Kan ya ma kan (once upon a time), Lebanon had a well-developed railway network established by the different foreign authorities that governed the country before its independence. The first major rail line was developed during the Ottoman period in 1895 and ran from Beirut to Damascus. It was constructed by the French upon a concession…
C’est la mer(de)
For those who cannot afford beach club or resort entry fees, public beaches are the only option to enjoy the sun and sand in Lebanon. Unfortunately, the majority of these spaces are unmanaged and unsupervised. As a result, you can see people swimming and fishing amongst floating trash. While it is certainly a horrid sight—which…
Confined to misery
Executive visited ZaZoo City in Hazmieh disguised as tourists in order to collect photographic evidence of the conditions of the animals held captive there. What we found was appaling: ducks lying in a waterless pool, a tiger trapped in a shade-less cage and a fox asleep next to litter and a pile of its own…
Wine harvesting in Lebanon
Executive followed workers at Château Kefraya on August 22 busy harvesting grapes for the winery’s yearly white wine production. While Kefraya has so far been spared, bad weather has affected harvests at other wineries in Lebanon. One of the worst hit was Domaine de Baal, which experienced heavy hailstorms on September 15 that ruined more than 50…
Familiar faces
A street is more than just well known physical landmarks. It is more than buildings and favorite outlets. A street is also made up of familiar faces: people you say hello to or nod to on a daily basis. Such faces become part of the urban fabric and in turn, they come to know the…
In a man’s world
This article is part of Executive’s special report on women in the workplace. Read more stories as they’re published here, or pick up March’s issue at newsstands in Lebanon. Najwa Layan — Police officer Journey and motivation Ever since she was a child, Najwa Layan has been attracted to military life. She says that three years…
Out in the cold
January’s winter storms battered Lebanon with heavy rain and snow at the start of 2015, once again highlighting the poor living conditions in which most Syrian refugees live. Executive travelled with members of the international Orthodox Christian charities to two camps in the Bekaa Valley, Qoub Elias near Chtaura and Tell Serhoun near Dalhamieh. There,…
In photos: Art in the city
Nowhere is the creative impulse more impactful than in our public spaces, and nowhere is there a greater need and opportunity to define cultural coexistence than in the process of democratizing the urban squares, corners and walls where artistic messages and even the very concepts of art come to clash. To claim that art has…