20.11.09

The New Beirut

Downtown there are all of these handy information signs, with maps. Nice. I like maps. Behind the sign, another sign. It's a wall & sign in one--the wall surrounds a construction site and advertises the development company, Greenline, at work behind the wall.

Nobody who is actually from Beirut uses maps. Street addresses exist but aren't remotely helpful. I'm having a couch delivered tomorrow, and the way they'll know where to bring it is by landmarks within 10 meters of my building. When you show locals a map of the city, they'll usually stare at it in amazement for a while. Of course, they know more about the city and how to navigate it than a map could ever teach, but I never get tired of the look on their faces as their eyes race over the map's spider web.

So anyway, there's no question that the maps downtown are for people like me, people who need maps. They're a part of a new Beirut, a town where Greenline is a real estate firm and all the streets have names.

2 comments:

  1. how can you possibly live without the use of maps? i would feel completely confused all the time. the ability to mapquest something or program an address into gps is the only reason i go anywhere.

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  2. How can you live without maps? Easy.

    1. If you're trying to go somewhere you've never been before, go with someone who already knows the way

    2. Hire a taxi. They know where everything is.

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