Culture Minister Mohamad Mortada has ordered a temporary halt to restoration work on the Saida Sea Castle. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Culture Minister Mohamad Mortada has temporarily halted the controversial restoration work on Saida’s famed sea castle. This comes after several professionals and activists came out in force against the renovation plans.
Here’s what we know:
• According to the state-run National News Agency, Mortada issued a statement instructing the Directorate General of Antiquities to halt work for two weeks so that experts and specialists can present their observations of the ongoing works to the Culture Ministry and so that they could have the chance to present alternative proposals on how to proceed with the renovation.
• The news comes after the Director-General of Antiquities Sarkis el-Khoury toured the castle Monday and expressed the Culture Ministry’s readiness to “receive everyone who wants to see the details of the project and to inquire about all the points that explain the approved restoration mechanism.”
• The initial outcry came from plans that involved the use of modern materials, such as cement and wrought iron, in the restoration of the almost 1,000-year-old crusader fortress. The materials are being used to reinforce and in some cases rebuild the castle’s arches, which many argue will erase the historical character of the fortress and could negatively affect the already-existing material.
• On Sunday, the head of the Order of Engineers and Architects, Aref Yassine, toured the site and called for a halt to the restoration work until suitable standards could be applied. He asked for the matter to be taken up in coordination with restoration specialists, the Municipality of Saida, the Culture Ministry and the Directorate General of Antiquities.
• Funding for the work is sourced from the United States through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation grant, which donated $100,000.