Lebanon Tourism, culture, music and events

  Tel:    01 352233 Email:    management@tasteofthetown-lb.com URL:    www.tasteofthetown-lb.com   You may be accustomed to culinary diversion in your hangouts, or when having coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or anything in between with your friends or colleagues… But, what if this food diversion is merged with the richness of both traditional and modern cultures? Like every fairytale, the treasure is located behind a door. This is what Taste of the Town resto-café presents for Hamra diversity. www.tourism-lebanon.com

Date: Friday, October 10, 2014 By: Susan Wilson Source: The Daily Star BEIRUT: Over the space of ten days this year, Animals  Lebanon  rescued two baby hyenas, two tigers, a lion, the  Beirut  river crocodile, a family of baboons, and the last chimpanzee in Lebanon. Certainly no one can accuse the NGO, founded in 2008, of being lax in their mission to improve the welfare of animals. On Saturday the organization is hosting Lebanon’s own World Animal Day event, kicking off at 4 p.m. in Ajami Square at the Beirut Souks. World Animal Day is officially celebrated on Oct. 4, but events take place worldwide in the surrounding weeks. With the  World Wildlife Fund  announcing last month that the world lost 52% of its vertebrate species between 1970 and 2010,...

Celebrating Lebanon's joie de vivre at Vinifest Date: Thursday, October 09, 2014 By: - Source: The Daily Star BEIRUT: In an impressive show of Lebanese joie de vivre, hundreds of winemakers, professionals and amateur oenophiles have assembled once again for Lebanon's Vinifest. Surmounting immense challenges posed by the country's political and security situation, this year's edition of the annual four-day wine bazaar and exposition reflects a particular Lebanese resoluteness of spirit and collective dedication.Strolling through dozens of stands representing wineries from across Lebanon and beyond, visitors are met with a decidedly epicurean atmosphere. But one of the most impressive qualities of this year's Vinifest is the diversity of attendees: from suited b...

Sidon's St. Louis Castle to be restored Date: Thursday, October 09, 2014 By: Mohammed Zaatari Source: The Daily Star SIDON, Lebanon: Sidon’s historical St. Louis Castle, or Qalaat al Muizz, which once served as a shelter for Palestinian refugees following the 1948 Nakba, will be renovated in a project after years of negligence. The once-impressive castle was looted several times over the years, given the lack of state protection. The renovation project, which will be supervised by Sidon’s municipality, headed by Mayor Mohammad Saudi, also an engineer, is part of an $849,000 Italian grant. The project will be managed by the Council for Development and Reconstruction, along with the Culture Ministry. According to Saudi, for many years, residents simply watched the castle ...

Source:   The Daily Star TYRE, Lebanon: Divers showed off their photography skills while exploring a submerged ancient Phoenician city at the second annual International Underwater Photography Contest in Tyre. The event, held Sept. 13 and 14 as part of the Lebanon Water Festival, showcased the talents of 10 divers. Festival co-founder   Simon Khoury   said he was pleased to see Lebanese divers taking part in the contest. “We are pleased to see that all the people of   Tyre   have become more receptive to this event. We chose Tyre’s underwater Phoenician city, which gives this competition a historic edge,” he said. The competition was divided into three photographic categories: macro photography, wide-angle photography and photographs of the ruins. Luis Perez Suarez, a world-renowned photographer from Argentina, came in first place in the last two categories. “I am happy to have the opportunity to dive among other Lebanese divers,” Suarez said. “ Tyre is...

   

By: Venetia Rainey   Source:   The Daily Star TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Finally, after a long spell of cyclical clashes and seemingly never-ending violence,  Tripoli  is ready to receive visitors again. The souks are bustling, the soldiers are no longer posted inside the castle (just outside it), and the sound of snipers has been replaced with the thrum of life. Lebanon’s northern city has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, but everything that makes it such a glorious and rewarding city to visit is still there. Tripoli is utterly different from anywhere else in the country; from the Ottoman hammams to the Mamluk madrasas (religious schools) to the winding alleyways of shops, this is a real Arab city. But it’s not just the wealth of guidebook-worthy sites that make Tripoli worth the hour-and-a-half journey from Beirut, it’s also the famous sweets, the hidden bohemian cafes, and, of course, unassuming yet charming Mina, Tripoli’s quieter, little sister...

By: The Daily Star   Source:   The Daily Star Summer fashion week St. Georges Beach and Yacht Club, Ain al-Mreisseh May 31, 4:30-10:30 p.m. LIPS modeling and event management is hosting the second edition of its   Summer Fashion Week   on the outdoor terrace of St. Georges Yacht Club. The show features summer collections from local and regional designers on a 50-meter catwalk. Teleferique May festivities Teleferique Gardens, Harissa Saturdays and Sundays, until June 10 03-323-218 Harissa, Jounieh's iconic holy site, is offering free teleferique rides every weekend throughout the month of May, as well as live music and art displays. La Dolce Vita Venezia, Hilton   Beirut   Metropolitan Palace May 30 until June7 The Hilton has teamed up with the   Italian Embassy   for a special weeklong celebration of Italian cuisine. Italian Executive Chef, Paolo Rocco, will concoct authentic Italian dishes for an unforgettable gastronomic expe...

By: Sarah Samaha Source: The Daily Star BEIRUT: The annual Garden Show and Spring Festival opened its 11th edition at the Beirut Hippodrome Tuesday, welcoming gardening enthusiasts to a week of workshops and plant browsing. At the festival, located at the Beirut Hippodrome, gardening connoisseurs and agricultural experts offer their advice at a variety of workshops available throughout the week. Geared toward the public and industry professionals alike, the garden show offers a chance for like-minded guests to schmooze, eat and entertain their families. Children can enjoy arts and crafts, cooking sessions and the rare chance to run through a public park in Beirut. More than a decade old, the Garden Show and Spring Festival has grown each year to become a Lebanese tradition. The event, co...

By: The Daily Star   Source:   The Daily Star BEIRUT: It has been noted that the lion's share of Lebanon's summer festivals – the country's yearly cavalcade of blue-chip performing talent and tourism dollars – are situated outside the capital. Since 2012 the managers of  Beirut  Souks, the shopping mall erected on the site where the city's historic souks once stood, have entered this market with Beirut Holidays. This yearly festival welcomes a wealth of regional performers. Previous editions have included shows by such acts as Nancy Ajram and Wael Kfoury, in 2013, and the Michael Jackson tribute show, "Man in the Mirror," in 2012. For the 2014 edition of Beirut Holidays (July 29 until Sept. 6), the Beirut waterfront will be transformed into a venue for a slate of seven concerts, featuring six performers from across this broad region and a Canadian. Syrian-born Georges Wassouf , the vocalist that some consider a master of tarab, will open the festivities...

By: The Daily Star   Source:   The Daily Star BEIRUT: The entrance to the  Beirut Boat Show  2014 offered a stunning view of the hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of luxury boats docked in the otherwise industrial and somewhat decrepit port area. The trade and showcase event for the country’s maritime industries opened Wednesday evening at Beirut’s Pier 1 and will continue through the weekend. Each year, it attracts a mixture of visitors – from interested buyers and boat owners to curious onlookers. And with around 200 luxury brands on display, there was plenty to see. A Maserati Ghibli welcomed show-goers at the entrance, as did diamond jewelry and luxury watches from W. Salamoon and Sons. Stands selling high-end leather goods and vodka martinis dotted the exhibition space. At Sea Pros, a Lebanese company and one of the world’s biggest distributors of luxury boats, sales associates were showing off all kinds of nautical novelties, from watersport toys to $...