Fadi BouKaram is a Lebanese photographer who one day decided to take a five-month road trip across the U.S.
He’s discovering and photographing all the “Lebanon’s” in America.
@ran_yangAccording to BouKaram, there are 43 “Lebanons” (cities and town) still standing today. The number was formerly 50 but sometimes names of cities change in the US, or they lose their population. For example, there are two Lebanons in Texas that are now ghost towns.
On this map customized by the photographer, the circles represent the Lebanons.
The stars represent 7 of these towns which their mayors were invited by president Camille Chamoun to visit the real Lebanon in March 1955.
These mayors spent two weeks in Beirut, touring the country. Upon departure, they were each given a cedar sapling (a true Cedar of Lebanon, i.e. Cedrus Libani) that they took to their towns and supposedly planted there.
Fadi went on a hunt to find out if these trees still exist today.
@cedruskThe original photographer’s plan was to get a used RV/caravan from San Francisco and start driving. He planned on living in the vehicle to save on hotel costs, then return to San Francisco before returning to Beirut. His trip started in Seattle.
The pictures are taken through BouKaram’s lens in towns and cities called Lebanon in the following states: Maine, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Kentucky, Nebraska..
Fadi BouKaram just wrapped his second U.S. road trip to towns called Lebanon. You can follow his journey on his Instagram account or on his personal blog.
