Photography Restrictions in Beirut

[ainmreisiot]

Only incidentally about the Dana: I was a bit up the hill two weeks ago, walking in the new area without a camera. I looked down a street that terminates in the Dana, and was thinking that it was a planning mistake not to have slightly changed the Dana plot to have allowed a view through to the sea there, when one of the famous security guards in the area came up and asked me what I was doing. I said I was just looking around. He stared and then said, unfortunately only partly to my surprise, "you...cannot...LOOK...here"

Amazing...

[Joe.KL]

I just don't get why it is like that in Wadi Abou Jamil and the Marina, and Beil area!!
Enno what the **** is there to hide?
Its like your at guilt for just being there!!

[lebnani]

Originally Posted by ainmreisiot

Only incidentally about the Dana: I was a bit up the hill two weeks ago, walking in the new area without a camera. I looked down a street that terminates in the Dana, and was thinking that it was a planning mistake not to have slightly changed the Dana plot to have allowed a view through to the sea there, when one of the famous security guards in the area came up and asked me what I was doing. I said I was just looking around. He stared and then said, unfortunately only partly to my surprise, "you...cannot...LOOK...here"

Amazing...

I would have questioned the fucker out of his mind!.... OH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW PISSED OFF THAT STORY MAKES ME. Seriously guys, why the hell do we NOT have the right to walk, watch, or LIVE in our own f'n CITY. Why the hell is a politician more privileged than a citizen!

[Leb10452km]

Lebnani, that's probably because in first world countries, the politician is a "PUBLIC SERVANT", while in Lebanon the people are the "POLITICIAN'S SERVANTS" ....

[lebnani]

I am no one's servant and I would expect everyone else in leb to share the same p.o.v. My allegiance is to my nation not to its gov't. Seriously, we need to start spreading awareness about this problem

[Leb10452km]

unfortunately you and i don't count my friend, sectarianism in Lebanon has turned the people into followers of their sectarian leader, they would follow everything he says, he would pay them some money before the elections, some politicians don't even need to do that because they're worshiped, and that's about it... We always brag about being smart and about being LEBANESE, but the fact is that 80% of the Lebanese people who live in Lebanon are dull, and don't even deserve to be Lebanese ...

[lebnani]

Ok fine, but that's something that needs to be changed, and this is actually why I wanted to be in media.... there needs to be a mobilizing force... look things ARE shitty and we can acknowledge that, but I believe as long as we carry that knowledge we have the choice of doing nothing or doing something and I really want this problem to begin to be solved, if not for our generation, for the sake of the next. for the sake of the word LEBANON ..... and for the sake of everyone and everything associated with it.

This is place is unique... in the mid east, unique amongst other med countries, and in the world..... and it deserves our attention.

[Abdallah K.]

Someone should E-mail SOLIDERE about this crap I myself have never been questioned by a single guard because I have the policy of: Set the camera so it takes 3 pictures at once, press the button, flee the seen quickly, no questions asked, so if one picture turned out bad I still have 2 others

[lebnani]

I think the only way solidere would care is if ppl stopped going down, or if they somehow stopped making money

[Guy]

Solideres security is absolutely ridiculous. They're just random guys Solidere hired off the street on a power trip. Not professional at all. One security guard yelled at one of my students for simply standing in Saifi Village. STANDING! Just simply ignore them. Its what I used to do when I used to photograph downtown and Solidere security would yell. I've always believed Solidere is not for the majority of the Lebanese people. Its not only a disgusting display of upper class gluttony but downtown is also incredibly boring, uncultured, and as seen in this thread, unnecessarily restrictive. There are actually no photography restrictions in the city of Beirut with the exception of Qorietiem, Ain el Tinne, and the Navy base (all signed) but as with all Arab nations there is a sort of photograph-phobia which seems to prevail. I agree with lebnani. Solidere is a joke of a company who doesn't bother listening to emails. I went to their office to complain when I first came to Beirut. If you think Beirut is bad, try Amman! Its even worse.

[Joe.KL]

You guys are being very harsh on Solideres! Yes, Solideres is not perfect, but you can't ignore what a great job Solideres is doing!
And if anyone has a better feasible way of reconstructing downtown than please enlighten us!

I do feel SCARED when caring my camera around Lebanon (not just Downtown).. Our country is still indeed very photograph phobic. Very sad, but true!
It even makes me feel an alien in my own country!!

[Jayme]

I took photos like there was no tomorrow when I was in Lebanon. In Downtown Beirut I didnt get told off at out I did it right infront of the security gurds.

[Abdallah K.]

Same here, I had around 600 photos (most of them from Tripoli), I actually never had a SINGLE problem with anybody telling me a single thing in Tripoli, and in Beirut I just did some "drive by shooting" (sitting in the passenger seat and taking pictures while you drive by)

[Beirut1986]

My turn to complain, now that i'm actually living in beirut, and don't have a job yet, i'm just walking around discovering the city.
Wherever you are, whenever you take your camera, all the eyes and the people just stare at you, like what are you taking with your camera? unfinished buildings? that's weird! i even heard the comments: look at this one, taking a picture of a building under construction, I wonder whow is he working for? I mean: It's amazing the ignorance there is!
And like in the first post, I just stood and stared at a building near old Holiday Inn, and 1 "darake" came and asked me what i wanted, told nothing, i just like this building and i'm enjoying the nice skyline. He answerd, leave now and keep walking, and get out of this area as soon as possible, it is forbidden to stop and look here, I mean, I wasn't even taking a picture!
He asked for my ID, where I live, and told me if in 1 minute I was still in the street he was going to arrest me!
I just asked him why? can you just tell me why? I have the right to know as a lebanese citizen just walking in my capital? no harm?
He answerd: You are going to drive me nuts, get the hell from here right away, how do you dare to ask why?
I told him to calm down, that I was living, honestly, don't want to go to jail!
And 1 thing guys, it's sad for me to say this, but Lebanon can have beautiful architecture, beautiful nature, etc. But mentalities are shitty! and this will last for decades! I don't think i'm gonna stay here more than 1 year, this is good for vacations only! and no offence for anyone, since i'm half lebanese too.

[lebnani]

LOL THAT IS EXACTLY WORD FOR WORD WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!!! LOL Don't worry I am fully lebanese and I feel the same way.

Here is a tip, if you tell them you are a foreigner and you play it extra nice they will be good to you. I told him I live in canada and I just want to take pictures, he was nice enough to let me take some while he watched and then I asked him where I could take pics just so he would feel important. You have to know how to stroke their ego its ridiculous really! I left him on good terms, even shook hands...

But it all matters who you get...

[Leb10452km]

Oh how i wish this would happen to me one day!!! some of these "DARAK" believe they're sort of ministers or something and they behave accordingly, and one way to deal with this is to act the nice guy like lebnani said, or even way better than that is to threaten them, in Lebanon you would hear this sentence anywhere you go:" DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM ?? "if you know somebody in a good post that's all u gotta say to the "DARAKE", not that i like to do this kind of thing, and not that i don't abide by the law, on the contrary i stop on the red lights when i am in Lebanon and i get all kinds of insults by the people behind me many times, i wear my seat-belt i behave just as if i were in Europe, but the other time when i was in Lebanon, there was a very heavy traffic on rawshe and i was a bit in a hurry, so i saw all the cars in front of me doing a U-turn although there was a sign that said it's forbidden, and although the policeman was standing right next to the sign, but after i saw like 10 or more cars turning around i said what the heck i am gonna do the same, and the man decided to stop me out of all the cars that passed right in front of him, i admitted i was mistaken but the fact that he didn't say anything to all the other drivers really pissed me off, so i have this relative of mine who is head of the airport and embassies security department in the internal security forces, so i just told the policeman why did you pull me over when everyone else was turning and he ironically said because i liked your car, so i just asked him if he could tell me his name and then his voice changed immediately and asked me what for, i told him for nothing, it just happens that this car is " AL-3amid X's brother " and i happen to be his nephew so i just wanna phone-call him and ask him about this new law that allows policemen to stop people according to their cars, and as soon as he heard that, the man's color changed he didn't know how to get rid of me he apologized and started telling me " 7a2ak 3laye, ma twekhezne bla bla " even though i don't do this often especially when i know am wrong, but sometimes it's the only thing you can do in Lebanon ...

[Lebanese Cedar]

Somebody needs to complain to Ziad Baroud about this...

[john2890]

Originally Posted by Joe.KL

And if anyone has a better feasible way of reconstructing downtown than please enlighten us!

ehem...

[annie23]

And what is there to hide about getting photographed in restaurants ???

[annie23]

Hahaha I recommend dying your hair blond so they think you're tourists hehe