A visit to Tripoli’s Rachid Karami International Fair Grounds not only brought me one ‘tick’ closer to 1,000, but it also corrected a very annoying near miss that I had in 2014. At the time, I went to the Lebanese city of Tripoli, arrived by bus and then walked eastward into the Old Town (a TWHS on its own). This WHS, however, lies about 500m west of the bus station. And it is so large that it would be hard to overlook. But at the time, I couldn’t imagine that this would ever become a WHS.

In September 2025, I organized a day trip to Northern Lebanon with a driver/guide from Beirut. When I booked and requested my itinerary, the guide said that he had to arrange a permit with the authorities beforehand, which required stating his car's plate number and his and my names. Therefore, considering the previous reviews where people appeared to have entered freely, the entry policy seems to have been revised. When we arrived, it turned out that the entrance indeed is guarded by a single security guy, but it all seemed friendly and low-key, so you might be let in if you ask nicely.

Today’s visitor entrance is at the main entrance of the fairgrounds, so you discover the site the way Niemeyer planned it. You walk up a ramp and, from beneath a portico, you get a sweeping view of the main element, the Grand Cover or Grand Canopy, which is shaped like an enormous boomerang. You will also already see some of the gardens and pavilions. The gardens are well-kept, but unfortunately, there is no water anymore in the grounds' numerous ponds and canals. It was part of the design to let the water act as mirrors to reflect the architecture. What remains are vast, empty areas of concrete. With water, there would be a strong resemblance to that other Niemeyer masterpiece, Pampulha.

The central area has the most quirky features, including the Gateway Arch (part of the stage of the open-air theater), the Water Tower (meant to be a restaurant), a Pyramid that was to be a children’s pavilion and a Helicopter Landing Platform annex Space Museum that looks like a giant mushroom. Here also lies the Lebanese pavilion, one of the most depicted buildings of this site, with its arched design considered a mix of Palácio do Itamaraty in Brasilia and traditional Lebanese architecture.

The complex has several theatres. A large one, similar to an ancient amphitheatre, lies under a massive concrete dome. It’s too dangerous to go in nowadays, but you can look through the fence and test the formidable echo that can be heard inside. Bare iron rebars dangle from the ceiling.

The project had its flaws from the start: Niemeyer spent just 2 months in Lebanon, not all of his plans were implemented as they were seen as too radical, and after the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, the complex was never used as a fairground. To make things worse, it was a base for the Syrian army from 1982 on. Also, the conversion of the collective housing prototype at the edge of the terrain (similar to Le Corbusier’s Unite d’Habitation) into a multi-functional hotel in 2000 erased parts of Niemeyer’s original design, such as the duplexes and the loggias.

Still, I found the site in a better state than I had expected: the gardens are clearly cared for, structurally unsafe areas are fenced off and there seems to be little nuisance from graffiti or littering. It could be such a great city park for dusty Tripoli, especially if they reactivate all the water features that Niemeyer had designed. But the local population has never cared much for it (not part of "their" history) and politicians spend their money elsewhere, if there is any money to spend at all in Lebanon, which has been suffering from a financial crisis since 2019.