A view of the Lebanese capital Beirut from the International Space Station (ISS), published on Aug. 26, 2023 by Emirati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi. (Credit: NASA/ISS/Sultan AlNeyadi)
A photo of the Lebanese capital Beirut is causing an online stir. The image in question was taken from the International Space Station (ISS) by Emirati astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and posted on Saturday on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
AlNeyadi, whose six-month mission aboard the ISS will end at the beginning of September, posted the shot accompanied by a text in Arabic and another in English. His post earned several hundred thousand views and hundreds of comments.
"Here's a snap of #Beirut — the city that breathes art, culture, and beauty — that I was able to capture from the ISS. My heartfelt greetings to Lebanon and its wonderful people," he wrote on Saturday.
The message in Arabic starts begins "Beirut, Lady of the world," an expression taken from a famous poem by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani.
Here's a snap of #Beirut - the city that breathes art, culture, and beauty - that I was able to capture from the ISS. My heartfelt greetings to #Lebanon and its wonderful people.?? pic.twitter.com/Vr965YGfdW
— Sultan AlNeyadi (@Astro_Alneyadi) August 26, 2023
Among the many comments, many Lebanese thanked the astronaut for his photo and praised the ties between Beirut and the United Arab Emirates.
Lebanese MP Paula Yaacoubian, who invited the astronaut to visit Lebanon once his mission was over, wrote, "Thank you very much for your kind words. Beirut awaits your visit."
"All the love from Beirut and Lebanon, who are bending under the weight of crises, but who continue to respect and appreciate all the Arab countries that support them," wrote journalist Maysaa Abdel Khalek.
Some internet users' reactions were less appreciative. "Can you take a photo of the traffic jams tomorrow morning in Khaldeh?", wrote one Internet user, while another wondered: "Art? Culture? Beauty? Wonderful people? Where?"
Sultan AlNeyadi was one of the first Arab astronauts and the first to perform a spacewalk last April. The Emirati is the second astronaut to be sent into space by Abu Dhabi, following fellow astronaut Hazza al-Mansouri, who spent eight days aboard the ISS in September 2019.