El Mina Railway Museum

Built in 1911, El Mina Railway station was part of the Taurus Express network and linked Europe to the Middle-East through Istanbul. Trains used to transport passengers and goods to and from the Harbour of El-Mina. With the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975, the railway station was turned into a military barrack.

Abandoned in 2005, the station contains an interesting ensemble of warehouses and buildings dating from its construction, including several old German engines refurbished by the French mandatory authority and a large number of coaches.  The creation of a Railway Museum in the station was first suggested in 1991 by UNESCO as an urban revitalisation tool. In 2007, the El Mina municipality -with the support of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture- requested GAIA to submit a conceptual report and feasibility study for the implementation of such museum in the station.

However, despite its great potential, the project has been held in abeyance since then.