At the Arab World Institute, an exhibition on Byblos, Lebanon's millennia-old city, loses key artwork due to war

Tania Zaven, director of the Byblos archaeological site and scientific curator of the exhibition 'Byblos, cité millénaire du Liban' ('Byblos, Millennia-old City of Lebanon'), currently being installed at the Institut du monde arabe (IMA), in Paris, on March 13, 2026. ADRIENNE SURPRENANT/MYOP FOR « LE MONDE »

When Tania Zaven, the outspoken director of the Byblos exhibit, speaks about her country – Lebanon, caught in the war between Hezbollah and Israel – her eyes fill with tears and her voice tightens. "Lebanon does not deserve what is happening to it. They are trying to uproot us, to destroy our cultural and natural heritage. We are afraid of becoming like Gaza. The silence surrounding Lebanon is brutal, deafening."

Subscribers only

Cultural heritage is under threat from the Middle East war

In front of us, the jars, amulets, animal-decorated axes, and gold ornaments displayed in the exhibition "Byblos, cité millénaire du Liban" ("Byblos, Millennia-old City of Lebanon"), which opens Tuesday, March 24, at the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris, cease to be mere relics. They speak of both past and present, carrying the message of a small country's immense role in history, bowing under bombs but stubbornly holding on to its memory and identity. "For us, this exhibition is a form of cultural resistance," said Zaven.