A pile of stones and broken glass on white marble, blown facades, a collapsed balcony. The district of Gemmayzé, which was once the charm of Beirut with its buildings with traditional architecture, is no more than a field of shaky ruins.
• Read also: Lebanon seeks new government, indifferent and angry street
• Read also: Beirut marks the minute it fell into hell a week ago
Ten days ago, young people came to frequent the bars of the gentrified districts of Gemmayzé and Mar Mikhaël, where mechanical workshops survived alongside art and fashion boutiques. Today, the cobbled streets disappear under the rubble and many buildings threaten to collapse.
Sneaking through the ruins, an AFP drone filmed the interiors destroyed by the cataclysmic explosion at the port of Beirut, illustrating the extent of the devastation in these homes where time was suspended on August 4.
In a once elegant living room, the sofa is propped upright against a wall. The marble on the floor is strewn with large blocks of exploded stone. The remains of a chandelier hang from a high ceiling.
The fine columns of the triple arches, typical of Beirut architecture, have been blown away. Part of the balcony has collapsed and the wrought-iron railing is practically suspended in the air.
In a narrow alley, a rickety basketball hoop stands on its pole, near a garden table.
A few streets further, the terrace of an ocher stone building is invaded by pieces of jagged wood. The clotheslines are still hanging. In the living room, the picture frames on the wall have survived as bags of rubble pile up on the floor near a vintage armchair.
In a room at the back, between two gaping openings where windows once opened, an old black and white family photo, three children from the past century sitting together.
