Deep inside a hangar in Beirut's northern neighbourhood of Zouk lies the world's biggest collection of model cars and dioramas.
These miniature motorcycles and racing cars belong to Nabil "Billy" Karam, a former rally champion and a passionate collector and miniaturist. The two-floor museum was started 25 years ago. At the time, it was just a hobby. "It's a hobby, it's for leisure, nothing was planned. I love cars, I'm a rally man, everybody in Lebanon loves cars, rallies, races, so the passion grew bigger, to the extent that today, you have all this," Karam says.
The museum boasts all possible racing car models, although Porsche cars have a particular prominence. In 1986, Karam won his first title with a Porsche at the Rally of Lebanon. He says the this make of car is his "eternal love". On the walls, The former rally champion was also given two Guinness World Records for the largest collection of model cars in 2009 and 2011 and a third one for the largest collection of dioramas in 2011. .
It has been confirmed that Billy has 10,000 more items than when he first set the Largest collection of model cars record in 2011.
Karam's treasure trove has diversified over the years and now includes items that he says have influenced his life and his beloved country, Lebanon. "I have more than 600 dioramas in the museum, on various themes; war, buildings, houses, aviation, ships, my cars in particular, everything that is related to me, everything that has influenced my life, everything that has influenced Lebanon, the country where I live; the Lebanese war, the Gulf war, the Second World War. Unfortunately, we live in a region ravaged by wars, so we're certain to be influenced by them," Karam says.
Amongst the collection are miniature reconstructions of the 2006 Lebanon war. The museum also features a diorama of the 1944 Normandy landings. After spending years speeding up and down rally car race tracks, the former champion says the message behind his museum is safety on the road. "We've become parents, we want our kids to come back safely at night. So we want them to put on their seatbelts, to avoid sending text messages from their mobiles whilst driving, because Lebanon's road aren't that safe and we want our kids to stay safe.
That's the message behind this museum," the collector says.
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