Libshop Travel Guide

The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Lebanon✈️

Art & Culture in Lebanon

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

Mohammed Al Amin Mosque

Located at the intersection of Place des Martyrs and Rue Emir Bechir, the imposing Sunni Mohammed el-Amine mosque cannot go unnoticed. This mosque, which adjoins the Saint-Georges Cathedral of the Maronites, is the largest in Lebanon, with its 9,700 m² of built surface area, its 5 domes and its 4 minarets 65 m high. A visit is essential! Built between 2002 and 2007, the Mohammed Al Amin Mosque benefited from funding from billionaire and Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, killed in an attack in 2005. This mosque is a true work of art worth more than 20 million dollars. Inaugurated on October 17, 2008 by the son of billionaire Rafic Hariri, the Mohammed Al Amin Mosque features an Ottoman style with local stones (chemlan). It bears the signature of Azmi Fakhoury and can accommodate 6,400 worshipers. Located in the heart of the city of Beirut, the Mohammed al-Amine Mosque was built on the ruins of an ancient zaouïa. From the front door, we observe a huge prayer room as well as an imposing chandelier. The interior of the Mohammed Al Amine Mosque is accessible to the general public, outside prayer times. However, to be able to

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

Wine in Lebanon

Discovery of generations of winegrowers, tasting of red, rosé and white wines from Lebanon: today I invite you to discover the history and production of Lebanese wine. The opportunity if you are on vacation in Lebanon to discover a varied selection of Lebanese wines, visit the oldest and most popular vineyards in the country and learn more about the history and production of Lebanese wine. Wine and Lebanon, an ancestral history You should know that Lebanese viticulture dates back to -6000 BC. Lebanon is historically one of the very first wine producers in the world, since the first wines were produced at the time in this region, in what is now the Middle East. Around 3000 BC. BC, the Phoenicians exported their wine, spreading it throughout the world. For centuries, it is in the Bekaa plain that most Lebanese wines have been produced. Moreover, one of the temples of Baalbek is dedicated to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. Lebanese wine today At the time, the grape varieties were innumerable. Today, the main grape varieties used for winemaking have returned from the West to the East from their origins, after millennia-old developments: For red wine, we find

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

Orient 499 in Beirut, the incredible concept store of high-end crafts and design

Today, I decided to take you to Orient499, a high-end brand, founded in 2006 by Frank Luca and Aida Kawas. It's one of the gems not yet taken by storm in Beirut. There you will find magnificent furniture, decorative objects, crafts and works of art, in a quiet and very pleasant location. Hey, this article is part of our ultimate guide to the best plans to do in Lebanon. To browse it in its entirety and discover lots of other cool places, follow the link and keep it safe. No need to have a big budget to visit the store, and you will even find some sublime small objects at affordable prices. Driven by a particular passion for Middle Eastern art and crafts, Frank Luca and Aida Kawas created this workshop-boutique to showcase certain objects from the region and other countries. Sometimes expensive but prodigious items, furniture, handcrafted soaps, toys, ceramic and metal objects, etc... The Orient 499 boutique, based in Minet El Hosn, rue Rue Omar Daouk, has become a real identity cultural for the region. It thus highlights the goldsmith work of the artisans

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

The ruins of Baalbek

At sunrise in Lebanon, the sky clears over all the sites surrounding the capital, Beirut. Eager to experience new adventures in the land of the Cedar, I strongly advise you to take a trip to an ancient site called Baalbek, which is home to an ancient Phoenician city dedicated to the god Baal, god of life and fertility , which was then embellished by the Romans, and who made it an architectural treasure. Today it is one of the most famous sanctuaries in the Roman world and a model of Roman architecture of the imperial period. Across the Mount Lebanon mountain range, just 80 km from Beirut, the route offers an exceptional landscape passing through the Bekaa plain. You will find yourself a little closer to Syria. The road to Baalbek can sometimes be congested. But after a two and a half hour drive, the detour is worth it, to learn about the very impressive history of the region. Welcome to Baalbek, and more precisely to the ancient site of the ruins of Baalbek, among the largest and best preserved of Roman architecture. The gigantic proportions of this

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

Plan Bey, art and culture by the Lebanese

Today, I wanted to tell you about an absolutely remarkable place that I had the opportunity to discover during my summer 2018 trip to Lebanon. This is Plan Bey, a space for creation, development, production, exhibition and retail, nestled in the now cult and lively Mar Mickael district, which we described in this article. Hey, this article is part of our ultimate guide to the best plans to do in Lebanon Halfway between a bookstore and an art gallery, Plan Bey is a platform that collaborates closely with local artists to create, edit and manufacture atypical products in limited quantities. This unique place offers diverse variations of Lebanese art, through posters, coasters, postcards, wall stickers, photographs and other works by local and international artists. The Plan Bey boutique exclusively offers products that come from its private workshop and its local production unit. It is therefore not an art gallery in the classic sense of the term. An exceptional place to absolutely visit during your stay in Lebanon, at the risk of having to travel the world in search of unique works of art. Music lovers, fans of original works, will also find

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

Focus on the Sursock Museum in Beirut, a must-visit

Head to the Sursock Museum in Beirut. This mansion built at the beginning of the 20th century in the prestigious Achrafieh district is the museum of modern art in Beirut, Lebanon. The Sursock Museum opened its doors in 1961, in accordance with the wishes of its owner Nicholas Sursock, a wealthy art collector, to see his home become an exhibition space after his death. He built it in 1912. Outside, an arch under two large monumental staircases opens onto a mezzanine. From the outside, it is a model of Lebanese architecture mixing Venetian and Ottoman styles. To preserve the original architecture of the building built in 1912, the architects had a 20 meter basement dug, which houses the bookstore, the auditorium, exhibition spaces and conservation and restoration rooms. Its corridors with pure lines, iridescent by restored stained glass windows, lead to lounges with woodwork crafted in a purely Arabic style. The Sursock Museum hosts exhibitions, each more incredible than the last. At the time these lines were written, around twenty works from the collection of the Picasso Museum in Paris around the theme of family were exhibited there (between September 26, 2019 and January 6

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

The Nabu Museum in Chekka

Have you chosen Lebanon as your next vacation destination? Don't miss the road that leads to the most beautiful museum on the Lebanese coast, the Nabu Museum located in Chekka. A historical monument full of treasures to discover. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lebanon Traveler (@lebanontraveler) View this post on Instagram A post shared by @josephabisaab Ideally located on a beach in the village of El-Heri, near Chekka, the Nabu Museum incorporates a cubic building, the fruit of the imagination of two well-known artists Dia Azzawi and Mahmoud Obaidi. Inside, the museum offers a true historical journey of more than 6,000 years BC through exceptional artistic productions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ○ Alaa ○ ???? (@alaabayda) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lovee The Shot (@lovee.the.shot) The Nabu Museum, created on the initiative of Jawad Adra, Fida Jdeed, Badr and Hage, is a tribute to the Mesopotamian God and Phoenician of wisdom and writing. It reveals through its architecture and its treasures, a whole collection of works of art including rare books, archaeological artifacts and a whole selection of works

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

Beaufort Castle

In the southern region of Lebanon, on the road to Nabatiyeh, about 7 km from the coast, is Château Beaufort. This picturesque monument is generally visited after a mandatory visit to the city of Saïda. It is located very close to the village of Arnoun, and stands on top of a hill. A visit is essential. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2eipwUAvRf/ The Beaufort Citadel, also known as Qalaat Chaqif Arnoun, stands on a promontory located 710 m above sea level. At this height, you have breathtaking views of the entire region including the Litani valley. https://www.instagram.com/p/Blu_9PlAXEk/ If the exact history of the castle remains unknown, we know some characteristics taken from the legendary history of Lebanon. William of Tire cites the Crusaders, but others say the monument dates back to the Roman or Byzantine era. The castle was then restored and enlarged by the Arabs and then fortified by the Crusaders. In the end, Lebanon acquired a citadel of which it remains proud to this day. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8qK_XTAKZR/ Beaufort Castle has seen many residents. First the King of Jerusalem, Fulk of Anjou, who stole the show from the governor of Damascus who, in turn, ceded it to the

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Art & Culture in Lebanon
Ziyad

Discovering backgammon, a Lebanese tradition

Today, I invite you to discover Lebanon in both a fun and cultural way, through a game: Backgammon. https://www.instagram.com/p/BrpZxgrlHFB/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B21fxNYpkbM/ Commonly called tawlé (or “table” in Arabic, backgammon is an oriental board game that is could easily be compared to a game of checkers played with dice. A true ancestor of table games, among many others, the oldest backgammon dates back (almost) 5,000 years. https://www.instagram.com /p/BmVdH80BqQp/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BpKZWFXDL4S/ According to legend, the very first table game was discovered near the southeastern border of Iran, around five millennia ago It is essentially a course game which is played on a board with dice and tokens. Arriving several years later in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, these course games cross the border to reach the Roman Empire, particularly in its Middle Eastern part. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6BG_ncB-A7/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B6nqnk_qlub/ Among the Lebanese, we especially talk about “tawlé” or “table” in Lebanese. But backgammon also has other names such as “tric-trac” in French. https://www.instagram.com/p/BvwcI4nDXyp/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B9AD5QtoCXA/ In the same way that we play dice or card games in France, Lebanese backgammon is particularly popular with men of a

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