DOCSLIB.ORG

Timeline / 1880 to 1920 / LEBANON

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Timeline / 1880 to 1920 / LEBANON Timeline / 1880 to 1920 / LEBANON Date Country Theme 1880 Lebanon Migrations A small number of Lebanese people emigrate to the USA, the first of a wave of migration abroad. 1884 - 1919 Lebanon Economy And Trade The old Egyptian port undergoes several important changes: buildings are extended, a commercial tribunal is constructed, and the land area is expanded by infilling with rocks brought by railway from Nahr al-Kalb. 1885 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces Part of the Old Serail in Zahlé is used to house the local prison, with severe overcrowding. The prison was moved to a better location in 2009. Still known as the Old Serail, the restored monument today serves as the Town Hall and houses the offices of the municipality and a museum illustrating Zahlé’s history. 1887 Lebanon Great Inventions Of The 19th Century The foundation, under Wassa Pasha’s rule, of the port of Beirut on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on Beirut’s northern Mediterranean cost, west of Beirut River. It is one of the largest and busiest ports on the eastern Mediterranean. 1890 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces Khan Antun Bey Square evolves after the construction of the great Ottoman jetty and quays from 1890 that changes the design of the urban area. 1897 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces On 9 January 1897 and in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Ottoman Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II’s coronation, a clock tower is built near the Grand Serail, Beirut, to make up for the absence of a public clock indicating mandatory Muslim prayer times especially as many foreign institutions had built Western-style clock towers. 1900 Lebanon Migrations A group of about a dozen Lebanese, dissatisfied with the dismal prospect of earning a livelihood from the stubborn northern Lebanese soil, set out to stake their claim on the mythical riches in the new land of Australia. 1902 Lebanon Rediscovering The Past Opening of the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut. It is the third oldest museum in the Mashriq, after those in Cairo and Istanbul. 1906 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces Date Country Theme Hotel Kadri is built in Zahlé. In 1914 it is taken over by the Turkish army and used as a military headquarters. 1906 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces In celebration of the 30th year of ‘Abd al-Hamid II as sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the Tell Clock Tower is erected in Tripoli as a gift to the city. It is similar to the Jaffa Clock Tower and many others throughout the Empire. 1906 Lebanon Great Inventions Of The 19th Century The Ottoman government decides to build the Electric Tramway Station in Beirut. The electric tramway passes through Beirut on seven tram lines built in 1891 heading to the coast and linking Beirut and Mameltein. 1906 Lebanon Great Inventions Of The 19th Century The second railway in Lebanon is opened connecting with the first line at Riyaq and running to Aleppo, connecting it with Beirut. 1907 Lebanon Travelling Khalil Pasha (1864–1923), commander of the Turkish Sixth Army during World War I orders the creation of the Hamidi Public Garden, which later becomes the Sanayeh Garden. It is one of the oldest public open-air spaces in the capital. 1911 Lebanon Great Inventions Of The 19th Century In the reign of Yusuf Pasha, the train station in Beirut begins operating and is connected to the Syrian city of Homs with a single track. From the 1920s to the 1940s It formed the terminus of the Orient Express line. 1911 Lebanon Travelling A private residence in Beirut’s Zokak el-Blat quarter is turned into the Robert Muawad private museum, presenting precious collection of fine arts and antique pieces. 1914 Lebanon Political Context The privileged position enjoyed by Lebanon is ended by the Ottomans in World War I: Lebanon’s semi-automous status is abolished and Mount Lebanon, an important territory at the international level, is put under martial law by the Ottomans. The Turkish commander Jamal Pasha occupies Lebanon militarily. 1915 Lebanon Political Context Turkish commander Jamal Pasha initiates a blockade of the entire eastern Mediterranean coast. Lebanon witnesses thousands of deaths from widespread famine and plague. 1916 Lebanon Political Context Date Country Theme Turkish authorities publicly execute 21 Syrians and Lebanese in Damascus and Beirut, respectively, for alleged anti-Turkish activities; the place of execution in each city will be renamed Martyrs' Square. 1918 Lebanon Political Context British General Edmund Allenby and Faysal I, son of Sharif Husayn of Mecca, move into Palestine with British and Arab forces, thus opening the way for the occupation of Lebanon. 1918 Lebanon Migrations The Lebanese buy homes from the Italians and Jews, who are moving away. They learn about clothes, home improvements, insurance and credit. Businesses are branching out, with dry goods and notions business replaced by grocery stores, butcher shops, coffee houses and sales of farm produce from vehicles. 1919 - 1920 Lebanon Economy And Trade New currency is adopted when the Lebanese Bank is linked to the Syrian Bank. 1920 Lebanon Political Context France takes control over Lebanese territory after the San Remo Conference..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918)
    The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918) by Melanie Tanielian A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Beshara Doumani Professor Saba Mahmood Professor Margaret L. Anderson Professor Keith D. Watenpaugh Fall 2012 The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918) © Copyright 2012, Melanie Tanielian All Rights Reserved Abstract The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918) By Melanie Tanielian History University of California, Berkeley Professor Beshara Doumani, Chair World War I, no doubt, was a pivotal event in the history of the Middle East, as it marked the transition from empires to nation states. Taking Beirut and Mount Lebanon as a case study, the dissertation focuses on the experience of Ottoman civilians on the homefront and exposes the paradoxes of the Great War, in its totalizing and transformative nature. Focusing on the causes and symptoms of what locals have coined the ‘war of famine’ as well as on international and local relief efforts, the dissertation demonstrates how wartime privations fragmented the citizenry, turning neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother, and at the same time enabled social and administrative changes that resulted in the consolidation and strengthening of bureaucratic hierarchies and patron-client relationships. This dissertation is a detailed analysis of socio-economic challenges that the war posed for Ottoman subjects, focusing primarily on the distorting effects of food shortages, disease, wartime requisitioning, confiscations and conscriptions on everyday life as well as on the efforts of the local municipality and civil society organizations to provision and care for civilians.
    [Show full text]
  • Istanbul Bibliyografyasi
    İSTANBUL BİBLİYOGRAFYASI CEMAL TOKSOY* - YUNUS UĞUR** Bu çalışma, kitap ve doktora tezi formatındaki eserler Bibliyografya hazırlanırken taraması yapılan katalog merkeze alınarak yaklaşık 3.700 çalışmayı muhtevi ve Veri Tabanları şunlardır: TDV İSAM Kütüphanesi, bir listedir. İstanbul ile ilgili yapılmış tüm yayınları Milli Kütüphane, Kültür Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler Ortak kapsama iddiasında değildir. Aşağıda belirtilen kataloglar Veritabanı, Atatürk Kitaplığı, İstanbul Kitaplığı, taranarak İstanbul şehrinin tarihi ile doğrudan ilgili European Library, Library of Congress, olan çalışmalara yer verilmeye çalışılmıştır. Eserler Bibliotheque National, British Library, National listelenirken kitap ve tez ayırımı yapılmadan yazarların Library of Greece, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, ve yayına hazırlayan kişilerin soyadları dikkate alınarak Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi, İstanbul alfabetik sıralama yapılmıştır. Herhangi bir yazar- Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi, Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi hazırlayan ismi belirtilmeyen çalışmalar ise listenin Kütüphanesi, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi sonunda kitap başlıklarına göre alfabetik sıralanmıştır. Kütüphanesi, Marmara Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi, Tekrarlardan kaçınmak için birkaç dilde yayınlanmış Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi çalışmalardan telif yani özgün dili tercih edilmiş, Kütüphanesi, YÖK Ulusal Tez Merkezi, Citation birkaç kere basımı yapılan yayınların ise ilk baskısı Index, ProQuest Dissertation, Archive.org, DART-Europe bibliyografyaya dahil edilmiştir. E-theses Portal ve http://www.envanter.gov.tr.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline / 1850 to After 1930 / CITIES and URBAN SPACES
    Timeline / 1850 to After 1930 / CITIES AND URBAN SPACES Date Country Theme 1852 - 1870 France Cities And Urban Spaces Georges Haussmann’s works in Paris cover all areas of city planning: streets and boulevards, reconstruction of buildings, parks and street furniture, drainage networks and water supply facilities, equipment and monuments. 1853 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces Antun Bey Najjar, a merchant who made his fortune in Constantinople, builds Khan Antun Bey in 1853. It becomes a great business centre and the building is used by many institutions such as Beirut’s foreign consulates, the Ottoman administration, postal services, merchants’ offices and Beirut’s first bank, Imperial Ottoman. 1854 - 1870 France Cities And Urban Spaces Construction of workers’ housing includes the utopian city of Familistère de Guise in Aisne (also called the “Social Palace”), set up by Jean-Baptiste André Godin between 1859 and 1870. 1855 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces A school is built by the Jesuits in Ghazir (Kisruwan district). 1856 Turkey Cities And Urban Spaces Fire in Aksaray district, #stanbul, destroys more than 650 buildings and is a major turning point in the history of #stanbul’s urban form. Italian architect Luigi Storari is appointed to carry out the re-building of the area, which is to conform to the new pattern: hence it is to be regular with straight and wide streets. 1856 Turkey Cities And Urban Spaces #stimlak Nizamnamesi (Regulation for Expropriation) issued. 1856 - 1860 Spain Cities And Urban Spaces Ildefonso Cerdá designs the "extension" of Barcelona in 1859. The orthogonal design of the streets creates a new neighbourhood: El Ensanche/L’Eixample.
    [Show full text]
  • ASOR Syrian Heritage Initiative (SHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria1 NEA-PSHSS-14-001
    ASOR Syrian Heritage Initiative (SHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria1 NEA-PSHSS-14-001 Weekly Report 2 — August 18, 2014 Michael D. Danti Heritage Timeline August 16 APSA website released a video and a short report on alleged looting at Deir Turmanin (5th Century AD) in Idlib Governate. SHI Incident Report SHI14-018. • DGAM posted a report on alleged vandalism/looting and combat damage sustained to the Roman/Byzantine Beit Hariri (var. Zain al-Abdeen Palace) of the 2nd Century AD in Inkhil, Daraa Governate. SHI Incident Report SHI14-017. • Heritage for Peace released its weekly report Damage to Syria’s Heritage 17 August 2014. August 15 DGAM posts short report Burning of the Historic Noria Gaabariyya in Hama. Cf. SHI Incident Report SHI14-006 dated Aug. 9. DGAM report provides new photos of the fire damage. SHI Report Update SHI14-006. August 14 Chasing Aphrodite website posted an article entitled Twenty Percent: ISIS “Khums” Tax on Archaeological Loot Fuels the Conflicts in Syria and Iraq featuring an interview between CA’s Jason Felch and Dr. Amr al-Azm of Shawnee State University. • Damage to a 6th century mosaic from al-Firkiya in the Maarat al-Numaan Museum. Source: Smithsonian Newsdesk report. SHI Incident Report SHI14-016. • Aleppo Archaeology website posted a video showing damage in the area south of the Aleppo Citadel — much of the damage was caused by the July 29 tunnel bombing of the Serail by the Islamic Front. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=739634902761700&set=vb.4596681774 25042&type=2&theater SHI Incident Report Update SHI14-004.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline / Before 1800 to After 1930 / LEBANON
    Timeline / Before 1800 to After 1930 / LEBANON Date Country Theme 1800 - 1900 Lebanon Cities And Urban Spaces Some features of 19th-century architecture in Lebanon have their origins in the era of Fakhr al-Din II. He had built khans and caravanserais to encourage trade and he introduced the red-tile technique, which became a typical element in Lebanese architecture. The mashrabiyya (wooden screens), used in buildings of Fakhr al- Din’s era, are still used in 19th-century Lebanese architecture. 1821 - 1825 Lebanon Political Context Bashir Shihab II, who was elected as amir in 1788 under Ottoman suzerainty, is overthrown when he backs Acre, and flees to Egypt, later to return and form an army. Bashir Jumblatt, the Druze leader, gathers the Druze factions and declares a rebellion that leads to massacres and battles with the Maronites who support Bashir Shihab. 1825 Lebanon Political Context Bashir Shihab II, helped by the Ottomans and by Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar (governor of Acre), defeats his rival in the Battle of Simqanieh. Bashir Jumblatt dies in Acre at the order of al-Jazzar. Bashir II represses the Druze rebellion, particularly in and around Beirut. This makes Bashir II the only leader of Mount Lebanon. 1831 Lebanon Political Context Bashir II breaks away from the Ottoman Empire, allies with Muhammad ‘Ali Pasha of Egypt and assists his son Ibrahim Pasha in a siege of Acre. This siege lasts seven months before the fall of the city on 27 May 1832. They also conquer Damascus on 14 June 1832. 1836 Lebanon Travelling The discovery of the Jeita Grotto, credited to Reverend William Thomson.
    [Show full text]
  • Reseach Project
    Sunlight and Fresh Air: Picturing Life in the Central-Hall Houses of Beirut, 1890-1920 Rachel Hooper Application for Friends of Fondren Graduate Research Award Semester paper originally written for Professor Shirine Hamadeh Middle Eastern Cities-- - Space, Modernity, and Memory (1840-1945) HART 528 December 14, 2011 Abstract In the last thirty years of Ottoman rule in Beirut, Lebanon, a form of domestic architecture developed that became the ultimate status symbol for the burgeoning bourgeoisie of the city. This new type of dwelling came to be known as the central-hall house. Based on a historiography of this housing type, I will use recently published photographs from this same time period of 1890 to 1920 to reconsider three major design elements of the central-hall house: the triple arched window, plan of the central hall, and red tile roof in light of how these architectural features can be seen to be a part of the the inhabitants' lives. Based on photographic evidence, I will show that upper-class women were a touch point for changes and conversations taking place in the last thirty years of Ottoman rule in Beirut. New urban homes, educational opportunities, access to infrastructure, and conspicuous consumerism were a part of the lived reality of these women's day-to-day existence. By taking these socio-cultural factors into account, iconic features of the central-hall house offer a view of space, place, and gender in the early stages of modernization in city of Beirut, the area of Lebanon, and the greater Syrian geographic area. 2 Paper A unique form of domestic architecture developed in Beirut, Lebanon in the last thirty years of its Ottoman rule that became the ultimate status symbol for the burgeoning bourgeoisie of the city.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline / 1860 to 1900 / CITIES and URBAN SPACES
    Timeline / 1860 to 1900 / CITIES AND URBAN SPACES Date Country Theme 1860 - 1900 Tunisia Cities And Urban Spaces Following development of the Port of La Goulette, new districts relating to trade and industrial activities are born. The neighbourhood is given the name of “Little Sicily”, which is suggestive of its role as host to a poor immigrant population mainly from southern Italy. 1860 Italy Cities And Urban Spaces The unification of Italy leads to urban expansion outside the old city walls, which have lost their defensive value. Medieval urban buildings are often demolished in order to build monumental architecture. 1863 Egypt Cities And Urban Spaces On 18 October, under the rule of Khedive Isma‘il, the Egyptian Museum opens in the Caireen district of Bulaq under the management of French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, known as Mariette Pasha. 1863 - 1889 Italy Cities And Urban Spaces Construction of the 167.5 m high Mole Antonelliana in Turin, initially conceived as a synagogue. It soon becomes the city’s landmark building. 1864 Turkey Cities And Urban Spaces Imperial decree orders that all civil servants have to light one or two street gas lamps in front of their houses both in summer and winter. 1864 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces 14 April: the Commune Law is adopted by which cities and towns become urban communes, led by a mayor and a council. All urban communes must have a fire department and a hospital. 1864 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces 19 August: establishment of Bucharest’s city hall. Bucharest had been the United Principalities’ capital since 1861.
    [Show full text]
  • Corporate Urbanization: Between the Future and Survival in Lebanon
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Sharp, Deen Shariff Doctoral Thesis — Published Version Corporate Urbanization: Between the Future and Survival in Lebanon Provided in Cooperation with: The Bichler & Nitzan Archives Suggested Citation: Sharp, Deen Shariff (2018) : Corporate Urbanization: Between the Future and Survival in Lebanon, Graduate Faculty in Earth and Environmental Sciences, City University of New York, New York, NY, http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/593/ This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/195088 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu Between the Future and Survival in Lebanon C o r p o r a t e U r b a n i z a t i o n By Deen Shariff Sharp, 2018 i City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Graduate Center 9-2018 Corporate Urbanization: Between the Future and Survival in Lebanon Deen S.
    [Show full text]
  • Urban Forms at Intersection of Imperialism and Colonialism: a Perspective on Beirut Nadine Hindi
    The 18th International Planning History Society Conference - Yokohama, July 2018 Urban forms at intersection of Imperialism and Colonialism: a perspective on Beirut Nadine Hindi. PhD, Department of Architecture, FAAD - [email protected] – Notre Dame University, NDU - Lebanon. Towards the end of the 19th century and the WWI geopolitical aftermath, Beirut presents a case along the Eastern Mediterranean at the intersection of two major colonial powers, the Ottoman Imperialism and French Colonialism. Dissociated from the province of Damascus in 1888, Beirut was elevated to the rank of provincial capital of Wilâya, the geographical borders of which spanned the equivalent of four actual countries. Following this administrative upgrade Beirut benefited from the Tanzimat reforms and the Sultan Abdul Hamid II jubilee in 1901. This paper will highlight the implementations of these political moments on urban forms and the urban landmarks for the ruler’s glory. Under the French mandate, Beirut role shifted from being provincial capital of a Wilâya part of the Ottoman Empire, to being capital of a Republic country with newly defined borders. Preceding the French Colonialism, Sultan Abdul Hamid II envisioned Westernizing some of the Ottoman Empire cities to the image of the European urban model. Alternately, the French were very enthusiastic to modernize Beirut, their prime image in the Levant. At this moment, Beirut’s urban fate was at the intersection of two visions of Westernization, the late Ottoman Imperialism and the early French Colonialism. An attempt to better understand the urban implications of this turn of century intersection, will be achieved by highlighting urban forms continuities and ruptures as a methodology observed in the broader geo- political context.
    [Show full text]
  • Empire, Architecture, and the City
    Empire, Architecture, and the City FRENCH-OTTOMAN ENCOUNTERS, 1830-1914 ZEYNEP ÇELİK university of washincton press Seattle e[ London This book is published with grants from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation; Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic; School of Architecture at the New Jersey Institute of Technology; and the University Seminars at Columbia University. This book is also supported by the University of Washington Press Endowment in memory of Marsha L. Landolt (1948-2004), Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost, University of Washington. © 2008 by the LIBRARY OF CO N GR ESS University of Washington Press CATA LOG I N C-I N - PU B U C ATI O N DATA Printed in Canada Designed by Ashley Saleeba Çelik, Zeynep. 12 n 10 09 08 54321 Empire, architecture, and the city : French-Ottoman encounters, 1830-1914 / All rights reserved. No part of this publication Zeynep Çelik.— may be reproduced or transmitted in any form 1st ed. or by any means, electronic or mechanical, p. cm. — (Studies in modernity and including photocopy, recording, or any informa­ national identity) tion storage or retrieval system, without Includes bibliographical references and index. permission in writing from the publisher. isbn 978-0-295-98779-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) :. Public spaces—Africa, North. 2. Public University of Washington Press spaces—Turkey. 3. Architecture, French— PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145 Africa, North. 4. Architecture, Ottoman. www.washington.edu/uwpress 5. Architecture and state—Africa, North. 6. Architecture and state—Turkey. I. Title. The paper used in this publication is acid-free NA9053.s6c.45 2008 and 90 percent recycled from at least 50 percent 720.956—dc22 2007053064 post-consumer waste.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Saliba 1840-1940:Genesis of Modern Architecture in Beirut
    Robert Saliba 1840-1940:Genesis of Modern Architecture in Beirut The rise of Beirut as a major commercial expansion was mainly the result of the port goes back to the eighteenth century migration of the urban bourgeoisie outside coastal revival initiated by steamship the walled city and the settling of rural navigation that triggered a shift in the migrants on the outskirts. The new economic activity from inland caravan cities residential townscape consisted of three like Damascus to coastal cities. The housing types: upper-class mansions (Fig. establishment of Beirut as the capital of 3, foreground), flat-roofed farmhouses with vilayet Sidon in 1832 under the Egyptian surrounding gardens, referred to as tarz occupation, attracted consular al chami or Damascene type (Fig. 3, middle representation and foreign traders. ground), and cubic stone structures with However, it is between 1840 and 1864 that red tile roofs showing the strong Beirut underwent the most important emergence of a new building type: the changes that constituted the turning-point bourgeois central hall house with its triple in its modern history. On the one hand, arch and corbelled marble balcony (Fig.3, the establishment of the French-controlled background). In his “Geographie de la Robert Saliba: Architect and urban planner, Beirut; Ottoman Bank in 1850, the low import Syrie Centrale”, Richard Thoumin calls this doctoral candidate at Oxford Brookes University, duties, the building of the wharf, and the house la maison moderne Libanaise or UK construction of the Beirut-Damascus cross- the modern Lebanese house (fig. 4), also mountain road opened Beirut to the la maison citadine or the town house Syrian/Arabian interior and made it the (Thoumin 1936, 294- 295).
    [Show full text]
  • Post-War Beirut: Interventions for Public and Private Spaces
    Post-war Beirut: Interventions for Public and Private Spaces Historically, Beirut is a paradigm of a city, where layers of history liter- ally exist on top of each other. The location of the main anchor points of the city dates back to Phoenician or even Canaanite times. Some of the main elements of the Roman city are still present in the urban fab- ric, most prominent being the Roman baths, located just below the Ottoman ‘Grand Serail’, next to French Mandate buildings and houses from the pre-war independence era,.....Excavations in the downtown area have unearthed layers from 7-different cultures, including Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader and Ottoman Empire... gathering 2000 years of urbanism within a few meters of each other. ELIZABETH MARTIN-MALIKIAN Lebanon today is at a fateful crossroad in its eventful sociocultural and polit- Southern Polytechnic State University ical history. At the risk of some oversimplification it remains adrift because of it is imperiled by a set of overwhelming predicaments and unsettling transformations....(Beirut) is a living and vivid example of Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle (1995), where the obsession with appearance and image-making become forms of false consciousness and public distraction. (Khalaf: 2012, Lebanon Adrift, prologue, pp. 13, 15) Beirut has become a branded city of constant transformation involving some inevi- table distortion of reality as branding rarely tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Here: Beirut becomes a city that’s reality is understood as a blurring of fiction and nonfiction building upon its memory of being called the Jewel of the Levant and the Crossroads of Civiliation.
    [Show full text]