Beirut’s Minerals

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Salim Eddé, an engineer and graduate of the École Polytechnique, began in 1997 to put together a mineral collection like no other. Eddé’s story of success could be classified as one of the “Steve Jobs moments”, an idea hatched in a garage with personal funding of around $8,000 by Eddé and a college friend. Elias Eddé, Salim’s younger brother who was still in college, worked alongside the pair. Murex was born, and it is now one of the most successful software companies in the world and still very much a family business.

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The White Bowl of loveliness

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What if you were to indulge, just completely let go, and sink into a fresh bowl of Labneh? Become drenched in that sour creamy texture encapsulating everything that is great about our food. Taste it. Savor it. So rich, your tongue becomes thick with it. Frothy and smooth with a hint of saltiness, it’s a dish saturated with pure bliss, overflowing at the brim with zesty green olive oil.

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The Coffee-Infused Book Therapy

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Before becoming the new hot spot, the neighborhood, which almost sits on the outskirts of the city, was known for its craftsmanship, repair and spare parts shops. During the day, one can still see this very industrial side and stumble upon an old traditional metal shop in some back alley, among beautiful old houses which sadly are becoming run-down, to be slowly replaced by towers.

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A Love Story on Nahr Ibrahim

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It is said that Adonis was born of the illicit union between King Theias of Smyrna and his daughter Myrrha at Byblos. Urged on by Aphrodite herself, the goddess of beauty, love and sexual desire, who had been offended when King Theias forgot to make a sacrifice for her, Myrrha had made unsuccessful amorous advances towards her father. One night, she managed to lure him out into the open and there under cover of darkness she laid with him. As dawn broke, Theias discovered to his utter disgust the deception of his daughter and with sword in hand chased her into the wild, wanting to punish her.

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150 Years of Education

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Beirut’s cultural importance is embodied in its five major universities, which attract students from all over the Arab world and beyond. Lebanon is home to the oldest private university in the Near East region, which is located on the most beautiful coastal area at the tip of the city of Beirut. The campus covers 65 acres of gardens, 19th century buildings and wooded areas. It has a rich collection of flowers, shrubs and trees, an archeological museum, and a private beach for students and staff, making it the most beautiful campus in the region.

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The Treasure behind a Stitch

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Soul searching for one’s identity and heritage comes in different ways. Clothing expresses aspects of identity in all societies. In Palestine before the middle of the twentieth century, women in each local region created garments with distinctive types of embroidery and decoration that immediately established the wearer’s origin. To those who knew the regional variations in style, patterns, and colors of embroidery, a quick look at a dress was enough to determine the wearer’s region and even village.

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