Reaching the summit
#tb to last week when our very own Rami O. spent an epic sunny week end with @33north and hiked to the summit of Mount Hermon (Jabal el Sheikh).
We should all make it a priority to visit our own country before we travel. It helps us see Lebanon in a new light. Our country is more than just where we live, it gives us a sense of place and belonging.
There is so much to explore. Get out there! Lebanon is waiting for you.
By traveling around the country we also support local businesses and generate income for local communities and help them maintain their traditions and culture.
#beirutsbrightside #lebanon #livelovelebanon #adventure #mountain #mounthermon #trekking #explorelebanon #outdoors #visitlebanon #localtourism #localtraveling
YallaBus, the map!
Back in October 2017 we wrote a post about a group of young students who strive to make a difference. Therese Kayrouz, an Industrial Engineering student, developed the YallaBus app to make it easier for people to use #publictransportation in Lebanon. Commuters can chose their destination and get different Bus routes and timing. Where, when and how to catch the right bus through GPS tracking and data mining.
They have now distributed their first Beirut Bus Maps (English and Arabic).
Yalla (let’s take the) bus!
Check out their video here
Generation poubelle re-imagined the Beirut River
We just came across this great project by 5 students of “Generation Poubelle” Charbel Abou Chakra, Kay Bardawil, Charbel Corbani, Nahi El Khoury, and Michelle Norenzian.
With Lebanese star architect Bernard Khoury guiding them throughout the process, their project won the Johnnie Walker “Keep Walking Expo” out of 200 submissions from university students representing different institutions and fields.
This team of motivated and engaged millennials chose to tackle the pollution problem and make a social statement through architecture. They imagined a long translucent tube inside the Beirut River that caries drainage water leading to a vertical tower that holds a filtering system. The space around it would be transformed into a public park and an event venue.
Check out the article in Beirut Today here.
#keepwalking
#beirutsbrightside
#beirut
#generationpoubelle
Diggers gonna dig
Beirut is now definitely on the crate diggers map!
After Chico Records last year, Ernesto Chahoud‘s record store Darsko in Burj Hammoud (in what was his grandfather’s shoe factory) has made it on the The Vinyl Factory world’s best record shops!
Make sure to check out his unique collection of rare grooves and old 45s.
Check out the Vinyl Factory article here
Women x Air force
Meet the two women qualified to be pilots in the Lebanese air force.
We salute you 1st Lieutenant Chantal Kallas and 1st Lieutenant Rita Zaher.
Check out the BBC article here
Potato NOSE x Swatch
If you live in Beirut, you have probably seen Jad El Khoury aka Potato NOSE’s work around town.
Jad has brilliantly turned war remnants into art. His first public interventions consisted in adding fun doodle characters to war-scarred buildings. He then created a buzz when he beautifully transformed Burj el Murr into Burj el Hawa with colorful window shades.
The interior architect and graffiti artist has now collaborated with Swatch on one of their latest spring summer collection models!
Color and community
A once abandoned area in the suburbs of Beirut has been transformed into a colorful and clean neighborhood where locals have regained a sense of pride and community.
Thanks to the coordinators of this project and artists from all over (kids, students and professionals alike), Ouzai residents are now proud to welcome tourists and the Ouzville project has boosted the economy of the area.
Community activists around the country are now working on replicating this project to brighten up other cities.
Thumbs up to all the people involved in making this country a better place, one bright colored wall at a time.
Ouzville
Check out the article and video on Euronews here
Susan Sarandon in Beirut!
We were lucky to attend the private event hosted by Alfanar*, marking the premiere screening of 'Soufra' in Lebanon.
Susan Sarandon (executive producer of the film), Ben Stiller (goodwill ambassador to the UNHCR), Nadine Labaki and Thomas Morgan (award-winning filmmaker) were present, alongside notable guests from across Lebanon’s civil society, private sector, diplomatic corps and the arts.
This documentary tells the uplifting and inspiring story of Mariam Shaar who founded Soufra, the women-run catering company turned food truck, with the help of Alfanar Venture Philanthropy. This social entreprise offers dignified employment -and most of all hope- to over 40 women in the camp.
*Alfanar is the first Venture Philanthropy organisation focused on the Arab region. It has played a key part in the growth of the Arab region’s social enterprise ecosystem over the previous 15 years, investing in 31 social enterprises and tangibly improving the lives of over 48,000 vulnerable individuals in Egypt and Lebanon.
Résidence d’artistes
Quel beau projet! Celui de deux cousines [l’architecte Hala Younès et la danseuse Yalda Younès] de transformer leur maison familiale dans les montagnes libanaises (à Chétine) en centre culturel, lieu de résidences d’artistes et espace de réflexion sur la préservation du paysage.
A l’initiative du directeur du Quartz (Scène nationale de Brest), ce réseau de résidences chorégraphiques internationales connecte entre eux cinq lieux d’art dispersés dans le monde.
A lire dans Libération ici
Beirut’s heritage
We just came across this article in National Geographic about the preservation of Beirut’s heritage and historical landmarks. (Article by Beirut-based journalist Abby Sewell)
Preserving old buildings can offer opportunities and strengthen our country’s sense of community. They are a reminder of our city’s culture and complexity. Once a piece of history is destroyed, it is lost forever.
Hats off to all those fighting to protect and salvage the gems that are left.