Have you ever asked yourself why property prices are so high in Lebanon? Why Beirut homes are prohibitively expensive for at least 90 percent of the city’s daily users who cannot dream of ever claiming an address in its quarters? Have you wondered why Barcelona, Marseille, Nice or Limasol display miles of public beaches accessible to all dwellers and visitors while in Beirut, the last 100 meters of so-called public beach is privately held and, in fact, currently under negotiation for the municipality to purchase, we are told, at a meager $18 million or so? Do you wonder why an iconic national symbol such as the Pigeon Rocks in Raouche and its natural surroundings can be forever transformed through the decisions of private developers? Do you buy the idea that the laws of supply and demand are regulated by some supernatural hand that sets the price of a built square
