BEIRUT: The Lebanese EconomicOrganizations urged the governmentin a proposal Friday to allow the pri-vate sector to be more involved ininfrastructure projects in order to easethe financial pressure on the Treasury.

The LEO,which groups all the lead-ing banks and companies in Lebanon,

8tueSday, october 1, 2019

A tour of Beirut’s hidden beauty

By Maghie GhaliThe Daily Star

BEIRUT: The latest exhibi-tion at Beit Beirut, “Bey-routh | Beirut,” takes a closelook at the city’s hidden

beauty, through the lens of Lebanesephotographer Fadia Ahmad.Curated by Pascale Le Thorel, the

exhibition, which opened last monthduring the Beirut Art Fair, shows justunder 100 snaps, selected from sev-en years of documentation.Split into seven sections, the

exhibition traces the photogra-pher’s ritual walks around the citythat she used to reconnect with herhomeland. Born in 1975 in Spain,Ahmad returned to Lebanon in1991 to study and found herselfsearching for the missing Lebanesepart of her identity.“I was reconciling with my

roots,” Ahmad told The Daily Star.“When I first came here it was avery hard moment. When I was liv-ing abroad, everyone would ask,‘What does Fadia mean? Where doyou come from? What is Lebanon?’So I always lived with this dream ofgoing back to my roots when myparents wouldn’t allow me.“The day I stepped into the

Beirut I thought my dream wasbeing realized,” she added, “but I

faced the same questions. I wasasked what region I come from,what religion I follow, which polit-ical party I support. “I had to take a step back and my

photography helped me do that,”Ahmad said. “I decided to go to thestreets every single day, all seasons,all weather, and walk 10,452 steps,mirroring the area of Lebanon,10,452 kilometers squared.”With time, the photographer

began seeing the city in a new lightand commenced documenting it. Itwasn’t until she met Le Thorel in2003 that her project began to takea more artistic and structured shape. “It all started in this building Vil-

la Clara where I met Pascale for thefirst time,” she said, gesturing to aphoto of Villa Clara displayed in thefirst section of the show. “She waswriting the biography of ShaficAbboud seven years ago and we met.“Seven is a very important num-

ber for me and this exhibition. Wemet seven years ago. We have sev-en parts of the exhibition. I’m a sev-enth daughter. Beirut has beenrebuilt seven times.”Although Ahmad started out

using an analogue camera, sheswitched to digital in 2006 afterbombings in south Lebanondestroyed her entire archive.The section titled “An Urban

Geography” is dedicated to photosof the brightly colored facades ofthe Ottoman, mandate and art decohouses of Mar Mikhael and Gem-mayzeh. In “The Time Stopped,”Ahmad highlights the abandonedtrain stations of Lebanon’s formerrail system. The pictures in “Architectures –

Past and Present Confronted”approach Martyrs Square, BeirutCentral District (formerly “Al-Bourj”) and their surroundings,drawing attention to the urbanstratification that reshaped Beirut’sformer downtown core after theCivil War.“Communities” comprises pho-

tos of Lebanon’s various religioussects and their presence in Beirut.This section’s centerpiece, “This isUs,” shows the minaret of theMohammad al-Amine Mosque andthe elongated bell tower of the St.George Maronite Church, standingside by side.“In my photos you’ll see the

Ottoman-style architecture, the pastand present, the stillness of the city,”Ahmad said. “I also didn’t use manyphotos of people because it is the cityof Beirut that matters, so I focusedon that. It’s important to explore thedetails and express that sometimes ifyou stop and look properly, you willsee amazing things.”“Neighborhood Life” is among

the few sections in the exhibitionwhose photos show people. HereAhmad shows Beirut’s communitiesof homeless people, shopkeepersand cafe owners with whom sheinteracted during her daily walks.The last two sections are devoted tothe seaside Corniche and the fisher-men who make a living there.

“Beyrouth | Beirut” is up at Beit Beirut,Sodeco, until Oct. 20.

Photos trace ritualwalks Fadia Ahmadtook to reconnectwith her homeland

“Kairos,” 2018.

“Nido Barbells,” 2015.

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