September 18, 2011

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.

Takoushtree

 

Sep 18, 2011 3:41:49 PM | About Beirut, photo projects

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
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. Orange tree in bloom behind...

Michelle Woodward

Search

Recent Comments