"Rebuilding Beirut" Beirut by Ramonq

click: Lebanese music

Beirut had an image problem. It was known for terrorism and bombed-out landscape. But that was back in the 1980's when just about every Middle Eastern political faction used Beirut as a target practice. Nowadays, Beirut is surprisingly rebuilt. The city centre is now a very pleasant precinct full of trendy restaurants, bars and shops. Beirut is trying to reclaim its old glory of being the Paris of the East.

The rebuilt inner city aims to capture the stylish sophisticated ambience of old Beirut when the city was known to be as the entertainment capital of the Middle East. Back then, high flyers from Cairo and Arab sheikhs frequented Beirut to take part in its pulsating nightlife. The streets had cafes and boutiques like those of the French Riviera and they were patronised by stylish people.

The new Beirut has built buildings that echo the architectural styles of the bullet-ridden ones. Central Beirut uses the Parisian-style layout of "etoiles" ie., star-shaped squares with many streets branching out from it. Many of these streets have been pedestrianised that have trendy restaurants, cafes, and fast-foods joints to lure the discriminating crowd. Apart from the occasional heavy presence of armed soldiers guarding the streets, Beirut appears to be back in action.

Despite its modern Mediterranean city appearance, Beirut is quite an old town. Its history goes back to 2000 BC when it was a small Phoenician port. Its Roman heritage can still be seen near the Central District when a Roman Bath was accidentally discovered during the reconstruction of Central Beirut. The city stagnated for a long time until the Christian Maronites, fleeing from massacres in Syria, came to settle here in the 19th century. The Christian Lebanese transformed Beirut into a prosperous swinging European-style entrepot much to the disdain of conservative Muslim clerics. Beirut flourished and became a chic place to visit in the 1950's and 60's until the civil war erupted during the following 2 decades.

During the civil war, the city became divided between Christian East Beirut and Muslim West Beirut and a wide avenue called the Place des Martyrs delineates this religious divide. Now partially rebuilt, Place des Martyr is the stark symbol of Beirut, a sad reminder of its violent past. A bombed-out building still stands in the middle of this square to remind the citizen of the horrors of intolerance. I think Place des Martyr should always become a focal point of Beirut's civic celebrations.

Rawcheh Rocks

Beirut now sprawls out and its population has grown to close to 2 million. From the scenic seaside Avenue de Paris Corniche at Ras Beirut, the city has extended its tentacles further north . Many now consider Jounieh, a popular gambling seaside resort north of the city, as a suburb of Beirut. Here you can see apartments, nightclubs and beaches that remind you of Ipanema or Waikiki. The smart set hang around Jounieh, a trendy place to be seen.

Other centres of activity in Beirut is Achrafieh, where bars and dance clubs proliferate and of course, the relatively unharmed Hamra, which became the commercial heart of Beirut when Central Beirut was pulverised by various warring forces. Despite all the Western trappings, the heavy presence of mosque that dot the skyline and the daily sound of call to prayer from their minarets reminds the visitor that Beirut is now predominantly Islamic. Many of its Christian inhabitants have migrated to Western countries and Palestinian refugees have moved into the southern suburbs.

But Beirut will never go away. Its mercantilistic resilient citizens will make sure of that. The enduring natural wonder of Beirut, the Pigeon Rocks, located at its West Coast, symbolises the people of Beirut. ie., they could weather any storm that hits them.

• Pros:Great nightlife
• Cons:Image problem
• In a nutshell:Paris of the East