The Nahr al Bared refugee camp was built in north Lebanon in 1948 to shelter Palestinian families fleeing the Nakba. At the time, nobody considered the possibility that they might continue to live there 75 years later. In 2007, fighting erupted in the camp between the Lebanese army and extremist militia groups. The ensuing destruction exposed an archaeological site, which turned out to be the ruins of the ancient city of Orthosia that had vanished after being hit by a tsunami in 551 CE. For 15 centuries, archaeologists and researchers had looked for it to no avail.

Nobody would have suspected that this missing Roman city was buried beneath the refugee camp. However, an archaeological excavation would necessitate yet another displacement for the Palestinian families living there, a process that would be socially, politically and humanly untenable. 

Through storytelling, video, photography and installation, The Vertiginous Story of Orthosia imagines what may lie underground and questions the narratives surrounding the story as well as their meanings and implications within the context of the cycle of construction and destruction.

The performance is in co-presentation with Art Jameel.

9 November 2024 is presented in Arabic with English subtitles
Performed by Ahmed Abu Arada and Miryana Milad Almaalouly

10 November 2024 is presented in English with Arabic Subtitles