LARGE SERIES

From the Riad el-Solh square, you have a perfect view of the Grand Sérail. The Prime Minister's seat, it is an ultra-secure area. The building is not open to the public. You have to make do with the outside facades.

The history of this monument begins in 1840. Helped by the British, the Ottomans re-established their authority over Beirut and Syria after defeating the Egyptians under the command of Ibrahim Pasha. Under the Egyptians, the Beirutans called this hill Al-Thakanat (the barracks) because Ibrahim Pasha had established his camp and barracks there as early as 1831.

In 1840, the Ottoman authorities took an interest in the site to build a building to serve as headquarters for the military and civil administrations. The new building became the seat of the Ottoman governors. It was named Al-Kichlah, which means "garrison" in Turkish.

With the proclamation of the Wilayat of Beirut in 1887, the building was gradually called the Wilayat Seraglio, then the Grand Seraglio to distinguish it from the Petit Seraglio located north of the Martyrs' Square.

At the end of the First World War and the withdrawal of the Ottomans, the Great Seraglio was the headquarters of the French High Commission of Gouraud in Helleu until April 1941.

Then, Bechara Al-Khoury was the first president of the Republic after Lebanon's independence to settle there before leaving for the presidential residence of Kantari (between the city centre and Hamra). The Great Seraglio then became the seat of government. Bombed during the civil war, it was renovated in 1998.