Horsh Beirut

History

In the 13th century, William of Tyre (or ), the medieval prelate, chronicler and the archbishop of Tyre, named the forest of Beirut, as "La Pinée" or "Sapinoie".

The park, Horsh, has suffered throughout history from frequent abuse of its timber especially by the armies of the Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans, and the Allies of World War II to build ships and weapons. Large parts of the pine forest were segmented-out to become an Ottoman Casino in 1917 (which became the Pine Residence later during the French Mandate of Lebanon), a horse racecourse in 1921, Al-Shohadaa Cemetery in 1958, and Rawdat al-Shaheedein Cemetery in the 1970s. Moreover, the development of new roads during the 1950s state planning produced some leftovers of the remaining woodland that became subject to conflict and appropriation.

Horsh was bombed to burn by Israeli jet fighters during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Much of it was also turned into a Palestinian refugee camp. From a pine forest over 1,250,000 m2 in 1696 it decreased to a park over 800,000 m2 in 1967 (≈ 5% of Municipal Beirut),

Today, Horsh Beirut is a 0.3 km2 triangular park at the southern border of the city limited by Omar Beyhum Street, 22 November Avenue, Abdelnasser Avenue and National Museum of Beirut (Musée national de Beyrouth).

The park, or Horsh Beirut, has been reconstructed after the end of the Lebanese Civil War and it has been closed for the general public for about 25 years. Lebanese citizens had to apply for a permission and only have chances to get one if they are older than 35 years. At the same time there have been reports of Western foreigners getting permission while applications by Lebanese were rejected. Beirut residents have repeatedly protested against the denial of access to the park including the unequal access policies for Western and non-Western park visitors. However, it ended up being reopened to the public by the governor of Beirut, Ziad Chebib, on September 3, 2015.

Image gallery

File:Beyrouth bois des pins 05.jpg|Information sign at the park gate from Badaro area File:Beyrouth bois des pins 03.jpg|Center of the park File:Beyrouth bois des pins 08.jpg|Center of the park File:Beyrouth bois des pins 01.jpg|Center of the park File:Beyrouth bois des pins 02.jpg|Center of the park File:Beyrouth bois des pins 07.jpg|Center of the park File:Beyrouth bois des pins 06.jpg|New sorting bin in the center of the park

References

• Al-Wali, T. (1993). Beirut fi'Tarikh wal'Hadara wal'Omran (Beirut: History, Culture, and Urbanism). Beirut: Dar al-Elem lil'Malayeen.

References

1. Doyle, Paul. ''Lebanon'', Bradt Travel Guides, 2012, page 153.
2. Lombard, Maurice. (Aug 25, 1973). "Espaces et reseaux du haut moyen age". Walter de Gruyter.
3. Al-Wali, T. (1993). ''Beirut fi'Tarikh wal'Hadara wal'Omran'' (Beirut: History, Culture, and Urbanism). Beirut: ''Dar al-Elem lil'Malayeen''. pp. 106-107.
4. (11 June 2016). "Public spaces in the Middle East". [[The Economist]].
5. Al-Wali, T. (1993). ''Beirut fi'Tarikh wal'Hadara wal'Omran'' (Beirut: History, Culture, and Urbanism). Beirut: ''Dar al-Elem lil'Malayeen''.
6. "Beirut Municipality Sells Beirut's Collective Memory and the Last of its Green Spaces | al Akhbar English".
7. "Closed to the Public for Decades, Beirut's Only Park May Re-Open This Year".
8. "Horsh Beirut the forbidden green".
9. "تظاهرة لفتح حرش بيروت / Demonstration to open Horsh Beirut".