale for the pics and the details.. next time in the telefric, I'm gonna keep an eye (and a camera) on the Queensland hotel :lol:

sorry for taht little thing right there hhehe :tongue4:

Thanks Fox-Tale for the pics and the details.. next time in the telefric, I'm gonna keep an eye (and a camera) on the Queensland hotel :lol:


the Queensland Hotel thats in Jounieh yeah ive seen it it looks old and i wounder why its named after an Australian state ! the hotel is like 3 buildings away from my Uncles Building

the coastline looked a lot more green in the older pics i guess once the main park is complete this will change for the better...

the Queensland Hotel thats in Jounieh yeah ive seen it it looks old and i wounder why its named after an Australian state ! the hotel is like 3 buildings away from my Uncles Building

You are lucky, you can visit your uncle and see the building at the same time!!

I didn't know that the name of the hotel came from a state in Australia.
I thought it was named "queensland' because many Russian and Ukraine queens are living inside the apartment!! lol

oh what ^^ lol really Queensland is a state here hrmmm maybe your right ...

Jayme just because theres a state called Queensland in Australia doesnt mean they took the name from Australia lol, theres a Queensland town here and theres a bunch in the United States and im sure elsewhere in the world.

fight! fight! fight! fight! ...

^^ :lol: :lol:

http://www.ghazi.de/pict/beiru19.jpg

1974 (Beirut's old Marina before the war, where MT and PT currently stands, the brown building is the Hilton, what a change!)
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/816/beiruthafenfq5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6056/beirutskylinejn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Never knew Beirut had street lights and STRAIGHT telephone wires, looks neat
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/4677/beirutverkehrae9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

lol,Beirut was by far the Best in the Region ya Nadini :)u should know that :P

same crazy drivers though! no lanes, the roads look the same as today! lol.

1974 (Beirut's old Marina before the war, where MT and PT currently stands, the brown building is the Hilton, what a change!)
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/816/beiruthafenfq5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6056/beirutskylinejn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Your photos are so clear and beautiful, Nadini!
I cannot believe those photos were taken in 1974..

Btw those trees on the upper photos are at International College or AUB, or American Community Schol?
The view has not changed much up to today.

This is a picture of Beirut in 1900. Sorry if it has been posted before.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Beirut1900.jpg

I love Old Pictures of Lebanon and Beirut thats an awesome pic , Beirut looked sooo nice back then !

This is a picture of Beirut in 1900. Sorry if it has been posted before.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Beirut1900.jpg

Very beautiful....
I think this photo represents real good part of Lebanon.

^^ Beautiful :)

omg i prefer Beirut like that! rather than the concrete jungle that it's become today

Yeah it does look picturesque on that pic but you can't stop development. All cities have changed and it's only a natural process because of economical development and population growth. Anyway I still Beirut is still a very nice city and I'm sure living condition have improved since 1900.

well its nice, but its more of a town/big village back then... you can still find similar places up the mountains in lebanon...
i think a city requires to be concrete jungle!! urban is good! go urban.

Not sure if anyone has come across this site before or not but it's got a bunch of pictures taken, mainly during the 70's, of Beirut. A lot of these pics are unfortunately repeated over and over but they are still interesing to see.

http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/BeyrouthBeyrouth.html#MT14JPEG0003

Enjoy...

Not sure if anyone has come across this site before or not but it's got a bunch of pictures taken, mainly during the 70's, of Beirut. A lot of these pics are unfortunately repeated over and over but they are still interesing to see.

http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/BeyrouthBeyrouth.html#MT14JPEG0003

Enjoy...

Wow, great site with lots of clear pics!

by using those photo data, it would be possible to reproduce the complete
scenery of old beirut on the computer, using CG technology.

I wonder why nobody or no movie company has yet made CG version of old Beirut..

Ohh Tangolima these pictures are priceless!!!! so this was the glory of Beirut back in the days, quite impressive

Beirut and Tehran have some seroius potential :) I say Damascus too because of the great people

check this out

http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://almashriq.hiof.no/general/700/770/779/contemporary/fareeds-picts/AUB_Beach_L.jpg&imgrefurl=http://almashriq.hiof.no/general/700/770/779/contemporary/fareeds-picts/&h=801&w=1298&sz=110&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=3rSO9paGWIqdTM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daub%2Bbeach%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

check this out

http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://almashriq.hiof.no/general/700/770/779/contemporary/fareeds-picts/AUB_Beach_L.jpg&imgrefurl=http://almashriq.hiof.no/general/700/770/779/contemporary/fareeds-picts/&h=801&w=1298&sz=110&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=3rSO9paGWIqdTM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daub%2Bbeach%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

man those were some seroius pictures man i visted both syria and lebanon thanks for sharing them the allepo crusaders castle was awesome :)

WOW FABULOUS pictures!! John2890 and Tangolima!!!

:master::master:
:bow::bow:






BTW tangolima, is that the callsign for TransMedditeranean Airways?
TL -Trans Mediterranean Airways - Lebanon?? ??


the airline with 6 boeing 707s on Cargo flights?

just, askings :D ;)

This is a picture of Beirut in 1900. Sorry if it has been posted before.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Beirut1900.jpg

wow..1900 :eek: ?! Kuala Lumpur was still looks like jungle at the time.anyway beautifel picture :okay:

:applause: WOW FABULOUS pictures!! John2890 and Tangolima!!!

:master::master:
:bow::bow:






BTW tangolima, is that the callsign for TransMedditeranean Airways?
TL -Trans Mediterranean Airways - Lebanon?? ??


the airline with 6 boeing 707s on Cargo flights?

just, askings :D ;)

EXCELLENT catch mahdial_x5!!! :applause: :applause: :applause:
That is the one! Congratulations on being the first person to know and catch that reference! Not many people know about TMA and I think even fewer people know about callsigns! I just use it since the airline used to be a leader when it came to the Middle Easit and cargo operations. It is sad to see the state they are in now and not operating...:ohno:

:applause:

EXCELLENT catch mahdial_x5!!! :applause: :applause: :applause:
That is the one! Congratulations on being the first person to know and catch that reference! Not many people know about TMA and I think even fewer people know about callsigns! I just use it since the airline used to be a leader when it came to the Middle Easit and cargo operations. It is sad to see the state they are in now and not operating...:ohno:

thank you :D


truee turee so saad, :(:ohno:

On the day that became Lebanon's independence day, the following are pics from Martyrs' square showing people celebrating the release of the Lebanese national leaders who were imprisoned by the French in Rachaya citadel. (pics from the collection of Fareed Abou Haidar)

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5332/martyrssquare19431122wk3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/5679/martyrssquare19431122beh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

^^VIVE LE LIBAN LIBRE ;)

^^it's contradicting when u say that in french lol

Wow guys, this is the first time I see an old picture of our corniche, look at all the trees and the mountain in the background!, this is quite special!
notice that there is no water
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/972/cornichezx2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Courtesy of Farid Rushdi
I have a feeling that this is (I don't know if I'm naming it correctly) the "Promenade de Français" - the short corniche that is now where the Marina and Platinum Towers are. The wall was lower there, closer to the sea (and behind it there was a little square with a monument to the French and British soldiers of WWI, I think). Perhaps the rocks went farther out than they do under Ain Mreise?

No Ainmreisiot, this is not Avenue des Français; this pricture was taken in the late fifties or during the sixties on Avenue de Paris in front of the Riviera, You see rocks rather than water because it is the Riviera Beach on the left and it is a zoomed photo. The street lights were imported from Germany and installed around 1956. The trees are olive trees that were removed around 1974. They were replaced by palm trees in 1983.

^^ Oh yes, that makes sense now...thanks for the interesting info, I had no idea the palm trees were only placed in 1984 (and during the war), I had thought they were much older! Whose idea was it to change the trees?

Thanks, Kheireddine, for the explanation and the story of the trees. It straightens things out; the antenna in the background must be the AUB beach.

I don't remember/never knew the Riviera beach. Is it where the hotel marina and restaurant now are? Or does one still see that part of the natural coastline?

And like Beirut!, if you could, I'd love to hear the story behind the replacement of the olives. Did they block the view? Were they ill-suited for the storms and sea water?

Olive trees looked much much better,wow,i don't believe they replaced them by the palm trees.

hmm ^^ the olives tree's added a more of a mediterranean feel
Palm tree's also look nice

if you guys look closely, there was palm trees as well

Hi Ainmreisiot & Nadini,
Yes, it is where the Riviera Marina is located now, there was already a swimming pool there since the Hotel was built in the late fifties. To answer your question about the palm trees, the ones on the seaside were planted in 1983 by OGER Liban (Hariri's company) while on the other side & the ones in the middle were planted between 1945 & 1965. I think the olive trees were removed around 1974 because they were dying.

^^ that explains it, thank you for the information, I dont find olive tree's great to plant in Beirut, doesn't look like its the type of place to plant such tree's

Not sure if anyone has come across this site before or not but it's got a bunch of pictures taken, mainly during the 70's, of Beirut. A lot of these pics are unfortunately repeated over and over but they are still interesing to see.

http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/BeyrouthBeyrouth.html#MT14JPEG0003

Enjoy...

This site is just terrific! and the pictures in the thread are nice too. What a beautiful place!

Hi MoroccanChica,

I bookmarked that site some 5 years ago

http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/mot/photobase/mohafazat/BeyrouthBeyrouth.html#MT14JPEG0003

Check the pictures taken by Fulvio Roiter, a famous Italian photographer. He took pictures of all of Lebanon in 1967 & 1974. The ones on that site are from 1974.

thanks for that link ^^ there is lots of photos to look at

Indeed

Great photos of the "legendary Beirut"- reminds me of when I hear my grandparents talking about Beirut

[http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/9750/jpeg0294ux0.jpg

Avenue de Paris around 1970, love those neon street lights so particular to Beirut boulevards from 1956 to 1982. There is a late 60's Renault 10 on the left and an early 60's Mercedes 190 service-taxi on the right. :banana:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8577/normalruebliss1964kx5.jpg


Bliss street 1963 in front of the AUB, Tramway going opposite to trafic. Remark the suspended neon lights, they were removed in 1971. The tramway tracks disappeared under the asphalt in 1990...my old american car tires used to slide on those tracks! :nuts:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9681/068117257cxi7.jpg

Taken from Lebscape.com

Ras Beirut Manara around 1930. Camels resting! Rizkallah aala heideek al iyyaam :)

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/4562/beirut21912gm9.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=beirut21912gm9.jpg)

Ottoman Beirut, Gentlemen where called Bey and Effendi... :bowtie:

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/9672/palmer1923beirutbkx4.th.jpg (http://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=palmer1923beirutbkx4.jpg)
The Ottomans are gone, the French are here! :cheer:

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/8/tfl1936beirutbke8.th.jpg (http://img63.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tfl1936beirutbke8.jpg)

Modern Beirut shaped by the French: A lot of barracks! :guns1:

beirut suburbs 61-71



http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9681/068117257cxi7.jpg


Same area forty years later

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/john2890bucket/af8.jpg


This is the Manara neighborhood at the instersection of Corniche Al Manara & Najib Ardati street in front of the ''Bain Militaire''.

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The lighthouse around 1900

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The ''Bain militaire'' area near the lighthouse in 1896. The ''red house'' with arched balcony that was built by Dr. Najib Ardati, one of the first AUB graduates, is still there.


http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/3797/131424jj9.jpg

From Raoucheh to the ''Bain Militaire'' around 1900: road construction.

WOW,thank you so much,so informative,if u leave Beirut for 10 years then u wouldn't recognize it when u come back :D

I left Beirut 16 years ago, Hassoun & never came back. I swore never to come back until the Syrian Army withdraws. I wanted to visit in 2006 & you know what happened :ohno:

^^:( yes i know :(
But why don't u visit leb this summer ??
i always wanted the leb diaspora to come back to lebanon,we'll be the majority and our votes gonna make a huge difference.the Anti-syrian regime Campaign will form not less than 70% of the population.

Now, it is too late for this year as I already took my vacation. Maybe next year if there is no war...

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/1866/1963wo4.jpg

Tramway terminal on Bliss Street near Saudi embassy in 1963.

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/9738/19653cj9.jpg

Tramway on Riad Solh Square in 1965, last year for the tram... :ohno: note the beiruti gentelman wering the tarbouche (Fez). Yalla, quick, the tram is leaving! :goodbye:

http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/3755/19655ep6.jpg

Going to Basta from Riad Solh square in 1965. note the lack of maintenance due to the tramway being discontinued... :ohno:

When we were kids, we used to sing a song related to the tram: toot toot aabayrout, talaa w Nazleh bkhams krouch :)

^^i wish we could have the tram back...gives such a nice charm to the city :(

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/6913/jpeg0006gx6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Some tram cars were used by a café :weird: in Raoucheh in front of the Carlton Hotel from 1966 until the early 80's

^^i wish we could have the tram back...gives such a nice charm to the city :(

Yes Leb-it, the tram has so much charm...it is regretful that Solidere did not think about creating a line Downtown. >(

We need the tram back. It is so stylish and charming. Lets hope some day when peace be established :soon:

:cheers:

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8794/1969libanon1beirutsg6.jpg

It became a dump during the war :ohno:

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/39/p14500gb3.jpg

Picture taken from Starco Center.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8181/p14501ws5.jpg

View from Starco Center

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/215/76cafesbeirut1905fok3.jpg

Zeitouneh, Hajj Daoud Café, 1905.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/3122/0320beyrouth20cornicheed0.jpg

Zeitouneh 1972, view toward Starco Centre from Hajj Daoud...

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/6859/champ1934uv6.jpg

The Champollion sank in Ouzaii 1952 , it was the only way to go to France for almost thirty years. ref: http://www.es-conseil.fr/pramona/champ.htm

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7432/bild011ky1.jpg

View toward Zeitouneh

http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/236/313607913902aa92570ogf9.jpg

Look how small were the palm trees :)

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4189/p14499cf0.jpg
Phoenicia & St-Georges hotels

Check the pictures taken by Fulvio Roiter, a famous Italian photographer. He took pictures of all of Lebanon in 1967 & 1974. The ones on that site are from 1974.

Thank you for the tip. Unfortunately I couldn't find any of those pictures online. but Fulvio Roiter has an book (I assume it's an album) that's sold on Amazon.

Thank you for the tip. Unfortunately I couldn't find any of those pictures online. but Fulvio Roiter has an book (I assume it's an album) that's sold on Amazon.

The name of the author of each picture is often written on its link. Please scroll down.

The name of the author of each picture is often written on its link.

Ah ok :lol: Very tiny! :)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6628/06458226cgx5.jpg

Note the UN Jeeps in front of the hotel.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5137/66lb01uo3.jpg

Phoenicia street by night.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4190/1974aza9.jpg

Before the Corniche got extended.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1702/p1431965wg1.jpg

View toward Hajj Daoud Café...nothing remains there :ohno:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8506/jpeg0002qe8.jpg
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7107/jpeg0008gk7.jpg

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/3739/jpeg0560zs7.jpg

Near the Bain Militaire. The was also in the same area a Bonjus vendor in a Bonjus shaped shack(prism)...unfortunately, I could not find a picture. :cheers:

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3503/0692695521964qa4.jpg

Let's go for a Kazdoura :naughty:

http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/8886/jpeg0593km6.jpg

Nara ya walad!:rant:

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For ages, the city was limited to what is now known as Downtown Beirut & 5000 souls.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9397/1860beirutuk8.jpg

French intervention due to the 1860 civil war in the mountain.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/1161/1860aw2.jpg

One of the first photo-pictures of beirut.

http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3263/9ainmreissehbeirut1896fpv0.jpg

Life was wonderful :)

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4228/18591ye4.jpg

Lovely city!

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2392/bonfpanmy3.jpg

There was an island Castle that got demolished when the Port got enlarged by a French company in 1888, check the 1840 Map to see the location.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8738/1beyrouth1891fvq1.jpg

Beirut was a city of red tiled houses & gardens.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/7371/2beyrouth18911fwo6.jpg

Humm, I wish I can go back in time! :lol:

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3658/6nazarethbeirut1890feh2.jpg

Notre-Dame de Nazareth in the background.

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7350/75aub1902fiy3.jpg

Students used to wear a costume with a tie and a tarbouche :bowtie:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1071/downtownbeirutjk8.jpg

Note how slim is the building shoing in the middle of the picture. Merely a façade! actually it has a 70 cm width :weird: It was built in the late 40's by a man who wanted to block the view on his brother's house...and the municipality approved it!
I think the building is still there. It is on the downhill street from Bliss st. to Bain Militaire.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/323/1864yy3.jpg

Wonderful! :)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1079/1876cr5.jpg

A city expanding beyond the dowtown walls...

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1146/tripoli1859of1.jpg

My great grand father moved from Tripoli to Beirut in 1860 :)

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6942/tripoli1875fc4.jpg

Life was simple...:)

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/2969/jpeg0558vx2.jpg

Bread vendor on bike...:eat:

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/7940/jpeg0552hb7.jpg

Hi! :wave:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7136/jpeg0557dh4.jpg

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9548/jpeg0559cz1.jpg


Look how well maintained is this avenue :)

WOW,Gr8 job Kheireddine,,very professional presentation as well,Thanx

Thanks Hassoun, more to come! ;)

i wish i can go back in time to see what it was like back then

Me too! however I still remeber the early seventies & it was fun to be there :)

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/92/ruedubanquevf7.jpg

The banks were established there before moving to Riad Solh St.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8797/p1965av7.jpg

Same place as above, more than 40 years later...

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/74/19652hl7.jpg

Jaguar E-Type going down the street toward the harbour (port). :okay:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8058/06746154cwi2.jpg

The Souks are burning! :badnews:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/719/beirut20down20townbm9.jpg

Too perfect! :tongue2:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/5349/psepia2nc7.jpg

Oh, I forgot this one! ;)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/747/p11965mh1.jpg
You can buy roasted peanuts from those Soudani vendors :eat:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9639/p14502wc4.jpg

This area is also known as Hawouz e-Seaatieh, nothing much left from those houses however the school (white building) which was built in the 20's is still there & Henri Pharaon's house, now Robert Mouawad Museum, also (top right corner).

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6586/p14504ob6.jpg

Close up ;)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/213/hamra2zz8.jpg

Hamra was very trendy in those days :shifty:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/222/hamra20streetcd1.jpg

Mercedes 180 Ponton service-taxi cabs staring at the red Porsche :uh: near Modca Café
Note, the suspended neon street lights were replace by strait lamp posts. :cool:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/2553/jpeg0028yz9.jpg

Noticed the red traffic light? hum...the ladies? :naughty:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5532/jpeg0026bg0.jpg

Red Shoe is in the background. Did you notice the ramp behind the front bench seat? I used to hit my mouth on that ramp when I was a kid every time my mom took a serfis aal balad (going downtown) due to lousy braking habits of the cab drivers.:wallbash:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3262/jpeg0030ap5.jpg^

Motorists used to respect traffic lights! :nono:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2909/jpeg0025es3.jpg

Strand cinéma & center.

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/4775/jpeg0195wc4.jpg

Lebanese motorists liked to parade in narrow streets driving big American cars
like this Buick Century Grand Sport with a 455 (7.5L) engine, averaging a poor 12 miles per gallon (70Km/20 liters). Talk about gas guzzlers! :eek2:
...but gas was cheap at 7 Lebanese pounds a tankeh (20 liters) :ancient:

More to come later, I am tired now :goodnight

^^ ya3teek l 3afyeh :) Nite :) and thanx 3al pics

This has now become a very exciting thread with amazing rare photos that really bring back to life old Beirut. Thank you Kheireddine for the posts and informative commentary!

I cant wait for the next batch of great photos ! i wounder what it would be like if the war never happend !

WoohoooOOO!thx!

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5540/beiru04cx2.jpg

Location: Intersection of Hussein El-Ahdab st. & Weygand st. facing the municipality.
Note: the Saviem-Chausson yellow & red public bus replaced the tram,the buses were used later in dowtown beirut in 1975 as barricades :(

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/6743/parliamentsquarebeirutlij0.jpg

Most of the cars in the street are American :cool:

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/9614/19651zf1.jpg

:master:

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1157/p14531az6.jpg

And Freek Mecedes 180 Taxi-service with Lebanese custom made reinforcements on the bumper :gaah:

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6462/p14391965sr6.jpg

Near Maarad st. & its arcades :)

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/1071/xccvj7gh3.jpg

It was a gift to the city from a rich immigrant bult in 1934. The clock tower was moved to Corniche Al Nahr in the late 60's to make place for a ditch with roman ruins, that became a mazbaleh. :ohno: It was a good move to retun it in the late '90s to Place de l'Étoile. :okay:

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/374/068185745crc2.jpg

No Cars! Just the tram :banana:

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/1473/dsc00026mw4.jpg

Double parking and an overwhelmed policeman :nono:

more to come later...

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/905/06454762cfe6.jpg

This Ouzaï street in Basta :mad2:

http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/8844/1969mh1.jpg

The first buliding in the picutre is the Shell building built in the 60's ^^

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5251/jpeg0055hn8.jpg

I used to live 50m away! :colgate:

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/9808/068159764cpt3.jpg

Intercontinental hotel. All the street lights are lit! :yes:

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7996/p14525zs9.jpg

Suicide cliff :badnews:

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8306/jpeg0198vx8.jpg

My old neighborhood :)

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5094/p14520mk1.jpg

I front of the Najib Salha mansion which became the Hariri Mansion. What does she have on her head? :?

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/5066/p14521zt9.jpg

:master:

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/5813/p14518cf1.jpg

On avenue Perthuis later became avenue Omar Daouk near Graham tram stop. There was a doctor named Graham who asked from the tram driver to yell the name of his clinic every time he stopped in front of it for advertisement. :baaa:

:soon:

^^don't get me started with solidere! they don't know how to get anything done right...downtown beirut wasn't renovated as it should have been

I like Solidere ....whats so bad about them

^^don't get me started with solidere! they don't know how to get anything done right...downtown beirut wasn't renovated as it should have been

Come on, Solidere did an amazing job given the complications they faced...the BCD looks 100% better now than it did back then and you have to admit it. The pictures circa 1960 were nice but now the area is so clean and organized with classy looking sidewalks and cobble stone streets and freshly painted buildings (no powerlines and ugly store signs).

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/8374/pcolor14bw3.jpg

:nocrook:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/459/p14505py8.jpg

:old:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/249/libanavantos0.jpg

View on North of the square with buses going to anywhere, Cinema Rivoli in the background :nuts:

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/832/psepia9lz4.jpg

It must have been vey noisy Honk! Honk! :nuts:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6614/pcolor20pz1.jpg

One year before the disaster...:ohno:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8056/1972xc0.jpg

Jay walking on Sahat El Bourj :runaway:

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/4308/psepia10vx3.jpg

Rue Georges Picot was a two way street, later in the 50's it became one way except for the tram. No traffic lights yet, a policeman is standing in a shelter located in the middle of the crossroads. :banana:

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7220/psepia8fc1.jpg

:)

these pictures are just AMAZING Kheireddine, are they a personal collection? Beirut looked so much prettier before :( it had personality and charm...i think it has lost that now

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/9853/psepia1ln0.jpg

Let's go to Ahwet El Ejez (glass café) on the corner & smoke an arguileh with the Abadaye Abou El Abed! :gossip:

these pictures are just AMAZING Kheireddine, are they a personal collection? Beirut looked so much prettier before :( it had personality and charm...i think it has lost that now

No Leb-it, those are pictures that I downloaded in the past from the Internet, I like old pictures, especially of Lebanon & Beirut. Beirut used to have a soul before the war...they killed it :ohno:

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5945/p143811965ob4.jpg

Near the AUB, going down to Avenue de Paris.

http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/1013/war130mm4.jpg

Riots, policemen in the middle of the street :bash:

A few pics left for later ;)

^^what were those riots about??

Solidere destroyed too many buidings. The Rivoli and the old Police Headquarters could have been saved as well as part of the souks. On the other hand, Downtown Beyrouth lacked order & it was decaying long before the war, businesses were moving to the more modern Hamra. However, Dowtown Beirut, untill it got destroyed in late 1975 & early 1976, was the only place where Lebanese from all regions and sects, used to meet & work with each others and become friends. If the war did not happen, Downtown Beirut needed a serious overhaul to keep it attractive to businesses and people.

^^what were those riots about??

The riots happened in 1969 when the Lebanese got divided about the Palestinian armed struggle from Lebanon, it was the prelude of the civil war that started in 1975...:ohno:

:goodnight

Solidere destroyed too many buidings. The Rivoli and the old Police Headquarters could have been saved as well as part of the souks. On the other hand, Downtown Beyrouth lacked order & it was decaying long before the war, businesses were moving to the more modern Hamra. However, Dowtown Beirut, untill it got destroyed in late 1975 & early 1976, was the only place where Lebanese from all regions and sects, used to meet & work with each others and become friends. If the war did not happen, Downtown Beirut needed a serious overhaul to keep it attractive to businesses and people.


I was thinking about that, if the war didnt happen would Downtown look as good as it is now. there must have been a reason why destroyed alot of buildings. not safe etc.

and the photo with the riots in 1958. wasnt there some sort of pan arabism movment ... wanting to form a United Arab Republic and only two states joined untill it didnt really work out later on. i think he was called Nassar or something he was from Egypt
and Lebanon got US marines to restore order

Jayme, 1958 events happended when the Lebanese people got polarized like today: the government was pro-American while the oppositon was pro-United Arab republic (Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt-Syria). The president, Camille Chamoun, was accused by the opposition (Saeb Salam, Kamal Joumblat & Rachid Karameh) of trying to extend his term. In Lebanon, History repeats itself every 20 years.

theres positivity, well I dont know how to say this, but if the war didn't happened, we wouldn't discover all the historic ruins and the old Beirut it was 2000-3000 years ago, in a way it is sad but it was good in a way. The downtown is as precious as a gem, maybe Leb-it you didnt like it cuz u went in the middle of the protest, it had soul before the war last year... things changed right now because of all the tents and political tension in the country

kheireddine, ive got a book about Lebanons History i have more then one
and yes Lebanon history has repeated it self. eg, uprisings, roits etc etc

i was thinking i dont think i would have been BORN ! my parents met in Australia the only reason my mum and her family left Lebanon because of the war ! i wouldnt be posting here !

Yes Jayme & a lot of Lebanese too because the war allowed people to meet in circumstances that would not have occured if there wasn't any war. Who would have thought that all my family & relatives would emigrate to Canada and USA? That would have been out of question thirty five years ago while we considered being in one of nicest countries in the world. The events of 1958 & 1969 & 1973 were nothing compared to the 15 years of war; However, there was something wrong in that political system. On every crisis people used to think that it was a temporary unrest, even in 1975; however it became a permanent state of instability & Lebanon lost more than 150,000 people, the population of a mid-size city! I always think about what if the war did not happen, those people would have led a happy life & had children. What a mess! Lebanon was not perfect, far from that; still it did not deserve that war. All it needed is some reforms to make the state more secular and balanced and a better public service administration & better politicians...