INTRO

The manner in which Lebanon inhabits my thoughts and consciousness, and undoubtedly my subconscious on some levels, is in a categorised form of several stages: before the war (life), during the war (death & destruction/loss), absence (yearning/disconnection), return (hope & reconstruction), visits (disappointment/re-disconnection)

Perhaps I am projecting my war experience of three and a half years at the impressionable age of 10, as well as my love and hate relationship with Lebanon in general, onto a decaying and neglected building. Perhaps it's a metaphor for where I see the Lebanese soul heading or maybe the world in general. The war was one of my early childhood experiences that awakened me to the ugliness of humanity, where religion and sectarianism were used as an excuse to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on fellow human beings. It's the embodiment, in bricks and mortar of a decaying society, and yet there is still beauty amidst the ruin, in the ordinary and mundane objects, like the teapot, a stove, a random shoe, beautiful tiles. Do we still try to look for beauty amidst destruction, as in the delicate flowery wallpaper that is still visible, grasping at straws, at familiarity in order to keep functioning? Starved yet still searching and picking at the bones of a stripped carcass in the vain hope that it has the remote possibility of sustaining us.

SYNOPSIS

The book will depict the abandoned and crumbling mansion in Beirut and the lives connected to it and interwoven into its fabric for over a century. A mixture of old photos of the rich and famous with the house at its opulent best, contrasted with the building’s current state. Accompanying essays will unravel the intriguing stories knitted into its bricks and mortar, including political intrigue, births, deaths, marriages, tragedies, wars, murders and determination.

The mansion was once occupied by Takieddine el Solh, the former Lebanese Prime Minister (1973-74 & briefly in 1980) and his wife Fadwa al Barazi. It is situated in the Kantari district of Beirut, very close to the downtown area where the street battles fully igniting the civil war, which began in April 1975 and ended in 1990. Many of the residents fled their homes at the beginning of the war, never to inhabit them again.

I've been working on this project for over two years, researching the various families and stories, with a lot of help from family and friends. I'm passionate about telling this story and would hugely appreciate any help in bringing this project to fruition

You can find me on:

https://www.instagram.com/beirutmansion/

https://www.instagram.com/nayla2427/

https://www.instagram.com/naylasolh/

https://www.facebook.com/nayla.elsolh/

http://el-solh.com/

http://www.modcaproductions.com/