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Showing posts from March 26, 2017

Batroun International Festival 2017

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Batroun International Festival August 6:  Beer, Wine & Seafood August 12:  Carole Samaha August 18:  Bonnie Tyler August 19:  Wael Kfoury September 7/10:  Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival Get your tickets from Virgin Ticketing Box-Office!

Hidden history in Hamra's Captain's Cabin, hamra pubs restaurants beirut

BEIRUT: In the days of flashy pubs and pounding music, the dimly lit wooden facade of Captain’s Cabin stands out as a relic of a bygone era. Now over 50 years old, the ramshackle bar is one of Beirut’s historic landmarks. Tucked away along Sadat Street, a few meters off the main Hamra Street, Captain’s Cabin has weathered the storm of decades of war. Andre Toriz, an amicable man of Mexican origin, had just been born when his father and three Middle East Airlines pilots begun looking for a place to drink and play cards away from their wives’ reproachful looks. It was 1964 when the four men rented an old fish shop, covered its yellow tiles in wood, and transformed it into their new getaway. “My father was the only one among them not to be a pilot, but they all called him captain,” Toriz told The Daily Star. As more men started spending their layovers there, the place was expanded, and opened as a fully licensed bar and restaurant in 1972. Alongside its original decor, which inc

Hardine village, north of Lebanon

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Hardine is home to 30 churches, many are dilapidated and others have collapsed over time, effectively leaving 20 churches that are still in good condition. This relatively high number of churches is indicative of the village’s important religious status. Some of the churches in Hardine are : Mar Takla Church in Haret Kassab, an ancient church that was renovated in 1830 by Saint Hardini’s father and again in 1871 by by his brother, Matanious, and his nephew, Boulos. Mar Tadros Historical Church, which dates back to the tenth century. Mar Challita, Mar Nohra and Mar Elias Churches, which are all found in mountain caves. Mar Yohanna Chkif Cell, which dates back to the Crusader period and is known today as the “Toubawi” Cell. Church of Mar Sarkis and Bakhos, where the baptism of Saint Hardini by Father Mikhael Thabet took place. Mar Shina Church, which has been standing in the village square since 1844. In addition, the headquarters of the Maronite Patriarchate was located