Antique Shopping in Basta

Basta is located in central Beirut, just 10 minutes away from the Grand Serail building. The area is home to some of Beirut’s oldest antique vendors for almost a century, who raid old Beiruty houses looking for treasures.  The story goes like this: someone living in one of the old houses passes away; children come to the Basta area to find a few vendors and take them back to the house.  They make a deal and often sell items for a fraction of their retail price.

The Basta area is marked by the old, rampaged buildings that date back to the French mandate.  Both sides of the street are littered with shops stocked to their ceilings with old, dusty, and sometimes broken woodworks and antiques that can price up to $7,000 at times.  Further in to the market are alley ways also filled with treasures; mind you, visiting them requires flats, sachet bags, and a flashlight because some areas are dim.

Yesterday, my mother in law gave me a call just as I was getting off of work asking me to pass by Basta to look at an antique dinning room set and a bunch of other things she had seen and new that I’d like.  When I arrived to the shop, I could help but bite my lip in astonishment at the wonders I saw.  The tables, chairs, couches, instruments, chandeliers, and trinkets make you lose yourself and your day just exploring and learning about the items.  After four hours of prying through items, I managed to walk away with a console that was a gift from my fiancé’s auntie.  Thank you Auntie Samo!!  The dinning set is still understudy.

 

People, especially my colleagues, don’t always understand the awe I’m in when I see such things. Authentic antique items have history and character, they have a life and a story behind them that gets you wondering why is it scratched here, has this table seen happy feasts, how long has this clock been telling time...

It’s so interesting to be able to tell the difference between a Henry II Dinning Set, a Louis XIV chair, and a Chesterfield sofa. It feels so good to have an almost green copper chandelier cleaned and restored to find out that those are little swans hanging from its rim.  And finding that perfect porcelain plate with a shield and crest painted on it to hang on your wall, it’s priceless.

Now all of you know what to get me as wedding gifts!