On a Beirut road that runs from Hamra Street down to Bliss Street, Falak Shawwa stopped to snap a picture of three chairs – one metal, one wooden and one plastic – positioned in front of a mustard-colored wall. “The chairs represent different generations in Hamra,” she said. “Different ages, different times.”
On a Beirut road that runs from Hamra Street down to Bliss Street, Falak F. Shawwa, 29, stopped to snap a picture of three chairs – one metal, one wooden and one plastic – positioned in front of a mustard-colored wall. “The chairs represent different generations in Hamra,” she said. “Different ages, different times.”
For years, the neighborhood named after Hamra Street has been the cultural hub of Beirut, home to generations like Shawwa’s that develop the area’s evolving identity. Despite various political conflicts like the civil war, the 2006 July War and the May events of 2008, Hamra continues to evolve but remains characterized by its history, energy and intellectual nature – all of which give the area its cosmopolitan flair.
Shawwa’s image, called “Over Time”, was one of 350 photographs submitted in a recent competition called “I Have My Hamra, and You Have Your Hamra”, which aimed to capture the neighborhood’s cultural authenticity in still images. Seventy-five selected finalists had their work displayed in neighborhood coffee shops, encompassing the café culture that signifies the academic nature of Hamra, which is surrounded on both sides by the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University.
From portraits of taxi drivers to night shots of teens, to images conveying the area’s eclectic architecture, each photo shows a different aspect of Hamra’s identity in its current state, shaped by generations of change. Sitting in the outdoor section of Dany’s bar on a Friday night, where patrons clink their beer glasses over the tune of a Beatles song on the CD player, it becomes apparent that the latest sign of Hamra’s ever-changing identity is its nightlife.
Starting with Café de Prague in 2005, tons of new pubs and restaurants have opened in Hamra, particularly over the past year. More are set to open within the next few months.
In the 1970s, before the civil war, the area was a center for leftists, with once-popular spots like Café de Paris and Horseshoe. Although pubs like these have closed over the years, new ones are constantly popping up in an area full of the young and hip. Some of the newest are Rabbit Hole, Neighbors and The Doors.
“They want something more young, more alive,” said bar owner Dany Khoury, who opened his establishment in August 2008. Dany’s was once the only bar located on a narrow side-street running perpendicular to Hamra, but it now sits next to two more pubs, both of which opened in the past four months.
But change is not always a good thing, as there is a price to be paid for growth. After 15 years of business, one of Hamra’s cultural landmarks, Walimat Warde, is being forced out of the building it stands in. Located in an old Beirut home with French-style shutters reminiscent of the early 1900s, this Lebanese restaurant and pub has been a staple of the community for years. The owners are now forced to move the restaurant to the hotel next door so developers can tear down the building to make way for new construction.
By Sarah Lynch