The monster explosion that levelled Beirut’s port darkened the Lebanese capital’s future but also blasted its past into oblivion, ravaging many beloved architectural and cultural treasures.

Gems of the city’s heritage, including some of the region’s most elegant Levantine villas with their triple-arch windows, were damaged beyond repair.

Many of old Beirut’s remaining colonial-era and earlier landmarks had already been damaged by 15 years of civil war and decades of government neglect.