Reading Time: 2 minutes October 17: Protesters set fire in Downtown on Thursday on the first day of the revolts. October 18: Demonstrations continued with protestors closing roads in downtown. October 20: Sunday’s protest was the largest gathering in Downtown since February 2005. October 22: This photo depicts elements of an open air carnival in Riad el-Solh. October 23:…
Lost in Trainslation
Reading Time: 3 minutes 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)
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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…
The intricacies of sushi
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Wine harvesting in Lebanon
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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…
In photos: People take their frustrations to the streets
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Familiar faces
Reading Time: 3 minutes 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
Reading Time: 7 minutes 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
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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,…