NOUR AL NIMER
Beirutis love throwing lavish parties. If you’re feasting in the homes of the city’s art crowd, you’re likely to be dining off beautiful porcelain created by Nour al Nimer for her luxury tableware brand, Nimerology. The daughter of a Palestinian father and Turkish mother, the designer was born and raised in Beirut, and house-proud Lebanese can’t get enough of her imaginative collections. Nour’s distinctive style grew from the art that surrounded her as a child. Her father, Rami el Nimer, is a renowned collector with a vast archive of Islamic art, including Ottoman ceramics and antique textiles. Today, Nour reinterprets motifs and patterns from these beautiful artefacts and blends them with inspiration gathered from her travels. The result is enchanting collections such as I Left My Heart In Mexico and An Ode To Scandinavia. The talented young designer currently lives between New York and Istanbul but returns to Lebanon regularly to visit old haunts. Here are some of her favourites.
UNEXPECTED ARCHITECTURE
“Design enthusiasts should make a pilgrimage to Tripoli (70km north of Beirut) to marvel at the abandoned structures of Brazilian architect
Oscar Niemeyer. His futurist masterpieces were supposed to host a trade fair. Building began in 1967 but stopped in 1975 because of the civil war and never restarted. Known as the Rashid Karami International Fair, the abandoned site is now a forgotten shrine to the legendary architect spread over a square kilometre of landscaped gardens. Most days the area is completely deserted except for a few local skateboarders riding Niemeyer’s iconic domes.”
ISLAMIC ART
“My father is an art collector and he runs a non-profit art and culture space called
Dar El Nimer in the heart of Beirut where he shows his vast collection of art, antiques and ancient artefacts from the Middle East and around the world. He’s a proud Palestinian and is particularly keen to promote education and discussion about culture from his homeland.” darelnimer.org
FASHION STOP
“Every time I’m in Beirut I visit the boutique of Lebanese-american fashion designer Rami
Kadi. I love his loud and colourful prints.” rami-kadi.com
ANCIENT RUINS
“The most impressive archaeological site in Lebanon is a Roman temple complex in
Baalbek (85km northeast of Beirut). Well preserved and spectacular in size and beauty, these ancient monuments rival those in Rome and are a Unesco World Heritage site.”