![Sioufi_Garden_Achrafieh_District_02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Sioufi_Garden_Achrafieh_District_02.jpg)
The Sioufi Garden (in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
حديقة السيوفي) is a public garden in the
Achrafieh
Achrafieh ( ar, الأشرفية) is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter ...
District of
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 ...
in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. The garden overlooks
Avenue President Émile Lahoud, the
Beirut River
Beirut River ( ar, نهر بيروت, ''Nahr Bayrūt'') is a river in Lebanon. The river runs east to west, then curves north, separating the city of Beirut from its eastern suburbs, primarily Bourj Hammoud and Sin el Fil. According to popular le ...
, and the summits of
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at .
Geography
The Mount Le ...
. The area of the garden is 20,000 square meters.
History
The garden took its name from its location in the Sioufi quarter, which is situated on the eastern edge of the
Achrafieh
Achrafieh ( ar, الأشرفية) is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter ...
hill. The quarter took its name from the Sioufi furniture factories that were built in the area in 1910; as service for the public, the owners of the factories maintained a garden open to the public.
Public Art
In 1997 Ashkal Alwan - The Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts, in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, collaborated with ten artists in order to permanently install their works in Sioufi Garden. The permanent installation's goal was to nurture and educate the public on the cultural significance of art and public spaces as well as allowing the future generation access to creative work.
[https://ashkalalwan.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Sioufi002low.jpg ] This access allowed the public and nature to alter the artworks to best suit their needs such as Charles Khoury's The Guard has had his wings lowered for children to climb on. This is one of the many possibilities of interaction with the artwork for future and past generations with a list below :
* Marwan Rechmaoui's
sphere
A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
depends on the height of your knees. If it is twice the height of your knees, it is a perfect hiding spot in a game of
Hide and Seek
Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a popular children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chose ...
, if it is three times the height of knees, you have a chance of becoming
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
as you can position yourself in a similar manner as depicted in Classical art. If you have outgrown this period, which is usually associated with the introduction of democracy, it can serve as a surface to sit on top of unless it is too hot. In this manner you have a vantage point of all your surroundings except what is under your knees.
* Carma Naim Barakat's cement sculpture consists of five
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
-like figures in a formation similar to the
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
. The smooth surfaces are usually used by park visitors to sit on as this sculpture does not only provide a seating position but also provides a table top surface, that park benches lack in Souifi Garden. The initial intention of the artist for the table top surfaces is to embody the abstracted form of human
head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
s.
* Similarly Hommage à Saint-Exupéry, intended to allow adults to meditate and children to be inspired, retains its function by the visitors repurposing its visual metaphor into
chaises longue to have a resting place to do such activities.
* According to the artist Houssam Hatoum,
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
represents the
Creator of the Universe
A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatris ...
,
days
A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two solar ...
of the
Universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
that have past and the days that are left. It has also served as an inspiration for the Souifi Heights right behind it and now represents that as well. While the park was maintained, it was in a plot of grass with no immediate trees alongside it. It formed the only shaded spot in this grass field and was used by couples as its width was perfect to serve as two back rests. Currently it is slightly obscured between multiple trees and generally unused so Brahma has resorted to its initial form of a sculpture.
* Imad Issa's Bird Lying on the Floor cannot be found in the park.
* Najoua Nahas' Agora consisting of four concrete structure if different sizes and shapes to allow a playful shadow display has been augmented by birds lying in its crevasses. The waves structures allow a perfect place for birds to land adding numerous
kinetic
Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to:
* Kinetic theory of gases, Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion
* Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to i ...
shadows.
* The Guard has turned into the Lady Bird and the Lady Bird has turned into the Guard through interventions of park visitors. The Guard was supposed to protect the green plot of land as a
scarecrow
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...
does according to the artist, however children were never scared of it and climbed on top of the Guard all day to the point that the green plot was turned into a play ground. The Lady Bird's a sculpture that also functioned as a rotating platform for children does not rotate anymore but instead rests and protects the plot of land underneath it.
* The Three Gates in reference to the garden's three gates,
the union of the body, mind, and spirit, and all of the
holy trinities according to the artist has been submerged by soil and paved by incidents of tripping, falling, and injuries caused while traversing the journey through the Three Gates. It now has a footpath that hides less than a quarter of the sculpture to facilitate the experience of guest visitors.
Image gallery
File:Sioufi Garden Achrafieh District 01.jpg, The Sioufi Garden
File:Sioufi Garden Achrafieh District 03.jpg, View of Beirut from the heights of the garden of Sioufi
File:Sioufi Garden Achrafieh District 04.jpg
References
{{coord missing, Lebanon
Parks in Lebanon
Gardens in Lebanon
Urban public parks
Parks and gardens in Beirut