2019-09-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

2 PLANBEY

At thebottomof thesteep

St NicholasStairs,in bohemian

Gemmayzeh,PlanBeyis an

independentartpublisher

whoseexhibitsrangefrom

vintagephotoprintsof

Lebanonat warto eye-catching

collagesof retroglamour

posters,provocativegraffiti

stickersandhandmadeartist

books.Lookoutforlimited-

editionprintsdevelopedin

collaborationwithBeirut

artists,andoffbeatpolitical

comicbookssuchas Barrack

Rima’sBeyrouthByeByeÉ,

in whichthecitydrownsunder

mountainsof garbageandis

attackedbycrocodilesand

ninjas.There’sanotherPlan

BeystoreonArmenia Street.

plan-bey.com

WRITTEN

BY

JOHN

BRUNTON.

PHOTOGRAPHS:

F8GRAPHER/ALAMY,

JOHN BRUNTON, D KARANOUH/GETTY IMAGES

CITY TRAIL

B

eirutis one of the world’soldest

cities,the eternalsurvivor,

whosepopulationcontinually

reinventsthe metropolis.Thereare

reminderseverywhereof its successive

rulingcultures,from the Phoenicians

and Romans,throughArab,Crusaderand

Ottomanrule,to the post-WWIFrench

mandateera. Lebanonwon independence

in 1943,and Beiruthas sincesurvived

15 yearsof civilwar. It is a hub of

creativityfor avant-gardeartists

and film-makers,musiciansand DJs,

designersand stylists;a few days in

the city once knownas the Parisof the

MiddleEastcan takein both

ancientruinsand

contemporary art.

1 SURSOCK MUSEUM

TheillustriousSursock

dynastycreateda millionaires’

neighbourhoodof opulent

mansions,a five-minutetaxi

ridefromdowntownBeirut,

whichseemsto bepreserved

in a timebubble.Thejewelin

thecrown,thepalaceof art

patronNicolasSursock,built

in 1912in anextravagantmix

of OttomanandVenetian

styles,reopenedin 2015as

a modernartmuseumaftera

seven-yearrenovation.

sursock.museum

Culture

and revival

in Beirut

BEIRUT

B’ABDA

SursockMuseum.Right:

Byblosharbour.Farright:

Mohammad al-Amin Mosque

LEBANON