April 13, 2011

Trees of Beirut

The trees in Beirut must be tenacious to live in this densely urban city.  Mostly neglected by residents and government, they survive around the edges and in the spaces between seemingly unregulated development. But even the most hardy can't survive the new buildings which rarely leave room for substantial greenery beyond the token sign of luxury -- a couple of ancient, gnarled olive trees uprooted (often illegally) from southern fields.

I recently saw at least a dozen huge, old ficus and pine trees that provided several city blocks with shade and greenery cut down to the ground. They were likely remnants of an orchard or garden around a long gone villa. They lined a parking lot in Hamra, which is still a parking lot. Presumably this lot is being readied for construction, but it's not evident yet. I don't understand how at least a few of them couldn't be incorporated as heritage and for their beauty -- not to mention for the health of the city's environment and its residents.

This is the first batch in a series of photos of some of the trees I see and admire in my daily life in Beirut.

OrangeTreeBloomingAcrossTakoush_small

Orange tree in bloom behind a decaying building and hemmed in by walls on Jeanne D'Arc street, Hamra.

 

FicusTreeTakoush_small

A ficus tree that a friend remembers his grandfather planting when there was a house in this lot. The tree may not survive much longer though, the former parking lot is now abandoned. (This is across the street from Takoush Flowers on Jeanne D'Arc street, Hamra.)

 

FigTreeMayflower_small

A fig tree (figs, hard to see here, are just forming) near the Mayflower Hotel, Hamra.

Apr 13, 2011 9:24:35 PM | About Beirut, photo projects

3 Comments

A lot of cities in the US have tree preservation and/or tree planting programs. Any chance Beirut could adopt such a Program?

Posted by: John Woodward | April 14, 2011 at 10:09 PM

thank you for this. I was in Beirut last summer and the spring the year before that, and I have been wondering about how trees survive in the city. I love the photos and hope to return and see more of my ancestral home.

Posted by: Adele Ne Jame | May 21, 2011 at 05:06 AM

Nice post. Facing the Takoush flower block on Jeanne D'Arc now is high rise in the making: http://www.beirutreport.com/2012/10/think-you-had-rough-night.html

If thats the same spot, then the ficus is gone, sadly.

Posted by: Habib | June 10, 2013 at 03:32 AM

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R.I.P. Tree This morning I walked down Jeanne D'Arc street with my daughter and husband to the lovely green spaces with sea views on the AUB campus. But on the way we passed a devastating sight -- my favorite old tree has been felled. It managed to survive alone on the edge of a parking lot across from the Takkoush flower shops. I think it was a remnant from the garden of a villa. As we approached I saw one of the flower shop proprietors standing on the edge of the lot, looking forlornly at the destruction. The massive tree lay splintered and broken on the pavement. Here is a photo I took of this tree in 2007. It was a rainy day and now the melancholy of the picture seems appropriate. R.I.P. tree.

Michelle Woodward

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