The decade of the 1960s is known by historians as “one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history.” It was the decade of collective “awakening” against wars, racism, and human rights violations. It was also when humankind took its first steps on the moon.
In Lebanon, which was just out of its 1958 war against itself, things were relatively calm with some ups and downs politically and some tumults due to, again, external issues.
Otherwise, the country was blooming into an era that brought it to be dubbed as “the playground of the world jet-setters” and “Paris of the Middle-East.”
Here are some shots of what Lebanon looked like during the 1960s’ decade.
Beirut in the 1960s
Tripoli 1961
Coffee places were a thing of that time, but only for men. These places were always packed to full capacity. Somehow, men of the middle and upper class had all the time in their hands… (sorry, grand-pa!)
Casino du Liban and Maalmetein Bridge, 1961
Adma didn’t exist back then and until half way through the civil war with Lebanese families, displaced from the north, started building it.
Vacationers at The Citadel of Byblos, 1961
Bedouin dancer in Bekaa, in the early 1960s
Baalbeck, 1962
Feminine Elegance in Lebanon, 1962
Baalbek 1962
Al-Raouche, Beirut, in the 1963
Other shots of Al-Raouche in the early 1960s
Sehat El-Bourj (Martyrs’ Square), Beirut, 1963
British Ballerina Margot Fonteyn visiting Baalbek in 1964
Souks El-Frenj, Beirut 1964
At a Byblos’ beach, 1965
King Saud Ben Abdel-Aziz of Saudi Arabia in Baalbeck during his visit to Lebanon in 1966
At Hotel Excelsior in Beirut, 1967
Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut, 1968
Outside the American Community School (ACS) in Rass Beirut, 1968
A tourist with her pets in Ain El-Mreisseh, Beirut, 1969
Somewhere in Zahle, 1969
An old photographer at Al-Manara in Beirut, 1969
Beirut, 1969
Someone is about to learn not to mess with a Lebanese girl!
Riyadh El-Solh, Beirut, 1969
At Beirut International Airport, 1969
Beirut Souks, 1969
At the Saint George Hotel, 1969
Egyptian stars Abdel-Halim Hafez and Nadia Lutfi while shooting a film in Baalbek, 1969
Take also a look at what Lebanon looked like in the 1950s and the 1930s-1940s, or even further back in time at the very start of the 20th century!
