Mini guide to el mina – tripoli

Historical overview

During the mid-20th century, a recently-independent Lebanon was gaining popularity as an international and regional destination and Beirut became known as “the center of the Middle-East”. The Presidency of Fouad Chehab (1958-1964) ushered in a new era of modernization and social liberalization in Lebanon, relying, unlike his predecessors, on a strong central state. Chehab’s main goal was to curb growing inequality between the wealthy merchant cosmopolis of Beirut and the poor underdeveloped rural areas. The concept of, what came to be known as, the Rachid Karami International Fair (RKIF) was tied to Chehab’s embrace of social welfare, and intended to make Tripoli a cultural and economic locus outside of Beirut. It also evidenced a politics of optimism, which assumed a better future for Lebanon. Designed by renowned Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, the RKIF was loosely inspired by his earlier design for Brazil’s futuristic new capital, Brasilia. The fairground was built to house a planned permanent international fair, capable of accommodating up to 2 million visitors a year, including, among others, a grand exhibition hall, a national pavilion, and an outdoor concert stage. Construction began early 1964, and was executed by the local companies Abouhamad, ACE and Dar Al-Handasa.

However, the RKIF remained unfinished 10 years later. This was due to successive interruptions in its construction as funds needed to be secured to enable each new phase of work. Then, in the spring of 1975, when the fairground was on the verge of being finalized, violence erupted: the Civil War and, later, foreign military control, left the fairground incomplete and abandoned for years. At the turn of the 21st century, the RKIF’s cultural and historical significance finally gained worldwide recognition. In 2018, thanks to rousing local efforts to protect and revitalize the complex, the RKIF was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage tentative list. The development of a conservation plan has since been initiated. While the finalization of the Conservation Plan and the complex’s full inscription on the official World Heritage List are underway, the fairground needs immediate maintenance and some structural repairs to preserve its integrity. It is our hope that the Lebanese State will give due attention to this gem of modern heritage by securing the necessary funds to enable the preservation, and eventual rehabilitation, of the RKIF.

UNESCO