1) My stint on this account ends today. Before handing it off I will explain my profile picture choice- @mikati_rana

2) The picture above is of the last preserved remains of the second oldest monument in Beirut. It stands barely marked and unexplained in the midst of a shopping mall. Beirutis walk about unaware of its history-rm

3) This structure was part of a zawiya built by the #Mamluk #Sufi Muḥammad b. ‘Alī b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān (d. 933/1526), referred to as Ibn ‘Irāq. His travels on the Sufi path started with a visit to the shrine of al-Awzā‘ī south of Beirut -rm

4) After a number of trials, falling off the Sufi wagon, and the yearlong prayers of his #shaykhs in Beirut, Tripoli, and Sidon, Ibn 'Iraq fully committed to the path and eventually built this hostel (zawiya/ribāt) for the men who will become his disciples.-rm

5) The choice of location was not random though. Ibn ‘Irāq is said to have wanted his zawiya built where al-Awzā'ī lived and taught. The memory of these places preserved in local lore -rm

6) However today, the remains of this zawiya, which still houses the remains of at least one #Sufi who resided there, is symbolic of Beirut's past, hidden in plain sight- rm