The endless struggle over what constitutes a cultural heritage site and what real estate developers can build over continues to spur heated debates in Lebanon. There are many sites at issue. Beirut’s Ottoman and French colonial-style homes, or at least the ones that survived the civil war and reconstruction efforts, are under constant threat. Several remnants of the area’s ancient past as a center for global commerce and culture are also at risk of being lost in the name of profit. Land scarcity only heightens property developers’ appetite for demolition of sites that may or may not be under protection. Weak government regulations, mostly holdovers from the French mandate-era, have left countless loopholes open for exploitation. The onus to protect these sites, by protesting against great odds, has fallen on a loose affiliation of activists, archaeologists and everyday citizens. And in many ways, real estate developers are simply taking advantage
