Rue Sursock is a historic street in the Rmeil district of Beirut in Lebanon. [1] Named after one of Beirut's most prominent families, the Sursock family, the street is home to many of Beirut's beautiful historic mansions that were built in the 18th and 19th centuries by aristocratic families, such as the Sursock and Bustros families. A large gate used to close down Rue Sursock at 10 pm, and this tradition remained until 1945.
There used to be more than thirty mansions and villas on Rue Sursock, but most of them were replaced with modern apartment buildings. The Palais de Bustros (Bustros Palace) is one of the largest of the palaces on Rue Sursock and now houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants. The street is also home to the Sursock Palace and the Nicolas Sursock Museum. Rue Sursock is known to be the most expensive residential Christian area in Lebanon. It is resided by the wealthiest Christian families in Lebanon.
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.
Sursock Palace, is a grand residence located on Rue Sursock in the city of Beirut, Lebanon. The palace, which was completed in 1860 by Moïse Sursock, was owned by Lady Cochrane Sursock, an advocate of preserving historic buildings in Lebanon.
The Sursock Museum, officially known as the Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock Museum, is a modern and contemporary art museum in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Bustros family is a prominent Lebanese Antiochian Greek Orthodox family. One of the “Seven Families”, it is one of the original Beirut families along with the descendants of Sursock, Fernaine, Dagher, Trad, Tueni and Gebeily families, who constituted the traditional high society of Beirut. Estate holders and feudal lords by origin, today they are business owners, artists and land owners throughout the country.
Yvonne, Lady Cochrane was a Lebanese philanthropist, advocate of the arts and member of the Sursock family. She died on 31 August 2020, from injuries sustained in the Beirut explosion on 4 August 2020.
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.
Rue Gouraud is a mixed residential and commercial street in Gemmayzeh, a neighborhood in the Rmeil district of Beirut in Lebanon. It is named after French General Henri Gouraud. Gemmayze, and Rue Gouraud specifically, and competes with the trendy village-type neighborhood of Badaro, as one of Beirut's bohemian quarters. the district is full of narrow streets and historic buildings from the French era. The neighborhood is well known today for its trendy bars and pubs, cafes, restaurants and lounges, most of which are directly located on Rue Gouraud.
Rue Gouraud is known especially for its culinary scene that is popular with Beirut's fashionistas. The street runs east of Beirut Central District and the Saifi Village, extending from Avenue Georges Haddad and reaching the Corniche du Fleuve. In 2004, Travel + Leisure magazine called the street "SoHo by the Sea," due to its colorful and chic cafés amid 1950's apartment buildings and hole-in-the-wall shops.
Saifi Village is an upscale residential neighbourhood in Beirut, Lebanon. Saifi Village is located at the southeastern periphery of Centre Ville. The village is bordered by Rue Charles Debbas to the south, Rue George Haddad to the east, Rue Gouraud to the north and Rue Ariss & Kanaani to the west. Its location is at the beginning of the former Green Line, which was the main frontline in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War.
Bliss Street, or Rue Bliss, is one of the principal streets of the Hamra area, which is within the Ras Beirut District of Beirut in Lebanon. The street, which is parallel to Hamra Street, runs east-west, connecting with Rue Clémenceau on the east and ending at Avenue General Charles de Gaulle that runs along the coast of the Mediterranean.
Rue Verdun, or Verdun Street, is an upscale commercial and residential street in Beirut, Lebanon. The street, which is a major shopping center and tourist attraction, was named in honor of the Battle of Verdun during World War I. It is officially named Rachid Karami Street, after Lebanon's late Prime Minister who was assassinated during the Lebanese Civil War.
Bustros Palace is a palace on Michel Bustros street in the Rmeil area of Beirut, Lebanon. It currently houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants. It was originally one of the residences of the Bustros family and is today one of the historical landmarks of Beirut. It was damaged by the 2020 Beirut explosions.
Beirut Souks is a major commercial district in Beirut Central District. With over 200 shops, 25 restaurants and cafes, an entertainment center, a 14 cinema complex, periodic street markets, and an upcoming department store, it is Beirut's largest and most diverse shopping and leisure area. Beirut Souks also features piazzas, and public space. Designed in five separate commissions by international and Lebanese architects, Beirut Souks offer 128,000 sq. m of built-up area interspersed with landscaped pedestrian zones.
Ras Beirut is an upscale residential neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon. It has a mixed population of Christians, Muslims and Druze individuals. Ras Beirut is associated with intersect interactions and relations in every-day life.
Badaro is a residential neighborhood and business hub in the heart of Beirut, Lebanon. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by the Pierre Gemayel avenue on the north, the Hippodrome on the west, Sami el Solh avenue on the east, Beirut's pine forest on the southeast, and the Tayyouneh roundabout on the south. Badaro is the common name of Beirut's "Horsh" (park) administrative district, which also includes three parks: a75 acres (30 ha) pine forest known as Horsh Beirut, the Beirut Hippodrome and the Pine Residence, the French ambassador's residence.
The Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos is a metropolitan eparchy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church since 1881, an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Located in Lebanon, it includes the cities of Beirut and Byblos, and in terms of population, it is the largest Melkite eparchy in the Middle East. Its current Eparch, Georges Wadih Bacouni, S.M.S.P., was elected in November 2018.
The Fernaine family is a prominent Antiochian Greek-Orthodox Christian Lebanese family. It is one of the original Beirut aristocratic “seven Families” along with the Bustros, Abou Saleh, Rebeiz, Fayad, Sursock, Trad, Merhie and Tueni families, who constituted the traditional high society of Beirut for a long time. Estate holders and feudal lords by origin, today they are business owners, physicians, artists, and philanthropists in Lebanon and abroad.
Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians refers to Lebanese people who are adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in Lebanon, which is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and is the second-largest Christian denomination in Lebanon after the Maronite Christians.
The Tueni family is a prominent Christian Greek Orthodox Lebanese family. It is one of the original aristocratic “Seven Families” of Beirut, along with the Bustros, Fayad, Rebeiz, Sursock, Ferneini, and Trad families, who constituted the traditional high society of Beirut for a long time. Members of the Tueni family include:
Evelyne Bustros was a Lebanese writer. She published multiple books and articles in her lifetime.