Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, is home to two hippodromes, a historic one from the Roman era and a modern one that was built in the late 19th century.
Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, is home to two hippodromes, a historic one from the Roman era and a modern one that was built in the late 19th century.
The Roman Hippodrome, which occupies 3500 m² near the Maghen Abraham Synagogue in Wadi Abu Jamil, the historic, Jewish quarter of Beirut, was discovered in 1988. [1] The Roman Hippodrome of Beirut was the second to be discovered in Lebanon after the Tyre Hippodrome, making Lebanon home to two of the five known Roman hippodromes in the Levant, the other three being in Caesarea in Israel, Jerash in Jordan, and Bosra in Syria. [2] The Roman Hippodrome of Beirut is considered to have been the grandest of the five, having amphitheaters that are several meters high and a race track, which is more than 90 meters long. [2]
In 2009, Culture Minister Tamam Salam, had the site listed officially in the general inventory of historic buildings, ruling that it should be preserved in situ and turned into a tourist landmark. [2]
According to an article appearing in the French daily, L'Orient-Le Jour , Gaby Layoun, the Culture Minister at the time, approved in March 2012 plans for a luxury residential complex to be built over the ruins of Beirut's Roman Hippodrome, bypassing the recommendations of three of his predecessors: Tarek Mitri, Salim Wardé, and Tammam Salam. [3] The three previous Culture Ministers, Mitri, Wardé, and Salam criticized Layoun's move and reiterated the importance of protecting and preserving the archeological site. [4] A march to protest the destruction of the hippodrome took place on March 24, 2012. [5] The Association for the Protection of the Lebanese Heritage (APLH) organized the protest as an attempt to reverse the Culture Ministry's decision to allow the building over the hippodrome. [6] Following the litigation brought by the Association for the Protection of Lebanese Heritage (APLH), the court suspended on May 31, 2012 the Culture Ministry's decision, N˚ 849, to dismantle the Roman Hippodrome that would have allowed for the construction of a building project on the site. [7] The site is protected for now.
The current Hippodrome du parc de Beyrouth is a horse-racing facility in Beirut's Horsh district adjacent to Badaro. In 1893, the “al-Marmah” hippodrome was founded, in the town of Bir Hassan. Wealthy Beirutis wished to create a club-complex that included a western style hippodrome and casino. In 1916, the wali of Beirut Azmi Bey, who supported the club project, entrusted its creation to Alfred Sursock, who financed the project. Sursock signed an agreement with the municipality of Beirut for the redevelopment of 600,000 square meters of Beirut pine forest. The project was to include a public causeway, a cinema, a casino, and the hippodrome. The hippodrome was completed in 1921 by Amine and Bahjat Abdelnour while the casino structure became the seat of the French mandate authorities in Lebanon. [8] [9]
In the 1960s, the Beirut Hippodrome became one of the busiest race tracks in the world, holding races twice a week, 52 weeks a year. [10]
The Israeli army occupied the hippodrome during the Invasion of Lebanon in 1982. [11] The Israeli army entered the hippodrome on August 4. [12]
The hippodrome also hosts annual The Garden Show & Spring Festival, which attracts more than 160 exhibitors and over 24,000 international visitors. [13] At the 2012 Garden Show & Spring Festival, the French rose producer, Meilland International, presented to the public the Beirut Rose, which was cultivated in tribute to Lebanon's capital. [14]
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As of 2014, Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region and the thirteenth-largest in the Arab world. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.
Achrafieh is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (secteur) centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter (quartier). In popular parlance, however, Achrafieh refers to the whole hill that rises above Gemmayze in the north and extends to Badaro in the south, and includes the Rmeil quarter.
Saint Joseph University of Beirut is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Government of France during the time when Lebanon was under Ottoman rule. It is widely recognized as one of the leading and most prestigious academic institutions in Lebanon and Middle East. The institution boasts a diverse and accomplished group of alumni, who have gone on to become leading figures in politics, law, academia, literature, sciences, arts, medicine, and religion. USJ's impressive roster of graduates includes seven of independent Lebanon's thirteen Presidents, a Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, two Presidents of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon, Governors of the Banque du Liban, hundreds of legislators and ministers, numerous judges, and high-ranking civil servants, among them Commanders of the Lebanese Armed Forces and executives of the Internal Security Forces. As the oldest and foremost French university in Lebanon, it not only promotes Lebanese culture but also upholds a policy of equal admission opportunity without consideration of ethno-religious affiliations. Furthermore, it advocates trilingual education, offering instruction in Arabic, French, and English. Additionally, it is known in Lebanon and the Middle East for its prominent university hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu de France, and for its prestigious and historical Faculty of Law, modern Lebanon's oldest law school and the first law school in Lebanon since the ancient Roman law school of Berytus.
The Sursock Museum, officially known as the Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock Museum, is a modern and contemporary art museum in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Sursock family is a Greek Orthodox Christian family from Lebanon, and used to be one of the most important families of Beirut. Having originated in Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire, the family has lived in Beirut since 1712, when their forefather Jabbour Aoun left the village of Berbara. After the turn of the 19th century, they began to establish significant positions of power within the Ottoman Empire. The family, through lucrative business ventures, savvy political maneuvering, and strategic marriages, embarked on what Leila Fawaz called "the most spectacular social climb of the nineteenth century," and, at their peak, had built a close network of relations to the families of Egyptian, French, Irish, Russian, Italian and German aristocracies, alongside a manufacturing and distribution empire spanning the Mediterranean.
The National Museum of Beirut is the principal museum of archaeology in Lebanon. The collection begun after World War I, and the museum was officially opened in 1942. The museum has collections totaling about 100,000 objects, most of which are antiquities and medieval finds from excavations undertaken by the Directorate General of Antiquities.
Horsh Beirut is an urban park in the heart of the capital of Lebanon, Beirut. The urban park is also known as Horsh El Snaubar. The park covers about 0.3 square kilometres (0.12 sq mi) of green space within municipal Beirut.
Tarek Mitri is a Lebanese university professor, independent politician and former government minister.
Archaeology of Lebanon includes thousands of years of history ranging from Lower Palaeolithic, Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and Crusades periods.
Gaby Emile Layoun was the Lebanese Minister of Culture, announced as part of the cabinet led by Najib Mikati. He represents the Free Patriotic Movement. Layoun is married and has two children. He holds a diploma in engineering, a Lebanese Baccalaureate in mathematics (1982) and a Sacred Heart of the city of Zahle.
The Beirut Rose ('Meideauri'), also known by its French name Rose de Beyrouth, was developed by the French rose producer, Meilland International SA, and unveiled at the ninth Garden Show & Spring Festival, which is held annually at the Beirut Hippodrome in Lebanon.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Beirut, Lebanon.
The Phoenician port of Beirut, also known as the Phoenician Harbour of Beirut and archaeological site BEY039 is located between Rue Allenby and Rue Foch in Beirut, Lebanon. Studies have shown that the Bronze Age waterfront lay around 300 metres (330 yd) behind the modern port due to coastal regularisation and siltation. It was excavated and reported on by Josette Elayi and Hala Sayegh in 2000 and determined to date to the Iron Age III and Persian periods. Two nineteenth-century Ottoman docks were also unearthed during construction, just to the north of this area at archaeological sites BEY018 and BEY019.
The Association for the Protection of the Lebanese Heritage or APLH is a cultural heritage, non-governmental organization based in Zouk Mosbeh, Keserwan District of Mount Lebanon, Lebanon.
Salim Ali Salam was a prominent figure in Beirut at the turn of the 20th century who held numerous public positions, including deputy from Beirut to the Ottoman Parliament, President of the Municipality of Beirut, and President of the Muslim Society of Benevolent Intentions (al-Makassed). He was the leader of the "Beirut Reform Movement," which called for the decentralization and modernization of the Ottoman Empire, and was also a member of the Executive Committee of the First Arab Congress which met in Paris in 1913 and formulated Arab national demands. He opposed Ottoman political repression during World War I, and the French Mandate of the post-war period. He stood out for his enlightened outlook and for his ability to communicate effectively with his contemporaries. He received the Ottoman nobility title of Bey. Today, a main avenue in Beirut is named after him.
The Pine Residence, located in the Horsh district of Beirut, is the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. The palace holds particular historical importance since General Henri Gouraud declared the creation of the state of Greater Lebanon on September 1, 1920, from its porch.
Lama Badreddine Salam is a Lebanese activist and is married to Tammam Saeb Salam, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, and served as Acting First Lady of Lebanon while her husband was Acting President of Lebanon. She is an educational counselor and activist for several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Lebanon.
The hippodrome of Berytus was a circus in the Roman colony of Berytus. It is one of two hippodromes in Beirut.
Nada Sehnaoui is a visual artist and political activist. Her artworks, spanning painting, mixed media works, sculpture and installations, have been widely exhibited internationally, and have been featured in the press and print publications worldwide.