#oldbeirut,

Time Machine

The photograph within the photograph is courtesy of oldbeirut.tumblr.com. It is of the Bourj Hammoud (suburb of Beirut) bridge in 1942. In the image, you can see a flowing river, lush farmland, and a public tram running across the bridge. My photograph is taken from the Bourj Hammoud bridge. After the civil war, all public transportation ceased, farmlands have been replaced by freeways, and the river has dwindled into a stream that is more full of trash than water.

Taking this picture was a very interesting experience. I walked up and down the street trying to find a location that would let me take the exact same picture as the one found from oldbeirut.tumblr.com. Unfortunately because the freeway now exists, there was no way I would be able to get that perspective unless I was in a low-flying helicopter. I started snooping around the gas station that was near the freeway. The gas attendants were all curious about what I was doing. With my broken arabic (badee soura -- i want a picture), I explained to them that I was trying to recreate this very old picture. No one would believe that the photograph was of Bourj Hammoud.

I finally resigned to the fact I wouldn't be able to get the same perspective and finally walked onto the bridge and took the photo you see here. While I was taking the picture, many people walking across the bridge stopped to watch what I was doing and look at the old photograph.