Defeated

Once there was a sculpture (I suppose?) out at sea.


And then one day there wasn't. I don't know when it happened. Maybe it broke during the mid-December storm that did so much damage.   I don't know if they're going to fix it.  Does anyone else know?

Open to the Sky

There's something so wonderful and magical about looking up through such lovely windows to see the unobstructed sky.

Wouldn't it be amazing if people could live like this, with constant access to the sky?

Paint it Red

It was a few weeks ago that I saw this remarkable building along the Dora Highway. I was headed northward out of town. The time that has passed since hasn't worn away the shock of that red.

A few days ago I noted that purple isn't a common color for exteriors here. Neither is red. That's why I noticed this place because it wasn't red before, but now it shockingly is.

I'm kind of indifferent about purple but I love the red especially with crisp white trim. It makes me wish that everyone with a historic home would grab a can of paint and make our world brighter.

I say this knowing my own deep affection for the sandy color of Lebanon's native stone, for the color of age and paint long faded. I wish I could have it both ways. So scratch that wish, I guess.   I'll settle for half.  Half of you out there with historic homes do nothing, and the others, paint it on bold.

Tabbara Mosque

Looking north along the western edge of Sanayeh park.

Nets, Baskets

Down by the sea in a small harbor, I saw this pile of nets in the most amazing used-up tire baskets.

At first, I'd only seen them from a distance, but I like them. I wondered how they were made, and I found out.  Rivets. 

I think I could put one to good use at my house. I don't have any fishing nets, but I have wet rain boots and umbrellas. They'd do just fine in a waterproof black basket like that.  Sturdy, convenient carrying handles, "up-cycled".  What's not to like?

Before They Were Purple

Purple is not a common color in Beirut.

Still, I might not have noticed these shutters had I not taken their picture only a week earlier, back before they were purple.

I liked the color progression. And now that it's purple, I like that too.

Closer

I wonder what the door thinks of that tin wall.  The door was there first.  Then the wall was brought in.  It's contemporary, prefab, flimsy, industrial, and its placement here doubtless oriented more to function than form.  Not so the door.  It has history, craftsmanship certainly and artistry arguably.  It's stone construction has permanence and stability that the tin wall can't ever even dream of obtaining.  Its existence here is intentional, a functional thing of beauty.

So, again, I wonder how the door feels about its nearest neighbor.  Does it feel encroached upon, is the tin wall an affront?  Does it feel crowded?  Maybe it does.  Or perhaps it feels cozy, connected, close.  Is it so inconceivable that the proximity has grown on them, they might actually like being neighbors?

I prefer to believe that they do.

Faux Designation

In Beirut, there are signs that designate buildings, sections of town, monuments, etc. that have special cultural or historic significance. They're brown rectangles with a white border and white lettering. They're part of the visual vocabulary of the city.

Consider this post from nearly half a year ago, featuring an artist's clever twist on the brown culture signs.

And here's another that I like just as much. The other day in Hamra, I noticed this creative take on the culture signs:

This faux sign designates the wall as a street art mural. Here's a context photo.

The Western Edge

This post concludes the segment on the house in Kaslik. Owen suggested that it was more palace than house--perhaps he's right. Dina asked if it was at one time a church. I feel confident that it wasn't. The structure of the building is consistent with residential designs. There's a cross over the chained up gate from my first post about this place, not at all uncommon for Kaslik, a very Christian area.

At the western edge of the property there's this broken down gate. I had already entered the property when I took this photo--I was more intrepid than I would have been otherwise because I was with a friend. We continued toward the back of the house where I took this photo.



Had I continued past that orange tree, the chained up gate from the first photo would have come into view on the left hand side.

New Year

For several days I've been posting pictures of a single remarkable house in Kaslik. Today we've turned another corner, looking back at the building's west-facing wall.

Looks quite rustic, almost rural.

But it isn't. Here's another view that shows its surroundings better.

It's a new month, a new year, and that means there's a theme day going on at City Daily Photo. Everyone is posting their best photo from 2010. I don't think I have a "best photo", but you can still check out the ones from everyone else. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants