فندق جبيلي

عاليه

Glory Days

فندق أ لجبيلي ألكبير كان أول فندق فاخر في عاليه.
Built in 1926 by three brothers from a wealthy Beiruti trading family, the hotel was designed by the accomplished Italian architect Bindo Manham, who also designed the plans for the Maghen Avraham Synagogue of Beirut.

Mahmoud Hussein Talhouk, the first mayor of Aley, monitored the construction of the work for the Gebeily brothers, as though it was his own project.

الجلوس على قمة تل ، مع إطلالات رائعة على بيروت والجبال المحيطة بها ، انتشرت سمعة الفندق للرفاهية والاناقة بسرعة ، ليس فقط في لبنان ، ولكن في أوروبا والعالم العربي ، وجذب الأثرياء البيروتيين والشخصيات الاجنبية القطار جعل رحلة إلى عاليه رحلة ممتعة لقضاء العطلات الصيفية.

Diwan Zaman

From the late 1920s, two of the Arab world’s literary giants – Lebanon’s Bechara Abdullah Khoury (The Charming Poet – Al Akhtal al Saghir) (1885-1968) and Egypt’s “Prince of Poets” Ahmed Shawqi (1870-1932) – savoured many summers together in the magnificent Gebeily Hotel, often enjoying a private “diwan” with a close circle of their literary cohorts.

Tears of Love

In 1935-1936, the acclaimed Egyptian actor, singer and composer Mohammed Abdul Wahab (1897-1991) honoured Hotel Gebeily as the location for the filming of scenes in his second movie, Damour el Hob (Tears of Love).

In this movie, which also starred the Egyptian actress, Nagat Ali (1919-1993), the splendour of the majestic Hotel Gebeily came to life on the silver screen … the Hotel was known and admired, from near and afar.

عرض هذا الفيلم عاليه ، في كل نعمة ومجد ، في الشرق وما وراءه.

Australia in Aley

ولكن أيام المجد كانت قصيرة الأمد.لفندق ألجبيلي ألكبير
في الاربعينات ، في بداية الحرب العالمية الثانية ، استولي الجيش البريطاني على الفندق كمقر له ، وإنشا مركزا للقيادة والاتصالات داخل المبنى . وفي وقت لاحق ، عندما غزت القوات المتحالفة-بقيادة القوات الامبراطورة الاستراليه (AIF) إلى جانب القوات البريطانية والفرنسية-سوريا ولبنان ، استخدم الجنرال في AIF الذي قاد الهجوم الفندق كمقر له. وقد لعب هذا الموقع الاستراتيجي دورا محوريا في تاريخ استقلال لبنان.

Elderly residents of Aley remember the Australian army with both fondness and respect.

Unlike the German and Vichy troops, the AIF sought to liberate, not occupy or oppress. They fed the hungry, provided grains for sowing, treated the wounded and employed local workers with generous wages.

In Aley, they are remembered and revered for their “nobility and humanity”.

(Photos below – courtesy Australian War Memorial)

From Gebeily to Ghraizi

Following WW2, the Grand Hotel Gebeily enjoyed a revival, becoming renowned for its scintillating evening entertainment – singers, concerts, ballroom dancing, tea-parties, tennis, gambling … even the garden outside was at one stage enlarged to accommodate a pool with rowing boats.

It was the golden era – Grand Hotel Gebeily was the first venue to host the incomparable Egyptian artist Oum Kalthoum outside of her motherland. Farid al-Atrash and Abdel-Halim Hafez, among many famous names, performed at this illustrious location.

The restaurant served exquisite French cuisine, guests sipped champagne on the terrace, the hotel welcomed royalty and heads of state from around the world.

ومرة أخرى ، كان هذا النجاح قصير الأمد.

Hotel Gebeily was forced to close down following the start of the Lebanese Civil War.

في نهاية المطاف ، وهذا أخذ حصيلة لها وباعت Gebeilys الفندق. وكانت الإصلاحات باهظة التكلفة ، ولم يعد من المربح فتحها باستمرار كما كان الأمر في الماضي ، وأصبحت تكاليف التشغيل باهظة. ويقال ان التهديدات الشخصية التي حصلة من قبل المليشيات أرغمت الاسرة على البيع بنسبة ضئيله من قيمتها.

اشترت عائلة الغريزي في عاليه العقار التاريخي في 1977. ومن الغريب انها قدأجرة الفندق كمدرسة ،ألباقي لا يزال يمكن رؤيته ا ، مع الجدران الملونة المطلية بالزهور.

The Ghraizis, too, however were plagued by financial woes and were unable to make loan repayments. The Grand Hotel Gebeily was then seized by the Central Bank, and left for sale under auction for several years.

The hotel was sold to Nadim Makarem in the summer of 2016. At the time, there were rumours that the Hotel Gebeily would be restored to its former glory and re-opened – that has yet to happen, but Aley is ever hopeful for the renaissance of its famous landmark.

Still Standing

Today, the Grand Gebeily Hotel still stands, strong and proud, if somewhat battered – comprising a ground floor with the remains of a once-spectacular ballroom, and two upper stories for accommodation. A beautiful garden, now over-grown, surrounds the main entrance, with stairs leading up to magnificently carved wooden doors featuring the Hotel’s insignia.

Like so much of Aley’s historic architecture, the Grand Hotel Gebeily’s iconic casino, which was located next to the hotel, was demolished to make way for new residential buildings.

From Decadence to Decay

In some respects, it is remarkable that the Grand Hotel Gebeily still stands, having remained relatively unharmed despite two wars. The hotel was “protected” by the Progressive Socialist Party throughout the civil war years and Syrian occupation, minimizing the damage and looting that many buildings were not so fortunate to escape.
فان موقع الفندق الاستراتيجي قد ساهم في إغلاقه ، وكذلك في الحفاظ عليه.

وراء النوافذ المكسورة والأبواب ألمضررة ، الداخلية من أتيل ألجبيلي ألكبير مدينة عاليه عروسة ألمصايف تحكي قصتها الخاصة.

ان البهو المتداعي الذي كان في السابق هو المدخل إلى كبسوله زمنيه ، والحفاظ على ذكريات أوائل القرن العشرين في لبنان.

Haunting Memento

The bar is still in its place, though it has been a very long time between drinks. Chandeliers still hang with splendour from the high ceilings, above walls of peeling paint and floors covered in broken porcelain.

The ballroom, with its magnificent arched full-length windows, is ethereal, outer-worldly.

The vast ground-floor kitchens provide an indication of the magnitude of the entertainment that was catered for within. The effect is a haunting memento of a not-so-distant past.

Gebeily Today

يقف فندق Gebeily قويًا ومهيبًا ومرنًا ، ولكنه مهجور ، وتتخلل مناظره الواسعة الآن فوضى من الخرسانة اللونية ... صمته وسكونه يكسر أحيانًا بواسطة طاقم تلفزيوني يصور حلقات لأحدث مسلسلاته ...