FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[MIM Museum]

Warning: visiting Lebanon is very dangerous, you could develop an addiction to this country!
Addicted to Lebanon? A country with security issues, we hear constantly on the news, about the assassinations, the kidnapping of soldiers, the ongoing war at the northern frontier with the Islamic State, and so on. How could someone even think of traveling to such a country?
That is one side of the story.
The other side of it is about the Lebanese population, their love to their country, their hospitality with foreigners. Their faith in a country where they invest, always looking for ideas to promote it. One example would be the International Festivals that took place in Byblos, Beiteddine, Baalbak, during summer 2014, hosting Yanni, the legendary Greek composer and performer, Epica, the Dutch symphonic metal band, Stromae, the Belgian born singer and songwriter, Joss Stone, the English soul singer-songwriter. And that is a short list of the performing artists at those festivals.
The other side of the story is also about the outings, pubs, bars, and night clubs. At Uruguay Street, a pedestrian street of Downtown Beirut, different generations, from different religious communities, hang out for a drink, while listening to local bands and DJ’s. As for the Sky Bar, White and B018, they host International DJ’s. And yes, you will see people dancing on the tables at those night clubs.
The story is about the good food, the Lebanese mezze, where you can have 20 (and even more) different dishes to share, each one better than the other, a gourmet delight! And never forget to keep some space for the dessert!
The story of Lebanon is also about the ecological trails that different NGO’s have started to implement. It is about the historical buildings, the archaeological sites, and the long history of a country that have traveled through time, and civilizations.
It is the story of contradictions, the story of extremes.
Yes, you are right; you can find all of the above in other countries, safer than Lebanon. Why take the risk and go there? Because it is all about feeling alive, experiencing Lebanon, and getting addicted to it!
At MIM, we have nicknamed one of Salim’s stones (a Baryte) the Blue Cedar. Blue being the color of hope, Cedar, Cedrus Libani, the emblem of Lebanon!

Carole Atallah

[Fiebre Verde]

[James Catmur]

I went to Lebanon some years ago and had a fantastic time. The museum was not open at that time, so I missed it. But the food was wonderful, the people very kind and very helpful. So it was a great trip. So, like Carole says, you could get addicted. I spent time in Beirut (working) then did a day visit to Baalbek, which was wonderful too.

[MIM Museum]

On April 8, 2016, the MIM Museum was overcrowded with visitors. The queue at the entrance started to form at 5:00 PM and lasted till 11:00 PM.
In 6 hours’ time, we received 9000 visitors. Yes, it is a huge number for a country as small as Lebanon (10452 Km2)!
For the 3rd year in a row, the Lebanese Ministry of Culture organized an event “A night at the Museums”. 11 museums were participating to that event. The number of visitors is increasing over the years: 2000 in 2014, 4000 in 2015 and 9000 in 2016.
The MIM Museum has launched on that occasion a temporary exhibition “Fish’N’Stone” displaying a collection of fish fossils that belongs to the Abi Saad family ( https://www.memoryoftime.com/home ) found in 3 main Lebanese fossil fields. This exhibition invites people (as the rest of the museum) to an educational and pleasant experience: fossils are animated to tell their story!

[Peter]

Two FANTASTIC Neudorf galena specimens, not just any ;)
One of them would be enough for my collection, to start with :)

There could be 20-30 of them in some old collection, I guess Freiberg would have that in the drawers but I can not say that I have seen any better anywhere else really.

[Fiebre Verde]

Last week, I decided to take a weekend break in search for some winter sunshine and ended up visiting the Eastward Look show in Beirut - namely the MIM museum.
I had already visited the MIM twice and wanted to see what Salim Eddé had added to his collection over the past 2 years.
I was not disappointed - I confirm that Salim has been quite active adding more fabulous specimens to his already exceptional collection. Some display cases have been reshuffled in the process but the cherry on the cake is the Lebanese fossils exhibition which provides a theatrical experience rather like a sound and light show.

[Fiebre Verde]

The visit is not over yet...

[Kevin Schofield]

[Fiebre Verde]

And the last set... but not the last trip!

[Fiebre Verde]

[Kevin Schofield]

[Pierre Joubert]

If I ever get to visit this splendid museum, I will have to stay for a week or 2 to take it all in. It must be an overwhelming experience. Thanks to all who have shared their visits.

[James Catmur]

Corrected

[Fiebre Verde]

[Philippe Durand]

thank you a lot for sharing these photos of such treasures.