Photo Essays

The Rachid

As large as a small town but barely known to people, the Rachid Karameh Center is a modernist ruin that sits empty on the outskirts of Tripoli.

In 1962 the site was built as a world trade exhibition space by Oscar Niemeyer famed architect of Brasilia. The project was put on hold in 1974 due to the start of the civil war in Lebanon. What remains are concrete skeletons of a modernist project that was never completed due to the civil unrest. Standing at 10,000 hectares it is his largest but least-known works. Plans to turn the site into a theme park by the Chinese has been met by the response to add it to the list of 100 most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund. The site contains 15 buildings by Niemeyer, within an oval plan reminiscent of the forceful urbanism of Niemeyer’s masterwork Brasilia. Architects from AUB are making an effort to preserve Niemeyer’s buildings although it is an uphill effort made harder by the people that run the center and various ministries that are supposed to be in charge.

Although the center is open to the public it is hardly used. Sometimes there are exhibitions there, and people walk their dogs or take their evening strolls between the large lawns and futuristic buildings. A few children can be seen riding bicycles rented from a rental shop at one of the main entrances. Nearby, the King Fahd Bin Abdel-Aziz public garden is receiving a multi million dollar facelift.

Despite the feeling of abandonment, the gardens and lawns are surprisingly well maintained. For a period of time the Syrian army used it as a base. During the Naher El-Bared conflict it was used as a base for the UN relief effort. During the Syrian army stay, concrete was reportedly poured into the drainage systems used by large shallow pools that add an extra dimension to the center. The only time to really see the effect of the pools is during the winter when rain water floods them.

The ride from Beirut to Tripoli can take about 1 ½ hours depending on the hour you go. Signs directing you to the center can be seen at the entrance to Tripoli. It’s a great place to walk around with a lot of areas to discover. One can also have a picnic under the shade of the many trees located there. The most notable building is the experimental dome theater, where even the slightest sound cause echo’s to reverberate throughout the structure. The best time to be there is at sunset when shadows cast by the buildings further enhance their shapes and give a surreal feeling to the center. If you are seen carrying a large professional looking camera you might have a problem getting in, the people that run the center are wary of photographers and journalist and will ask you to come in the morning to get permission to photograph from the main office. Apart from that it is easy to enter the center and there is no fee.

12:42 PM - Sun 29 Jun 2008 - comments {0} - post comment

Beirut,Lebanon,May 7 2008.The Switzerland of the Middle East.

6:35 am Demonstrators burn tires in Ouzai, Qassqass, airport road.
6:37 am Protestors close Salim Salam bridge, Shatilla area with stolen cars.
6:38 am Protestors went out of their tent city in downtown Beirut and closed the Ring overpass.
6:39 am Airport road closed with burning tires.

6:41 am Roads are open in Ashrafiyeh, Baabda, Jbeil, Kesrouan, Metn, Aley, the Chouf mountains and Zahle which are not taking part in the strike or demonstrations.
6:42 am Normal life continues in Batroun where roads and schools are open.

(The Marriott Hotel)

7:01 am Protestors closed Corniche Mazraa thoroughfare with garbage containers.
7:04 am Sultan Ibrahim and Marriott Hotel roads closed.
7:09 am Tiro-Shweifat road closed with burning tires
7:14 am Protestors close Zahrani road in south Lebanon.
7:34 am A group of about 500 protestors are gathered on the airport road, now closed with earthmounds
7:38 am Total closure of Salim Salam Bridge and the Kuwaiti embassy roundabout.
7:42 am Khalde road closed.
7:48 am Protestors closed Douris road in Baalbek, east Lebanon, but was soon opened by Lebanese army troops.
7:50 am Airport-Cocodie road closed with cement barricades.
7:57 am Protestors in Shtoura are getting ready to close the road.

8:00 am Masked gunmen came out of Khandaq al-Ghamiq, burned tires on Salim Salam bridge and prevented motorists from passing.
8:05 am Masked men came out of Barbour area towards Abu Haidar mosque.
8:30 am Security forces closed Clemenceau road that leads to the residence of Druze leader Walid Jumblat.
8:31 am Protestors close Ras el-Nabaa road that leads to downtown Beirut with garbage containers.
8:32 am Sodeco-Beshara Khoury road closed with cement blocks and garbage containers.
8:35 am Security forces closed the road leading to the Central Bank on the main Hamra thoroughfare as a precautionary measure.
8:36 am Protestors smash shop windows along Corniche Mazraa.
8:40 am Protestors tossed a hand grenade on Corniche Mazraa road, wounding three people and two army soldiers.

9:00 am Around 100 demonstrators came out of the Barbir area and headed towards the entrances to Mar Elias street where they began burning tires.
9:30 am Beirut Airport announced it was canceling 32 incoming and outgoing flights.
9:35 am Protestors set old cars ablaze to close the Tayyouni road.
9:38 am Lebanese army vehicles arrived at the airport road while trucks continued to unload sand.
9:40 am Aley and Upper Metn are not affected by the strike and traffic is normal from Kahaleh to Sayyad roundabout where army troops set up checkpoints and conducted patrols.
9:50 am Protestors closed Beirut port road with burning tires.

10:25 am A meeting of the General Federation of Labor Unions (GFLU) headed by Ghassan Ghosn is underway to discuss the fate of a planned demonstration that was due to take place at 10 am.
10:35 am GFLU called off a demonstration that was due to take place at 10 am.

11:14 am Beirut port and airport roads remain closed.
11:20 am Ghosn holds a press conference to explain the reasons behind calling off the demonstration.
11:23 am Ghosn accused the government of dividing workers in order to prevent them from taking part in today's strike.
11:25 am Ghosn said the government did not approve a suitable pay raise.
11:28 am Ghosn said the demonstration was scheduled to take off from Barbir past Mar Elias all the way down to Hamra street.
11:30 am Ghosn accused authorities of failing to provide protection for demonstrators which led to "suspending" the demonstration, saying GFLU is not responsible for security.
11:32 am Ghosn: The strike will be suspended but we will meet to set another date for the demonstration.
11:35 am A number of trucks unload sand on the airport highway, which is still blocked to traffic.
11:40 am Lebanese troops arrested two Amal movement members from the rooftop of Moazen building in Beirut and confiscated their sniping rifles.
11:45 am The confrontation intensified between pro-government supporters and opposition partisans in Corniche Mazraa; and troops are firing in the air to disperse the demonstrators.

To Be Continued......

4:48 PM - Wed 7 May 2008 - comments {0} - post comment

Empty Schools

My wife and I were asked to photograph a building that was once a boarding school for Palestinian kids in an town called Souk el Gharb. It was the first time I ever heard of this town, and I must admit it was quite ignorant of me not to have heard of it. The people that employed us for this job want to renovate the building and turn it into a hotel/resort. It's a beautiful location, and when we reached the building it hit me at how strategic this area was and still is. It is situated in the mountains over looking the whole of Beirut and the international airport !

I could imagine soldiers with their guns,artillery and tanks all pointing to different parts of the capital. I wasn't surprised to hear that the Israelis occupied this area during their invasion and bombardment of west Beirut in the 80s.

As we walked through a hallway and out onto a balcony facing the capitol, I could see a plane taking off from the airport runway and wondered about all the children that lived here. I looked at the bullet riddled walls and imagined children running, playing, laughing. About 200 meters away was another building in as bad condition as the school. Our guide told us that snipers used to target each other from building to building.

When we reached what was once the toilets of the boys dormitories, we saw piles of sand bags blocking a window, obviously used to protect the snipers from incoming bullets. As I searched through broken tiles and rubble on the floor I found empty bullet shells, I wondered where the final destination of the bullets were, a window, a wall, a mans head, a child.

8:17 PM - Thu 24 Apr 2008 - comments {0} - post comment

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