Funded with an $18 million grant from Lebanese and French authorities, Beit Beirut was envisioned by its architects as the first memorial of its kind: a museum, archive and visitor center to commemorate the country’s civil war. Stretching from 1975 to 1990, Lebanon’s civil war pitted sectarian militias against each other as outside powers fueled the violence. Once the heart of the city, downtown Beirut was largely leveled during the war, and the multibillion-dollar renovation is sterile by comparison and empties out when night falls. A Lebanese man walks in front of the yellow house in Beirut. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/For The Washington Post)Only in Beit Beirut have the traces of destruction been intentionally preserved.

Source: Washington Post January 14, 2018 12:56 UTC