Report by Nazira Fransis
Translated by Aline Aoun
Baabda lived its golden age in the era of the Ottoman Empire. It witnessed prosperity and substantial growth, especially when it was the center of the government and the capital of the mountain. It achieved construction growth and remained the capital of the mountain for fifty-four years, until the birth of the State of Greater Lebanon.
Baabda became the center of Mount Lebanon province and remains to date. It is the bride of the judiciary and the combination of history and civilization, frequented by citizens, expatriates and foreigners from all areas on daily basis and periodically. Baabda is the center of a significant number of official departments and other departments, educational space, real estate authorities, the Palace of Justice, the Bar Association, Red Cross, Civil Defense and many others.
Location of Baabda:
The town of Baabda is located in the province of South Lebanon - Baabda, an area of 2.5 km and with a population of fifty thousand citizens distributed between residents and expatriates. It is surrounded by the towns of Hazmieh, Jamhour, Beitchy, Hadath, Shiyah, Furn el Chubak.
Baabda has an average climate in summer and is cold in winter. It rises between 150 to 250 meters above sea level.
Baabda historical landmarks
The town gathers old and valuable remains like the castle which is located east of the presidential palace, known as Abu Rashid castle, the Monastery of Saint Anthony which is the oldest monastery in the region, built in 1745 and a fountain with four semi canals, Baabda government and the tomb of Prince Melhem Shihabi, a forest ditch monks full of pine and oak trees.
Baabda Palace is the official residence of the president of Lebanon. It is situated on a hill in the mountain town of Baabda overlooking Beirut. It is surrounded by the Ministry of Defence and various military posts.
It started hosting the weekly ministerial meetings every other week after the usual venue of the ministerial meetings was abandoned due to security reasons in mid-2005. Now, the ministerial meetings are held in alternating order at Baabda Palace.
Baabda Government Serail
Baabda Serail is today the most important official building in Lebanon. It gathers a number of state departments. On the ground floor there is the gendarmerie base and the Office of the Judicial Police. The offices of Mount Lebanon, the Office of the Leader of Mount Lebanon, the Department of Health, the Public Security and the Office of the "National News Agency" are also located there.
Economic facilities
This town establishes a center for industrial institutions, agricultural, banking, commercial, and engineering:
Industry: National wool and aluminum fluoride plant iron.
Commercial Banks: BLC, SGBL, BLOM, ABN - AMRO, Bank Audi - Audi Saradar Group and Byblos Bank.
The most important commercial centers: Fauburg San Jean, Cap Centre and Baabda Plaza.
The most important restaurants: Restaurant Al-Amine, Diwan el Cheir restaurant.
Associations and clubs
The town embraces sports clubs, cultural, social, charitable, and religious clubs.
Charities: Baabda Youth Foundation Association.
Religious associations: Heart of Jesus Association.
Schools
Baabda embraces lots of private and official schools, like Saggesse School, Evangelical School, Melkart and Jamhour Schools.
The town also has government and private hospitals, among them Baabda Government Hospital, Heart of Jesus Hospital and private clinics and St. Charles Hospital and clinics.
Embassies
There are 12 foreign embassies which provide visas to their respective countries by Ambassadors, Chargé d'affaires and embassy staff, who work with the administrative staff of the Lebanese in order to facilitate the tasks of citizens.
The embassies in Baabda are: Brazil, Gabon, Indonesia, Jordan, Poland, Romania, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic, South Korea, Italy, Iraq, Poland, in addition to the home of the Japanese Ambassador to Lebanon.
Homes
Villas and buildings are found in Baabda amid pine and oaks trees that are still covering a large portion of its forests. Numbers of presidents have luxury villas, like Elias Hrawi and Emile Lahoud, also the residence of former Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra, in addition to the House of MPs: Nayla Mouawad, Robert Ghanem and Henry Helou.
Social, cultural and environmental projects
The projects intended to be implemented are: The establishment of a public library, development of parks, the renovation of sidewalks from the roundabout to the Brazilian Embassy, continue to support and encourage clubs and providing a permanent centre for civil defense.
Projects under study
The municipal council is preparing to implement projects under study, including: rehabilitation of infrastructure, creating galleries for libraries and meeting rooms, as well as the rehabilitation of the municipal building.
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