Beit Beirut - Museum and Urban Cultural Center — Attraction in Achrafieh

coming from a person who typically hates museums this museum was amazing. I didn’t know what to expect going into it but it’s a very immersive experience. The entrance was free and the staff were very helpful as well. The lovely lady at the desk gave me a brief history of the building and the displays in the museum and I learned so much. There’s so much to learn and as a tourist coming to a place like Beirut, it is up to us to learn about the history and understand it to get a better experience out of our stay and to pay respect forthose who have lost their lives in order to shape Beirut into what it is today. The exhibition was incredible and it was as if I was stepping into a time capsule. There were moments where I felt like I was almost brought to tears and it was just so well preserved and represented.

Highly highly highly recommend for everybody even if you don’t like museums and thank you again to the lady...

Beit Beirut, the House of Beirut, is a museum that focuses more on highlighting the building in which it is housed than on the exhibits inside. The building suffered tremendously during the long Lebanese Civil War which lasted more than 15 years (1975-1990). Being geographically situated on the so-called Green Line, the line that divided the city in two, the building got heavily damaged. Militias fought over it and built bunkers inside to defend their positions. Several bunkers inside have been kept as a grim reminder of the war. The outer walls have been purposely left without a full renovation. They show many shell and bullet holes. The metal patching that was done to make the building sound used gray metal to contrast with the original yellowstone facade. Keeping your mind from questioning the decisions that were made during the building's long recovery period will make your visit one...

Every person living in Lebanon must visit Beit Beirut as it tells the unique history of Beirut. The museum is located in the historical Barakat building, which intersected the demarcation line (aka Green Line) between East and West Beirut during Lebanon’s 15-year Civil War. Beit Beirut is a symbolic representation of the city’s complex socio-political past, present, and perhaps future. Currently, there is an ongoing exhibition titled “Allo, Beirut?” which opened in September 2022. The entrance is free, and each display presents an interactive and immersive experience to learn about the city’s history, socio-cultural life, politics, economy, and geography. Kudos to all the curators and storytellers for creating a chilling exhibition that...