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Hadiqat al-Akhbar
Hadiqat al-Akhbar (Arabic: حديقة الأخبار, lit. 'The News Garden' ALA-LC: Ḥadīqat al-Akhbār) was a weekly newspaper which was published in Beirut in the period 1858–1911 with a two-year interruption. Its subtitle was Ṣaḥīfat Sūriyya wa-Lubnān (Arabic: Newspaper of Syria and Lebanon).[1] The paper was the first private daily in Beirut,[2] the first Arabic newspaper which had a regular literary section[3] and the first weekly Arabic newspaper in the region.[4] History and profileHadiqat al-Akhbar was launched by Khalil al-Khuri, a Lebanese,[5] in Beirut.[6][7] The first issue appeared on 29 June 1858.[8] Michel Médawar who was a Greek Catholic merchant working at the French Consulate in Beirut as an interpreter financed the paper.[6] Khalil Sarkis who would start his own title Lisan al Hal in Beirut in 1877 worked for the paper.[9] Its publisher was al-Matba' as-Suriyya which was owned by al-Khuri.[10] He also edited the paper which began to be published both in Arabic and French from 1870.[8][11] The French edition was entitled Hadikat-el-Akhbar. Journal de Syrie et Liban.[3] Hadiqat al-Akhbar was made a semi-official publication of the Ottoman Empire in 1860 upon the request of Fuad Pasha, Ottoman foreign minister, in the aftermath of the civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus.[12] Its semi-official status continued until the official Ottoman publication Suriya was launched.[12] Hadiqat al-Akhbar also functioned in this status between 1869 and 1870 during the governorship of Franco Pasha in Lebanon.[12] The paper was also supported by the Egyptian Khedive Ismail Pasha, possibly after the Ottoman support ended.[13] The contributors of the paper and al-Khuri were members of the Médawar Literary Circle.[6] Selim Nauphal was the editor who translated and serialized the French novels in the paper.[6] Antonius Ameuney was the contributor of the paper based in London.[6] During its lifetime the frequency of Hadiqat al-Akhbar was changed from daily to weekly and then to biweekly.[14] It featured local and international news, reports on mercantile activity and also literary works.[6][15] Soon after its start the paper became one of the leading publications in Beirut.[10] Hadiqat al-Akhbar was also distributed to other cities, including Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, Alexandria, Cairo, Istanbul, Paris, London and Leipzig.[6] The number of subscribers was nearly 400 within the three months after its start.[6] It gradually increased over time.[6] In 1907 Hadiqat al-Akhbar temporarily ceased publication.[8] Its publication was restarted in April 1909, but the paper was permanently closed down on 10 April 1911.[8] References
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