Feature: Who Are the Sursocks? [Community Presentation]
PRESENTER
Nour Tabet
ORIGINAL CITY
DC
Original Date
October 6, 2016
DESCRIPTION
Growing up in the suburbs of Beirut, the Sursock street was a landmark that was referenced in daily conversations. “After the Sursock street make a left.” “Meet me at the bar, it is right under the Sursock Street.” The word “Sursock” also reflected a high status, like: who do you think you are, a Sursock? This afikra feature explores the question: Who are the Sursocks and how is it that a family that is important enough to have an entire fancy street named after them, now rents out one of their houses for weddings and bougie events? It walks through this history of this family since the 1800s, their global affiliations and their business and architectural endeavors throughout the Ottoman era.
ABOUT THE AFIKRA COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS
Delivered and prepared by afikra Community members, the presentation’s goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity and research, and share some knowledge on a topic related to the Arab world’s histories and cultures. The presentation is the culmination of the afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research, and develop the presentation. afikra presentations come in two forms, a long question-driven afikra Feature, and a short afikra FWD with the purpose of sharing something interesting.
SOURCES & FUTURE REFERENCES
Note: All community presentations are prepared & presented by non-experts on the subject. They are sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in that subject.
