*All images are copyright to Edition de L'Escalier*

(RIGHT)
FÉLIX BONFILS
View of Beirut from the east, no date

(TOP LEFT)
ADRIEN BONFILS
The city and the port seen from Saint Dimitri, Beirut, no date
A view of the Karantina, much less built up then today. By this time the new port was already in place.

(BOTTOM LEFT)
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARLIER
Panorama of Beirut, 1855
This is not a typical photograph of Beirut as it was taken from the east side of the city and not from the usual west. To the left of the photograph, standing tall, is an Ottoman tower which stayed intact until the construction of the Place des Cannons.

(RIGHT)

ABRAHAM GUIRAGUOSSIAN
Arrival of Willhelm II at the port of Beirut, 5th November 1898

This photograph shows the new port which by then had already greatly developed. Since there was not enough sea depth, smaller boats would bring people to their ships.

(LEFT)
JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARLIER
Port of Beirut, no date
This was the old port of Beirut. The city has had two ports but this was the original. It remained the main port of Beirut until 1875. To access it, one had to walk down what was called the ‘wheat pier’ . To the right is the old crusader’s castle. Today all that is left is a tiny morcel of wall, the rest was destroyed.

ANONYMOUS
The Great Famine, Beirut and Lebanon, 1915-1918

A family, sharing the scraps of horse’s carcass. The series of photos on the famine are quite shocking. While one might think these were propaganda photos, they were not staged, and represent a harsh reality.
The Famine album circulated very little. Its is now known that there were about 4 or 5 copies. One of which was given to General Gouraud, High Comissioner of Syria and Lebanon in 1919.
One cannot imaging the state of malnutrition theses people were in. In 1916, there was not only an attempt by the Ottomans to annihilate the Armenians but also the Lebanese.
Amid this sight of war and desolation, there were also attempts of aid, which where unfortunately so disastrous that they turned to ridicule. For example, a very wealthy man tried to help by buying all the mollasses production in the country, in order to feed it to the famished. But molasses is in fact a laxative… so the starving ended in even worse condition.

(RIGHT)

BUREAU TOPOGRAPHIQUE DES ARMÉES DU LEVANT
Rue Gouraud, no date

(LEFT)

ANONYMOUS
Beirut, 1921

This rubble you can see is not so much a result of the war but was actually an initiative of the Ottomans, with the help of German engineers, to remodel the old city. They evicted a whole section of the population living there and destroyed their homes. It is noteworthy that the same process was repeated in the 1990s.

(LEFT)
JEAN KUFENKDJIAN
Saint Georges Hotel, Beirut, no date

A rare sight to see in Beirut; women in two piece bathing suits, as early as the late 40s.


(TOP RIGHT)
JEAN KUFENKDJIAN
Place des Canons, 1962

(TOP LEFT)
ANONYMOUS
Minet-el-Hosn, Beirut, no date

Near Ain el Mreisseh, the base of this building is from a Genoese watch tower, which dates back to the 15th or 16th century. With time people built on top of it. There was here a small fisherman’s port where they also auctioned their fish. It was later bought by a contractor.

(LEFT)

ANONYMOUS
Rue Moutanabbi, Beirut, 1965

Rue Moutanabbi was home of the brothels and filles de joie. Their names were clearly advertised and decorated the facades of these 1920s buildings.

(RIGHT)

ANONYMOUS
Maarad, Beirut, no date

This road was a French initiative to make arcades like Rue de Rivoli in Paris. This neighborhood was made up of mostly hotels. At the end of this road is the Parliament Clock the Place de l’Etoile.

(LEFT)

ANONYME
Rue Béchara-el-Khoury, sans date

(RIGHT)

ANONYME
Rue des Lazaristes, Beyrouth, sans date

In the end, vegetation invades everything, even memory.

Find out more about the history of photography in Lebanon in these books by Michel Fani:

(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT)

Liban 1880-1914

L'Atelier de Beyrouth, Liban 1868-1914

Une Histoire de la Photographie au Liban

Histoire de la Photographie Libanaise

L'Invention de Beyrouth

(LEFT)
FRÉDÉRIC GOUPIL-FRESQUET
View of Beirut, 1840

Etching made from a daguerrotype.

(TOP RIGHT)
FÉLIX BONFILS
Ras Beirut, no date

Ras Beirut was a vibrant part of the city; it was the newest and had developed with rather patrician looking houses. Its coastline was extended in 1920, using amongst other rubble, the remains of a Byzantine church found in excavations at the Place des Cannons.

(BOTTOM RIGHT)
FRANKLIN T. MOORE
View towards the old city, 1894

A typical house for the time. You can find this house still standing in Hamra.