Geitawi

Floating right above the exciting and thriving street of Mar Mikhael exists a small and quaint neighborhood in the heart of Achrafieh called Geitawi. It is first and foremost a residential area that houses Lebanese and foreigners. Geitawi is the type of neighborhood that doesnt fall short on anything you need so much so that it contains spaces that will help you satisfy all your basic needs in abundance, everything from florists to supermarkets and vegetable markets to butcher shops. There exists a hodge podge of all these spaces and they are all juxtaposed right next to one another and in such an accessible manner. Everything and everyone is only a momentary's walking distance away. 

Geitawi is heavily nuanced in a cacophonous experience, not in the sense that it is loud with sound, on the contrary it is a very peaceful
neighborhood for residents and visitors alike. It's cacophony resides merely in the fact that it is loud and rich in experiences and a sensorial narrative. In addition to all the spaces that provide residents and visitors with basic needs, it is riddled with spaces of the more alternative experience. An experience that resembles very much what we at ATB want to provide our spectators with. One such space, Nation Station, was once a gas station and currently has its interior 
and exterior architecture maintained to better address the idea of its temporality and liminality.

Nation Station is a station that popped up straight after the August 4, 2020 cataclysm to provide Geitawi with a beautiful community kitchen that smells very much like a Lebanese mother's kitchen it provides its guests with the more traditional Lebanese dishes when it comes to their culinary craft. Anyone is eligible to come and eat or even volunteer. This space is rife with the beauty of comfort food and insightful conversations for the restless. 

Apart from this is other spaces like "Crossing Together" which has also opened up after the explosion as well. To provide people not just with food, but to help adults and children who he need sociological and psychological assistance to cope with the PTSD that comes with being a victim of such a harsh political climate. 

Other communal spaces like the alternative bars and alternative healing centers also exist all in close proximity to one another. You will find people of such versatility in age and in culture in a lot of these bars. These bars hold their own ethos in high regards to how they would like their customers to be treated and also act as spaces that encourage and curate a lot of collaborations between alot of the artists who spend their time there. Said artists include, comedians, musicians, film makers and writers. They encourage this by way of having the bars open from crack of light in the morning in order to curate a healthy workspace throughout