Name of Monument:

Unicellular House: 'Kukh'

Name in original language:

Kukh

Location:

Rmeil, Lebanon

Date of Monument:

1850

History:

The kukh is a modest house. It was the basic model for a traditional house in the agricultural suburbs of Beirut. Kukhs were popular until the mid-19th century and were generally inhabited by farmers and their families. They also functioned as temporary shelter for livestock or domestic animals.

Description:

This kind of habitation provides only the most basic functions of a house: shelter and warmth. It has no outdoor spaces, and the windows and doors are generally very small. Even today, domestic or social activities (such as cooking, washing, eating, relaxing, working or receiving guests) in these houses generally take place outdoors, either outside the front door or to the side of the house under a canopy or in the shade of a tree. The interior was not divided in any particular way, and divisions between rooms were traditionally created my movable objects, such as cabinets, curtains or wooden partitions. In the kukhs of today, solid walls have taken their place.

Citation of this web page:

Jeff El-Msanne, David Andos "Unicellular House: 'Kukh'" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monuments;AWE;lb;7;en

Prepared by: Jeff El-Msanne, David Andos
Copyedited by: Flaminia Baldwin

MWNF Working Number: LB 007