Phoenician. Mamluk. Medieval. Modern. Lebanon’s second-largest city has had to endure conflicts, is impoverished but rich in beauty and food, and especially sweets. I drove directly from the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport to Tripoli’s Abdul Rahman Hallab & Sons 1881, one of the most known sweet shops in town. Oriental sweet makers are central figures in the city’s culture, and the varied array of oriental sweets, an old tradition, never disappoints. Many of these often century-old family businesses can be found in the unforgettable and cinematic arcaded souks in the old city. Trying the specialty in the small sweet shops takes you back to the first time you tasted sugar as a child—jubilation and surprise.
Nabil Najjar, a yoga instructor and owner of Beit el Nessim, the old restored mansion converted into a six-room guesthouse in Mina—which means harbor in Arabic—was waiting for me so I bought my favorite sweets—Namoura, Znoud el Sett or Lady’s Arms, Chocolate Knefeh, Cheese Kenefeh, Maamoul with date, walnut and pistachio, Karbouj Assabeh served with an addictive silky natef, which is made with shilsh al-halawa, or soapwort or bois de Panama roots, similar to marshmallow spread—and headed to the Beit. The taste of the filo dough, syrup, rose or orange blossom water lingers long after you’ve eaten it.
The narrow alleyway leading up to Beit el Nassim is a journey through time. The house previously belonged to the respected physician Dr. Yacoub al Labban—there is a statue in his honor in the town square. When Nabil first saw the house, he immediately felt the positive empathetic energy, and knew this was the place for his project. He renovated it using recycled materials such as old wood, doors and headboards from antique shops in city, and combining different design influences from the East. The result is as eclectic as the owner.

In this haven, a bewitching breakfast. Served inside or on the lovely rooftop terrace. Nabil experiments and improvises when he cooks. He is inspired by different cuisines, especially intrigued by Indian spices. On my breakfast table: apricot with ginger marmalade; quince jam and hint of lemon; muhammara (red pepper and walnut spread); flavored goat labnah or strained yogurt (water, Himalayan salt, labneh, Indian green pepper and a hint of curry leaves to get the fragrance moving); green chutney (avocado with pomelo, mint, coriander, olive oil and pepper); rose petal labneh (smooth and fresh and the sudden appearance of the pepper a bit later hits you); and olives from Koura, known for its olive tree cultivation and about half hour from Tripoli.
As I finished my coffee, the sunlight rested on the side of my face and one of my favorite images of the Lebanese American photojournalist and documentary filmmaker George Azar came back—a shepherd in a field of yellow poppies, which inspired my first poetry collection, The Neverfield. And his voice returned, come back soon, knowing I can’t stay far from these ruins, this sun, sea, these yellow fields, or Nabil’s breakfast table.
Beit el Nessim
Labban Street, El Mina, Tripoli
+961 6 308156, +961 6 200983, beitelnessim.com
Each comment or response costs a tiny ETH fee of 3.0E-5 (about 5¢ in Ethereum cryptocurrency), payable from your Metamask.io wallet (the wallet is free, and takes just a moment to add to your browser). This system helps protect Popula conversations from trolls, fakers, Cambridges Analytica and other malign influences.
If you haven’t got any ETH yet and you’re a Popula subscriber, please write to hey@popula.com with your subscriber email address and MetaMask wallet address, and we’ll send you a little bit to get started! It’s pretty easy and a lot of fun to use, Yay.
If you’d like to learn more about cryptocurrency, Ethereum, and how Popula is using these new technologies to help protect speech rights and the free press, please visit our FAQ page.
We’re having trouble checking your subscriber status. Try refreshing the page.
Welcome! To leave a comment, you’ll need to log in, and also have your MetaMask wallet ready with some ETH cryptocurrency available.
It’s easy! Just visit metamask.io to install an in-browser MetaMask wallet. If you’re a new subscriber, write to hey@popula.com for $2 in free ETH crypto!
Thank you for being a Popula subscriber! As a subscriber, you may leave comments, but you have to be logged in as commenter here first. This is an additional login—the login for your commenting privileges—and you’ll stay logged in after you log in the first time.
We’ve sent an email to your registered address at … with your commenting details. Please follow the directions in the email to open your commenting privileges and then come back here to leave your first comment!
Thanks for registering! Please log in and you can get started commenting.
You need to connect to the Main Ethereum Network before you can leave a comment. Click on your MetaMask icon so the window pops up, then select ‘Main Ethereum Network’ from the network-chooser dropdown at the top.
You’re logged in and ready to leave comments! All you need is a MetaMask wallet and a little ETH cryptocurrency, just like with our microtipping system.
If you know what MetaMask is and have it installed, activate MetaMask and refresh:
Each comment costs 5¢ in Ethereum cryptocurrency to post! Just write your comment and click the green button. Thank you, Popula subscriber, for joining us in the new world of cryptoeconomics! Please don’t forget to set your wallet address in order to receive tips on your comments.
Alas! commenting is not yet available on your mobile device. Each comment costs a little ETH cryptocurrency to post, and for now that requires a regular computer.
So please go to your laptop, install the MetaMask browser plugin, and hold forth!