"Destroying Heritage" Top 5 Page for this destination Beirut Local Custom Tip by MM212

Known for its beautiful mansions with red tiled roofs and Gothic windows, Beirut has seen many of them disappear over the years to make way for new developments. Such is the story all over the world, but Beirut's case is more pronounced because it had a civil war. Though many of the remaining Beiruti mansions have since been restored, a greater number is now once again being destroyed. This is in large part because of the hot property boom in recent years in the city, where wealthy Gulf citizens and Lebanese expatriates are willing to spend millions for large apartments with views. The result is that sought-after neighbourhoods, such as Achrafieh, are seeing their mansions vanish at an accelerating rate in favour of high tower blocks. Not only is this a great loss for the city architecturally, but also in terms of its gardens, skyline, sea breeze and general aesthetics; the city's tiny streets are being suffocated. I came across the attached graffiti on the walls of an Achrafieh mansion about to be destroyed. Clearly, awareness is there, but not the laws or will by developers to preserve the old. The attached photos also show views over Achrafieh in June 2006, compared with Dec 2009 with all the modern new towers.

The travelogue: "Traditional Beiruti Architecture" shows some examples of the city's heritage.