Let’s get lost together in Burj Hamoud … a city that has a lot to be discovered, experienced and enjoyed… A city mapped with small streets and on every street you’ll find a series of small shops… enter each shop and find someone working with their hands to make something original – from handcrafts, to food, jewelry… There’s a history in each… Today we head down to Maraash area and discovered the finest food and finest artisans.

A bit of background on Burj Hammud…  A suburb in North-East Beirut, Lebanon in the Metn district and is part of Greater Beirut. The suburb is heavily populated by Armenians. Bourj Hammoud is an industrious area and is one of the most densely populated districts in the Middle East.

Bourj Hammoud was founded by survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and expanded mostly during the 1930s. In 1952, Bourj Hammoud became an independent municipality and is currently a member of the Metn-North group of municipalities.

Most residential buildings and houses in Bourj Hammoud were built from the 1930s to the 1970s. They are usually from two to four stories high. The housing structure looks Balkan, with wooden balconies hanging over the mostly narrow streets of the suburb. Most commercial activity is done at street level. The city is dynamic and industrious. Most streets in Bourj Hammoud are named after Armenian cities such as Yerevan and rivers such as Arax.

Many streets are named after cities in modern-day Armenia and Armenian cities now in Turkey, such as Marash, Sis, Adana, Aragats, Cilicia, Armenia, Yerevan, etc. Many of these city names remind the inhabitants of historic Armenia in general, and Cilicia in particular, where most Lebanese Armenians hail from.

Source: http://www.nogarlicnoonions.com/lets-get-lost-in-bourj-hammoud-a-city-of-life/