During Lebanon’s civil war, bombs and rockets wiped out a substantial portion of the country’s architectural heritage. The war ended and the shooting has stopped, but the destruction of historic buildings has not. Every day, demolition teams tear down old houses and bulldoze hundred-year-old gardens. Tall concrete towers replace the houses, overshadowing the few historical neighborhoods Beirut has left. Heritage activists are trying their best to preserve the few old ‘Lebanese houses’ still standing in Beirut. But their efforts are largely in vain, as there is no law to protect old homes and preservation is low on the list of priorities for the country’s politicians. “We have failed,” says Fadlallah Dagher, an architect and a member of the Association for Protecting Natural Sites and Old Buildings in Lebanon (APSAD). Too few on the list Activists have lobbied the government to enact a heritage law, but so far they have
