Garden of Forgiveness

The Garden of Forgiveness (also known as Hadiqat As-Samah in Arabic) is a garden in Beirut, close to Martyrs’ Square and the wartime Green Line (1975-1990).

History
Roman Columns at the Garden of Forgiveness.

The area was classified as non aedificandi (Latin for "not to be built") in the Master Plan of the Beirut City Center.

British-Lebanese citizen Alexandra Asseily first came up with the idea for the garden in 1998 as a response to the Lebanese Civil War.[1] In 1998, the winning design of Gustafson Porter was chosen for its construction. The design incorporated various elements of Lebanon's historical legacy and diverse natural scenery, highlighting the idea of national solidarity.

Excavations on the site revealed the two main streets of the Roman city of Berytus, the Cardo and Decumanus Maximus, and, underneath them, a sacred platform dating from Phoenico-Persian times.

Solidere, a Beirut-based redevelopment company, initiated construction on the site in 2003.[2]

In 2006, the construction of the garden was placed on hold due to the 2006 Lebanon War.[3] It remains on hold as of 2019.[4]

See also

References
  1. Kollock, Paige (11 April 2013). "Lebanon's 'Garden of Forgiveness' Aims to Nurture Peace". VOA. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. Dorrell, Ed (2006-08-18). "Lebanon conflict destroys Garden of Forgiveness plans". The Architects’ Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  3. "Beirut's Forgiveness Garden on wartime hold". East Bay Times. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. Battah, Habib (2019-05-28). "Race Against Time: How luxury developers are wiping out ancient Beirut". Beirut Report. Retrieved 2023-01-27.

Further reading
  • Curvers, Hans H. and Stuart, Barbara (2007) “The BCD Archaeology Project, 2000-2006”, Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 9: 189-221.
  • Hadiqat as-Samah (2000) Brochure Solidere, Beirut.
  • Saghieh-Beydoun, Muntaha, ‘Allam, Mahmoud, ‘Ala’Eddine, Abdallah and Abulhosn, Sana (1998-9) “The Monumental Street ‘Cardo Maximus’ and the Replanning of Roman Berytus”, Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 3:95-126.

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