maya masri 

The street and the individual on it are in constant interplay and exchange. A street holds a set of communication artifacts and visuals, that to an extent influence certain patterns of behavior or conception. At the same time, the experience of the individual on it, and one’s set of expectations are influential upon the perception of it. The element of time and change constantly modify this dialectic relationship between street and individual. In Lebanon, the war imposed changes upon certain streets which in turn dramatically altered the experience of them. They adopted a new

set of identifications and signifiers.

 

My first encounter with Khandak El-Ghamik was through a narrative named “Khandak El-Ghamik” by Suheil Idriss. His words captured my curiosity to visit and explore the street. Through recurring visits I developed a deeper understanding of the area, its activities, its inhabitants, its urban fabric, its history, its problems… Gradually through opening conversations, I formed relationships with the people living and working there. These conversations were centered around incidents and issues on

the street. Consequently, I extracted a set

of narratives which helped put together a scope of Khandak Il-Ghamik. I also carried out mappings of the area targeting a variety of influential issues.

 

The book is divided into two parts. The first part is made up of a variety of maps, and the second part of the book presents a set of 20 different narratives. The maps present a study of the area and the influential factors found there, including issues of gender, economy, geographical location, etc, which provides the reader with a better understanding of the street's environment. Then 20 narratives are further given by different people from Khandak El-Ghamik, and further illustrate various available issues. Each story is guided by an abstract map referring it to its narrator by alphabet-izing, and locating where it took or takes place, maintaining reference to the previously presented maps.