Insights to Beirut
1850 - 1975
Embedded Files
Location: Achrafieh, Beirut
Date: 1st November - 6th December 2020
The exhibition Insights to Beirut consisted of a selection of reproduction of photographs of Beirut from 1850 - 1975. These were chosen by Michel Fani, art historian and artist, who has written multiple books on the history of photography in Lebanon. The photographs offered snippets of the city over this extended period of time. You'll find here a few of these images.
*All images are copyright to Edition de L'Escalier*
FÉLIX BONFILS
Ras Beirut, no date
Ras Beirut was a vibrant part of the city; it was the newest and had developed with rather patrician looking houses. Its coastline was extended in 1920, using amongst other rubble, the remains of Byzantine church found in excavations at the Place des Canons.
FRANKLIN T. MOORE
View toward the old city, 1894
A typical house for the time. You can find this house still standing in Hamra.
FRÉDÉRIC GOUPIL-FRESQUET
View of Beirut, 1840
Etching made from a daguerrotype.
ADRIEN BONFILS
The city and the port seen from Saint Dimitri, Beirut, no date
A view of the Karantina, much less build up than today. By this time the new port was already in place.
ADRIEN BONFILS
The city and the port seen from Saint Dimitri, Beirut, no date
A view of the Karantina, much less build up than today. By this time the new port was already in place.
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARLIER
Panorama of Beirut, 1855
This is not a typical photograph of Beirut as it was taken from the east side of the city and not from the usual west. To the left of the photograph standing tall is an Ottoman tower which stayed intact until the construction of the Place des Canons.
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARLIER
Panorama of Beirut, 1855
This is not a typical photograph of Beirut as it was taken from the east side of the city and not from the usual west. To the left of the photograph standing tall is an Ottoman tower which stayed intact until the construction of the Place des Canons.
FÉLIX BONFILS
View from Beirut from the east, no date
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARLIER
Port of Beirut, no date
This was the old port of Beirut. The city has had two ports but this was the original. It remained the main port of Beirut till 1875. To access it, one had to walk down what was called the "wheat pier". To the right is the old crusader's castle. Today all that is left is a tiny morcel of wall, the rest was destroyed.
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARLIER
Port of Beirut, no date
This was the old port of Beirut. The city has had two ports but this was the original. It remained the main port of Beirut till 1875. To access it, one had to walk down what was called the "wheat pier". To the right is the old crusader's castle. Today all that is left is a tiny morcel of wall, the rest was destroyed.
ABRAHAM GUIRAGHOSSIAN
Arrival of Willhelm II at the port of Beirut, 5th November 1898
This photograph shows the new port, which by then had already greatly developed. Since there was not enough sea depth, smaller boats would bring people to their ships.
ANONYMOUS
The Great Famine, Beirut and Lebanon, 1915 - 1918
A family sharing the scraps of horse's carcass. The series of photos on the famine are quite shocking, While one might think these were propaganda photos, they were not staged, and represent a hard reality.
The Famine album circulated very little. It is now known that there were about 4 or 5 copies. One of which was given to General Gouraud, High Commissioner of Syria and Lebanon in 1919.
One cannot imagine the state of malnutrition these people were in. In 1916, there was not only an attempt by the Ottomans to annihilate the Armenians but also the Lebanese. Amid this sight of war and desolation, there were also attempts of aid, which were unfortunately so disastrous that they turned to ridicule. For example, a very wealthy man tried to help by buying all the molasses production in the country, in order to feed it to the famished. But molasses is in a fact a laxative... so the starving ended in even worse condition.
ANONYMOUS
Beirut, 1921
This rubble you can see is not so much a result of the war but was actually an initiative of the Ottomans, with the help of German engineers, to remodel the old city. They evicted a whole section of the population living there and destroyed their homes. It is noteworthy that the same process was repeated in the 1990s.
BUREAU TOPOGRAPHIQUE DES ARMÉES DU LEVANT
Rue Gouraud, no date
JEAN KUFENDKJIAN
Saint Georges Hotel, Beirut, no date
A rare sight to see in Beirut; women in two piece bathing suits, as early as the late 40s.
ANONYMOUS
Minet-el-Hosn, Beirut, no date
Near Ain el Mreisseh, the base of this building is froma Genoese watch tower, which dates back to the 15th or 16th century. With time people built on top of it. There was here a small fisherman's port where they also auctioned their fish. It was later bought by a contractor.
JEAN KUFENDKJIAN
Place des Canons, 1962
ANONYMOUS
Rue Moutanabbi, Beirut, 1965
Rue Moutanabbi was home for the brothels and filles de joie. Their names were clearly advertised and decorated the facades of these 1920s buildings.
ANONYMOUS
Maarad, Beirut, no date
This road was a French initiative to make arcades like Rue de Rivoli in Paris. This neighbourhood was made up of mostly hotels. At the end of this road is the Parliament Clock the Place de l'Etoile.
ANONYMOUS
Rue Bechara el-Khoury, no date
ANONYMOUS
Rue des Lazaristes, Beirut, no date
In the end, vegetation invades everything, even memory.
Find out more about the history of photography in Lebanon in these books by Michel Fani:
Liban 1880 - 1914
L'Atelier de Beyrouth, Liban 1868 - 1914
Une Histoire de la Photography au Liban
Histoire de la Photographie Libanaise
L'Invention de Beyrouth
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse