June 22, 2012

The Neighborhood Dikkaneh I




They’ve been dealt a painful blow with the arrival of the supermarket chains, some 15 years ago. Painful, but not deadly. The neighborhood dikkaneh is what gives Beirut its ‘small town’ mentality (among other things). And although I rarely shop at the local dikkaneh, since there is no place to park your car, they come in quite handy when it comes to the supply of all things forgotten. Don’t go for specialty items though; they only carry the basics.

Sietske is not in Beirut at the moment, but on her annual ‘Trek to the Motherland’. She leaves you every Friday with a typical Lebanese neighborhood ‘dikkaneh’, also called mini-market. They are all situated in Beirut. The exact road & neighborhood are indicated on the picture itself. These little stores have all disappeared in Holland; fallen victim to the big supermarket chains. But here in Beirut, we still have them. This is one one in a series of 12. Enjoy, while I enjoy my holiday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The neighborhood "Dikanji" is the one who braved militia checkpoints and dodged bullets and bombs to ensure the neighborhood kids could have a Labneh sandwich and cucumber before going to bed, even throughout the worst days of the war.

Coffee was commonly bought in large beanbags and always freshly ground at the store.

Orders were shouted down from balconies and delivery was effectuated through a basket tied to a rope, as walking up 4 flights of stairs with groceries due to power outages was no fun.