|
The Pine Residence ((アラビア語:قصر الصنوبر ), Qasr es-Sanawbar ; literally "the palace of the Pines") is the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. The palace holds a particular historical importance since General Henri Gouraud declared the creation of the state of Greater Lebanon on September 1, 1920 from its porch. ==Background== The 19th century witnessed a considerable rise in seafaring traffic with the introduction of steamships and completion of the Suez Canal in 1869. Goods shipping weights rose from 40 to 1700 tons between 1800 and 1914, and the first steamship arrived in Beirut in 1836. The Port of Beirut was developed by a French company to better handle the increasing amount of transported goods, and Beirut became a highly prominent port city in the Ottoman Empire after centuries of being reduced to a trifling walled town. The brief Egyptian rule from 1832 to 1840 was responsible for important urban planning and sanitation developments; it also opened up the city to foreign trade and influence. In 1888 Beirut was once again under Ottoman rule, it was elevated to a new status and became the capital of the Vilayet of Beirut. The urban and architectural fabric of the until-then typical medieval Islamic walled city was changed by the Ottoman Ebniye and Turuk Regulations that were enacted in 1848 and 1864 as a part of the Tanzimat reforms and that would serve as a scheme for the development of Beirut until after the French mandate over Lebanon. The reforms resulted in greater city autonomy through the creation of municipalities and the development of the urban space. The municipality of Beirut was created in 1863.〔The municipality was known by the Turkish name of ''Meclis al-Baladi''〕 Starting from 1860 and for twenty years, the Tanzimat impacted the transformation of the Beirut space heavily. The period was marked by the restoration of the ancient souks, the creation of new commercial spaces and the establishment of infrastructures on a big scale and the building of large public and private building such as the Grand Serail and its annexes and the Pine residence. The movement catalyzed by the Tanzimat reforms set the foundation of a new framework for buildings characterized by works inspired from several European styles such as neo-baroque and neo-gothic. The former architectural tradition declined progressively.〔 The new status of the city was in tandem with the accumulation of riches by a number of its inhabitants. The affluent Beirutis were heavily influenced by the western way of living; they moved out of the old city and built their villas on the hills surrounding Beirut and sought to create a recreation center away from the bustling and crowded city center. The Pine Park was chosen for its scenic greenery and its distance from the busy downtown area; a racecourse and a casino similar the ones being built in European capitals were envisioned.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pine Residence」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|