Save Beirut Heritage (also known as Save Beirut's Heritage) is a cultural heritage organization based in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon.Wood, Josh., Beirut's Old Buildings Again Under Threat, The New York Times, January 26, 2011
/ref> The organization was founded in 2010 with the aims to preserve architectural heritage within Beirut, which has come under increased threat of destruction through rampant urbanization. The organization started as a group on Facebook, highlighting and vocalising the dangers facing Beirut's ancient sites and traditional buildings. The group now has over fourteen thousand members and operates a twenty-four-hour

hotline A hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook. An example would be a phone that automat ...

for the city's residents to call if they fear a building may be in danger from demolition or construction activities. The organization has organized several petitions and assisted with public demonstrations to protest and protect historic buildings. Their efforts have resulted in the Ministry of Culture issuing a halt order on their demolition. The organization encourages people in the city to monitor properties for illegal demolition and highlights the different ploys used by developers to try and tear down these buildings. Interviewed by the New York Times, the organization's co-founder and spokesman,

Giorgio Tarraf Giorgio may refer to: * Castel Giorgio, ''comune'' in Umbria, Italy * Giorgio (name), an Italian given name and surname * Giorgio Moroder, or Giorgio, Italian record producer ** ''Giorgio'' (album), an album by Giorgio Moroder * "Giorgio" (song), ...

said ''“These old buildings are not only pretty, they are financially viable, tourists want to come and see our old city, they don’t want to see towers. They can see towers anywhere.”'' He also spoke of a survey conducted by the government in the 1990s that cataloged more than one thousand historic buildings in Beirut. ''“Today we estimate the number of remaining traditional buildings to be less than 300, so you can see how dramatic the demolition is, how fast our old city is being transformed.”'' Speaking to the Associated Press, activist and spokesman

Naji Raji Naji (also transliterated as Nagy in Egyptian Arabic and Naci (Turkish), ar, ناجي, ) is an Arabic male given name, which is derived from the Arabic verb ''to survive''. It is also a surname. Given name * Najee Harris (born March 9, 1998), ...

said: ''“Modernization should not be at the expense of history.”''

References

External links

Interview with Giorgio Guy Tarraf, spokesman for Save Beirut Heritage in Worldenvironment.tv magazine, p 82Article outlining the work of Save Beirut Heritage on Fox NewsArticle featuring Save Beirut Heritage's advocacy for sustainable urban development and renovation in National Geographic
{{Portal, Lebanon, History, Asia 2010 establishments in Lebanon History organisations based in Lebanon Historic preservation organizations History of Beirut Archaeology of Lebanon Organizations established in 2010 Cultural heritage of Lebanon