ولاية بيروت
Welayat Beirut
Rafiq Altamimi and Muhammad Bahjat

In 1914, on the eve of the First World War, Mehmet Azmi Bey, the governor of Welayat Beirut (the province of Ottoman Beirut), decided to send two young Arab intellectuals on a unique mission: a journey to document the districts of the province. The governor asks the two, Rafiq Altamimi and Muhammad Bahjat, to provide a detailed, updated account of the doings in his province: the social structure, the economic situation, the religious characteristics, and the cultural customs. The two accept the task: They provide themselves with writing implements, food and drink, and coins and bills, and set out on their journey.

The report of their first journey was published under the title Welayat Beirut, and appeared in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish in 1917. It is now appearing for the first time in Hebrew, enabling readers to view the Land of Israel and the region beyond it from a unique, opinionated, and often condescending or elitist, albeit patriotic, perspective. The authors describe in great detail the way of life in the country—of the Muslims, Christians, Samaritans, and Jews; of villagers, Bedouin tribes, towns, and cities. Their report includes data and quotations, citations from official sources, memories, and folk songs.

The Hebrew version is annotated and includes an afterward by Prof. Avi Rubin and an essay on the importance of the agricultural aspect by Dr. Basma Fahoum.

Translation: Ido Cohen | Translation editor: Dr. Na’ama Ben Ze’ev | Assistants of translation team: Salih Ali Sawaed and Guevara Bader | Academic editor: Prof. Avi Rubin | Book Editor: Prof. Yonatan Mendel