I passed by Lazarieh building in DownTown Beirut this morning and spotted what seems to be a clock tower getting built right next to St.Georges’ Maronite Cathedral.
I must say it’s quite impressive the number of churches and mosques we have in DownTown Beirut. There are at least 25 or 30 both combined.
Nice photo, the blue is fab..
Is the sky colour enhanced or photoshopped? I haven’t seen the sky so blue; especially in Beirut…ever.
No I just uploaded it as it is.
this is done so that it would be as high as the huge mosque next to it.
u can easilly notice that the hight is not proportional to the area.
anyways I hope it will look nice.
you have to compensate.. it’s not a move that made me very happy. It makes it look the they’re competing.. i mean it’s ok.. it happens if one mosque out of billions happens to be bigger than a church out of billions and vice versa.. dob’t get intimidated lol
I am not intimidated (I’m roum). I was just trying to make the post more informative by explaining more facts abt it…(exactly what Joe is saying below)
sorry i didnt mean about you, but them
Do you guys know Rafic Hariri actually donated to build that clock?
didnt knw that but I thk he also paid for the mosque
that’s the new steeple that should be higher than Al Amnine Mosque’s mninarets.
This leads to the discussion on Beirut’s restoration not resembling the old Beirut.
If you look at the old and original Beirut district, you would notice that churches, mosques, and the synagogue as well were integrated with the surrounding buildings. Religious structures were never dominant.
In terms of the mosque, the size and location of it does not fit into Beiruts urban design and history. Martyrs square was off limits to religious structures. Actually, martyrs square is a piece of land that was donated by druze to commemorate martyrs and respectfully no churches or mosques were built there. Therefore, the mosque’s location is wrong, and the architecture of it does not fit with Beirut’s history of architecture and urban design…. even the style of the Mosque’s architecture does not match the design of any old Lebanese mosques.
I love St. George church. The exterior is very modest while the interior has more of a grand feeling that is simply gorgeous. What is the point of having a clock tower? and especially in 2012 when clock towers are considered pointless ? No thought has been considered in this… besides wanted to build something that provides a dominant feel in attempt to compete with the mosque.
Instead of us admiring such matters, maybe we should all question the church’s usage of funds. I would rather funds go to support than needy instead.
I am not intimidated (I’m roum). I was just trying to make the post more informative by explaining more facts abt it…(exactly what Joe is saying below)
Al Amine Mosque was never this BIG before the 70’s, it was a very little one, no one could even notice it. As Rampurple said, Beirut Central District is hugely dominated with religious buildings. It’s almost as if there’s no urban feel, it’s all churches and mosques which some were not this monumental back in actual Beirut, not the fake new one. Not to resort to sectarianism, but the Christians have every right to build any huge clock tower near that huge ottoman-style mosque. It’s obvious they were trying to copy the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, the result is that it doesn’t fit in with the city at all, it’s fake and obviously built there to prove a point: This is the new face of Beirut, we’ve won the civil war so we can do anything we want since we’ve got all the money and lands that we falsely acquired from helpless idiots. How do people even go there to pray? Where do they park their cars? It’s as if it’s only open on the days of Eid just to show off, same goes for the Christian Greek and Maronite Cathedrals.
I live in Saifi and work next to it and I find it the most practical mosque actually. Everyone talking about the old Beirut and the new Beirut needs to wake up. none of the people proposing this argument actually LIVED in the Old beirut let alone were born then! there were many elements that were impractical of the old city that you cant deduce from nostalgic photographs. Yes I agree there might be an abundance of churches and mosques in the downtown area, but I love Beirut all the more for it. For example al Amin mosque is not only full on fridays prayers but also has people in it for Duhr and Asr prayers most days. I like to vary my mosque selection (since I have that luxury working and living by quite a few) and have to admit that they all have their regulars (between 20-50 people for the smaller ones) dont know about the churches but they get a nice influx of tourists just like the mosques, because each one does in a way represent a historical era and has unique architectural characteristics.
The church has every right to do what it wants on its land and with its funds as long as they dont affect the roman columns next to it.
This “New Beirut” looks nothing like the real one, ma ba2a netkhabba sara 2esba3na, we all know the truth and I’m writing as a member of a family that was forcefully evicted from El-Burj, Sou2 el sagha because of the war; I know what I’m talking about.
To clarify I have not complained about the abundance of churches and mosques in Beirut. Beirut has a demand for so many churches and mosques and I love that they are all there next to each other.
What my issue with the “new” churches and mosques is the need for them to be larger than any other structure around them instead of integrating with their surroundings.
As for the difference between old Beirut and new Beirut, it does not matter if we were born during that duration. The difference simply reflects on how our views. In the old days, religion was an integral part of our lives. Today, religion represents who we are and we stand for. We follow power and not faith.