This series looks at the area where I used to live in Beirut; Hamra (or, strictly speaking, Hamra, Ras Beirut and Ain al Mreisseh). In the 50s and 60s, Hamra was the cultural capital of the city; where Beirutis went to the cinema, to the coffeeshops and restaurants that lined Hamra Street. Today, some of that edge has moved on to other neighbourhoods like Mar Mikhael or Badaro, but Hamra keeps it old-world charm. On two separate commissions, Monocle asked me to shoot a photo essay about the neighbourhood (once in 2016, once in 2018), and I’ve compiled them both here.
