Have you ever noticed that Karantina, the name of the neighborhood in Beirut, sounds very similar to quarantine, aka the “period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed”? 

Well because it’s the same word! 

The neighborhood derives its name from a lazaretto, aka a quarantine station for maritime travelers, built in the 19th century, by the Egyptians, who were ruling the region.

At that time, and unlike today, epidemics and pandemics were a common occurrence: plague, cholera, tuberculosis used to wreak havoc among populations.

They were carried and spread through travellers, mainly pilgrims going to and coming back from Mecca, as well as traders and their merchandise. 

Egyptian leader Ibrahim Pacha decided to build a lazaretto, aka a place to test and isolate people coming from abroad, at the port of Beirut. The choice of Beirut was surprising: the city was super small, way smaller than Saida and Tripoli, its port was mainly catering to local fishermen. But Pacha still bet on it.

In 1834, the lazaretto was built, and all travellers who arrived to Beirut were expected to quarantine in it, for 14 to 40 days, depending on the epidemics raging at the time. 

Thanks to the lazaretto, Beirut became a place where epidemics were well contained. Trade flourished, the silk trade with Europe boomed, and the city grew accordingly, to cater to consulates, who deemed the place a safe place,  and missionaries who came and built schools. 

So ironically and in a nutshell, the construction of the lazaretto in Beirut contributed to the growth of Beirut. 

In the 20th century, the Karantina neighborhood welcomed refugees from all over the region: Armenians, Christians, Palestinans. 

The PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) took shelter there in the 60-70s, until the Karantina Massacre in January 1976, by the Christian militias, who destroyed the lazaretto. 

Sources
-Dima De Clerck, historian
– https://www.lesclesdumoyenorient.com/Le-Liban-face-a-la-quarantaine-et-au-confinement-entre-perspective-historique.html?fbclid=IwAR1bDwHpK24feLLbkkuDPiiOOVMO42gNTAIZwuUmGgHdeceEG5DhU-2nXkQ