On the intersection of Independence Street and Damascus Street sits Beit Beirut, a museum stoically standing, part preserved by its original architecture and part shaped by the restoration work needed after Lebanon’s 1975–1990 civil war.
Originally a residential building known as the Barakat building, or the Yellow House, it later became a strategic location for snipers overlooking the crossroads on what was then the Green Line during the conflict.
The building, once a witness to war, is now a museum space where people share stories and others come to experience them.
Now, Beit Beirut is hosting Hkeeli Ya Jnoub, a collaborative exhibition of artists from southern Lebanon. Originally, the initiative was started as simply, “Hkeeli”, meaning “tell me” in April 2025 to commemorate the civil war - an invitation to conversations in memory.
However, amid Israel’s devastating bombardment and widespread destruction across southern Lebanon, the initiative has focused on the south and its storytellers.
