Articles parus sous la rubrique 'La Carte du tendre, L'Orient Le Jour 2019-2021'

Date of Publication: November 2022.

Beirut 1840-1918, A Visual & Descriptive Portrait.

This Kutub book in 2 volumes is a history of the photography of Beirut from the earliest known photographers in the 1840s until the end of the First World War.

The first part is divided into six chapters: 1- Early Photographers. 2- The Second Decade: the 1850s. 3- The Golden Age of the 1860s. 4- The Dawn of Syrian Photography. 5- Resident Foreign and Local Photographers. 6- Professional and Amateur Photographers from 1880 to 1918.

The second part is historical, consisting of eleven chapters that describe numerous major political and social events such as sectarian conflicts, changes in political thought, bombardments of the city, Turkish oppression as well as economic developments, pilgrims, social life, etc. and a detailed topographical description of the harbor and its enlargement, the Old Town, newly built districts outside the old walls, leisure facilities, urban developments including a new water supply system, railway line to Damascus, the historic looting of antiquities, the quarantine system and many other aspects.


Volume I: Text & Illustrations: 374 pp. + [1], frontispiece plan, vignette on title page, 317 b/w photographs, maps, figures, 1 lage folding watercolour.

Volume II: 271 pp. 301 b/w photographs including 5 folding panorama + one double page watercolour, vignette on title page, biblio/. index, set fitted in a paper slip case in mint condition, new.

Date of Release: November 2022.

This book is not a history book. It is a walk through the geographical space that is my universe. A cry of love, a cry for help; sometimes I do not recognize my city. And sometimes at the corner of a street, in someone’s face, I stumble on it, Beirut, so generous and unique. Sweet and bitter Beirut.

Many of us entertain a love-hate relationship with this city. I love you, I hate you, I'm leaving, I’m coming back. There are so many things to be said about Beirut. But I’m tired of myths and clichés, tired of nodding agreeably when spoken to of the Phoenix, of the city that is reborn from its ashes. I want my city to be saved. I no longer wish for it to die and be reborn. I’m tired of labels.

Living in Beirut isn’t enough. You have to live Beirut, to walk its streets, travel its highways, speak to its inhabitants, remember its history, hold on to what is left of it in your arms and shed light on its monuments, bring out its soul.

In Arabic, the word for neighborhood is Hay, and Hay means alive. The neighborhoods of Beirut are indeed alive. Each is distinct, with its different moods, troubles and joys, with Others just a few paces away. These Others that hold a piece of us.

Traveling through my city’s 51 neighborhoods has left a strong mark on my Beiruti identity. I belong to no other city. Beirut isn’t an idea. It is not impossible. Beirut is a challenge. It exists. It wakes up every morning and hurries through the day.

It’s too often talked about in the past, with a tremor in the voice of those who are hanging on to bygone sterile times. It’s also spoken of in the future, with uncertainty. But in this book Beirut is spoken of in the present, a cry of love; all that I have to offer.

Bilingual: English, French.

In Beirut Guilty Pleasures (Kif ma Kent Bhebbak), author Zaven Kouyoumedjian and photographer Ali Shehadi document the rise and fall of many Beiruti landmarks before, during, and after the 1970s Lebanese Civil War, up until the October 17, 2019 uprising and subsequently the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020 and the 'COVID19 Era'.

They follow the map of Beirut in a circular motion, starting with the Port’s Silos, L’Orient, Saint Georges Bay, The Holiday Inn, Burj el Murr, the Teatro, Martyrs’ Square, the Fist, the Egg, the Connection mural, Beit Beirut, and ending with the National Museum.

This demarcation area which constituted Beirut’s golden days and was severely damaged by the war is dissected into rich and rare photographs dating from early 20th Century until the early 21st Century Beirut. Last but not least, the book’s added value is the background story and unprecedented info about each monument and landmark that might be surprising to some, while interesting to everyone.

Languages: English and Arabic
Format: 24 x 16.5 cm, 296 pages
Publication Date: September 2022

From the writer who brought you Miss Guided: How to Step into the Lebanese Glam Lane comes this hilarious book at surviving life in suburban America after 18 years of living it up in Beirut.

Anissa Rafeh tells you all you need to know about essential life skills, like: 1. Microwaving (dinner in two minutes or less), 2. Knowing what’s playing on Netflix (every Friday is a holiday), and 3. How to shovel your driveway without chipping a nail (get someone else to do it). It’s clear that you can take the girl out of Beirut, but never Beirut out of the girl, especially when it comes to socializing, dating, shopping, and getting picture-perfect.

Leaving her Louboutin’s back in Beirut, but forever clutching on to her Prada bag, she maneuvers the bumpy transition, taking detours and making wrong turns, but always remembering the number one rule to surviving the ’burbs: life’s a laugh!

Language: English.
Published: January 2017.

"Forever Beirut" Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Lebanon, is the new cookbook by bestselling author Barbara Massaad. Launched to support the Lebanese Food Bank and help families in dire need of food after the devastating blast and ensuing economic collapse.

Forever Beirut is a collection of 100 easy-to-prepare recipes that celebrate Beirut’s rich culinary heritage, its resilience, and healing power. It is Barbara’s way of honoring the city of her childhood, her dreams, her Lebanese family kitchen, and the food that roots her.

It is filled with stories and anecdotes about the customs, food, people, and traditions, with sections for soups, salads, breads and savory pastries, mezze, kibbeh, grilling, main dishes, pickles and preserves, and sweets.

Foreword by: Chef José Andrés).

256 pages. Published: Summer 2022.

This bundle of four humor titles will get you, your friends and family laughing out loud. Enjoy humorous anecdotes on family relations, history and crazy tales about food and drinks in Bet You Didn’t Know This About Beirut.

Take a closer look at Lebanon, a small country with big flavor; in You know you’re Lebanese when… with its humorous and light-hearted (bilingual Arabic, English) insight into the wonderful world of Lebanese and their rule-breaking tendencies and enormous egos.

In The Abou Abed Joke Book 2, Abou Abed, with his famous tarbouche and moustache delights us with his escapades. He spends his time in a Beirut coffee shop with his friend Abou Steif, where they tell each other far-fetched stories over endless cups of tea.

Witness Em Abed as she rises to stardom, turning the tables on the legacy of Abou Abed in Em Abed’s Revenge. With a compilation of thirty side-splitting jokes, this time, Em Abed is the starlet and most of the time Abou Abed is the punch line – or the punching bag!

THE HOUSES OF BEIRUT was initially printed in 1997 by Nayla Audi for her daughters, and all the children of Lebanon, to preserve the memory of the traditional Lebanese homes.

24 years later, following the 4th of August blast, her daughters decided to publish a new edition of the book and donate all the proceeds to restoring these Heritage Houses. And mostly to make sure that the colors and identity of Beirut remain for generations to come.

All the profits of the sale go to Beirut Heritage Initiative, an independent and inclusive collective, supporting its mission of rebuilding and preserving Beirut’s architectural Heritage.

Illustrations are watercolors hand painted by Lebanese artist Flavia Codsi.

(For children and adults).

Book pages: 6 thick pages

Date of release: October, 2021

Illustrated and Designed by Yasmine Darwiche.

What to drink, eat, visit and shop.

Beirut is, undoubtedly, one of the most talked about cities in the world. It continuously births vivid stories that become the subject of worldwide discussion.

From the tumultuous Civil War era and political discordances that shape its legacy, to the more recent triumphant cultural expressions led by talented thinkers and artists, the small city of Beirut is a tireless creator of far-reaching anecdotes that demand to be examined and explored.

Lynn and Yasmine, two locals and dear friends, joined forces to co-create this guidebook, a product of their mutual appreciation and love for the capital.

Format: Paperback, 224 pages, 14 x 21 cm

Published: May 2019