This is Beirut - History

Eiffel Tower Pays Tribute to Forgotten Women of Science

This is Beirut, 06/09 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Women History Eiffel Monument Paris Culture

Gustave Eiffel, who designed France's world-famous monument, had the names of 72 scholars inscribed on the base of the tower in golden letters. All of them men. More than 130 years later, Paris authorities are seeking to right a historic wrong by adding the names of 72 illustrious women. "The aim is to highlight the historical contribution of ...

The Nanjing Massacre Through Film: 'Dead to Rights' and China’s Lingering Trauma

This is Beirut, 30/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Film China Japan Massacre History Culture

The film Dead to Rights, which recounts the Nanjing Massacre of 1937-38, takes viewers through the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in China. Released just before the 80th anniversary of China's victory over Japan, the film has become a powerful focal point of national remembrance, attracting large crowds to its filming set, now a tourist ...

France Returns Colonial-Era Human Remains to Madagascar

This is Beirut, 26/08 16:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Museum History Diplomacy France Madagascar Culture

France on Tuesday returned three colonial-era skulls to Madagascar, including one believed to be a Malagasy king beheaded by French troops during a 19th-century massacre. The skull presumed to be that of King Toera and two others from the Sakalava ethnic group were handed over at a ceremony at the French culture ministry. French troops beheaded ...

Historic Swedish Church Being Moved as Giant Mine Casts Growing Shadow

This is Beirut, 15/08 18:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Church Preservation Mining Sweden History Culture

A historic red wooden church considered one of Sweden's most beautiful buildings is to be moved from its longtime home in the Arctic town of Kiruna next week as part of a campaign to expand Europe's biggest underground mine. Kiruna Kyrka, a Swedish Lutheran church, dates from 1912. The 672 tonne, 40 metre (131 feet) high building will be moved ...

Heritage and Cool Comfort: Paris’ Underground Catacombs Treasure

This is Beirut, 13/08 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Paris Catacombs Heritage History Heat Wave Culture

The moment visitors step inside the Paris Catacombs, the hundred or so people who had been waiting outside in the shade of the trees put away their caps, sunglasses, and hand fans, swapping them for sweaters and jackets in hopes of escaping the oppressive summer heat. Those dressed too lightly wrap their arms around themselves for warmth. Beatriz ...

China’s Gen Z Women Embrace Centuries-Old Script

This is Beirut, 11/08 14:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Women China History Culture

At a studio in central China's Hunan province, a teacher grips an ink brush, gently writing characters of a secret script created by women centuries ago and now being embraced by a new generation. Nushu, meaning "women's script", emerged around 400 years ago. Barred from attending school, the women secretly learned Chinese ...

Fire Swiftly Contained at Cordoba’s Historic Mosque-Cathedral

This is Beirut, 09/08 12:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

UNESCO Architecture Culture Art History Heritage

A fire broke out in the historic mosque-turned-cathedral in Cordoba on Friday, but the monument was saved as firefighters quickly contained and then extinguished it, the Spanish city's mayor said. Widely shared videos had shown flames and smoke billowing from inside the major tourist attraction, visited by two million people per year. "The ...

Saint-Gilles of Tripoli

Amine Jules Iskandar, 09/08 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Tripoli History Heritage Culture

Christian rule over Tripoli came to an end with the death of Byzantine emperor Nicephorus II Phocas in 969. Some 130 years later, the Crusaders reached the city gates and found a fortified settlement where the Arabs had firmly consolidated their presence. Despite reinforcements from the Christian mountain regions, it took them a full decade to ...

Giotto, Padua, Jerusalem: The First Kiss in Art History

Bélinda Ibrahim, 05/08 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Giotto Jerusalem Padua Kiss Art History

Within the sacred dimness of the Scrovegni Chapel, this scene immediately draws the eye with its unexpected tenderness. Two faces nearly touch, two foreheads gently meet and two lips reach for each other. This is neither Romeo and Juliet nor Tristan and Isolde, but Joachim and Anne, the biblical couple and parents of Mary, the future mother of ...

Ancient Clues in Gabon’s Forests

Rayan Chami, 05/08 14:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Gabon History Archaeology

In Gabon’s forests, archaeologists have uncovered tools, pottery, and traces of early life that reveal how prehistoric humans lived and adapted.

Archaeological Surprise: 1,000-Year-Old Mummy Discovered in Peru’s Capital

This is Beirut, 02/08 11:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Archaeology Discovery Mummy History Peru Culture

A crew of workers accidentally discovered a mummy more than 1,000 years old while installing gas pipes in Peru's capital Lima, their employer and archaeologists said Thursday. The mummy was found last week in a tomb underneath a street north of Lima, said archaeologist Jesus Bahamonde. The mummy was covered in a shroud in a seated position, arms ...

Ancient statue returns to Turkey 65 years later

This is Beirut, 20/07 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey Culture Art Roman History Statue

Turkey has repatriated an ancient statue believed to depict Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius from the United States as part of efforts to recover antiquities illegally removed from the country, the government announced on Saturday. The bronze statue, smuggled from the ancient city of Boubon—now the province of Burdur in southwest Turkey—in the ...

History