Karantina

La Quarantaine, which is colloquially referred to as Karantina (Arabic: الكرنتينا) and sometimes spelled Quarantina, is a predominantly low-income, mixed-use residential, commercial, and semi-industrial neighborhood in northeastern Beirut. The neighborhood lies east of the Port of Beirut, which also encircles it from the north, west of the Beirut River and north of the Charles Helou highway and the Achrafieh district of Beirut.

The neighborhood gets its name from the French term, La Quarantaine, because it was the location where a lazaretto for travellers was built at the request of Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Governor of Egypt, who controlled Syria and Beirut in 1831.[1][2] The lazaretto was to be managed by a committee made up of the Austrian, Danish, French, Greek, and Spanish consuls.[2] In 1951, 1,300 Palestinian refugees were settled in the area.[3] By the mid seventies, the neighborhood had become a favela of 27,000 people[4] In January 1976 the population was killed or expelled during the Karantina massacre by the right-wing Lebanese Forces, leaving around 1,500 people dead. [5]

Industries in La Quarantaine used to be centered on the production of glass, furniture, tile and bricks, leather products, but many of these industries were replaced with the production of metal-based, cereal silos, tanneries and artisanal industries.[6]

The area is one of the most polluted parts of the city due to its vicinity to the port as well as the presence of the city slaughterhouse (which is now closed) and Sukleen's waste disposal and treatment center.[7]

The southern part of the neighborhood adjacent to the highway is home to various commercial establishments, such as the Forum de Beyrouth, the multipurpose events center that hosted Beirut Rock Festival in 2009. B 018, the renowned nightclub is also located in the area.

An increasing number of art galleries have opened or relocated to the neighborhood such as Joy Mardini's Art Factum Gallery, located in a former steel factory, which opened in 2011.[8]

Environmental issues

See Sea dumping in Karantina.

In Fiction

As I ride to B 018, a stench more putrid than death permeates the night. It tickles my urge for a steak, causes my appetite to ache. B 018 is an industrial dance club tucked in a deserted district called The Quarantine.

References

  1. ↑ "Beirut, renovated Grand Serail, Ottoman Empire, end First World War, monument, Rafic Hariri". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 Nassar, Salwa C. Beirut, Crossroads of Cultures, page 79
  3. ↑ Sfeir, Jihane. L'exil palestinien au Liban: le temps des origines (1947–1952), page 252
  4. ↑ Newsweek: Volume 87, Part 1, 1976, page 124
  5. ↑ Harris (p. 162) notes "the massacre of 1,500 Palestinians, Shi'is, and others in Karantina and Maslakh, and the revenge killings of hundreds of Christians in Damur"
  6. ↑ Ruppert, Helmut. Beyrouth, une ville d'orient marqu6e par I'occident, 1999
  7. ↑ Chahine, Jessy. "Beirut River retains 'honor' of being among most polluted." The Daily Star. Tuesday 2 November 2004.
  8. ↑ "New space Art Factum adds to Karantina's vibrant gallery scene". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 30 June 2015.

Coordinates: 33°54′N 35°32′E / 33.900°N 35.533°E / 33.900; 35.533

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