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Eternal
Beirut |
With over four million people and 18 different sects,
Lebanon offers a blend of the new and the old.
Thanks to its ancient Phoenician and modern history, the
Levant has been a contested territory in the rise and fall of empires for thousand years.
It has an economy based on commerce and services, transit
and tourism and some agriculture, with per capita income equivalent to little more than
US$4,000 a year.
However, the climate and lifestyle is the country's best
showcase. A diverse patchwork of the Mediterranean-lapped coast, rugged alpine peaks and
green, fertile valleys makes Lebanon unique.
Aside from landscape, the country is steeped in history.
Ancient Lebanon features in the writings of Homer and the Old Testament. Its cities were
major outposts and seaports in Phoenician and Roman times.
The fortresses and ruin cities of Aanjar, Baalbeck,
Byblos, Tyre
and the Qadisha Valley or Cedar Forest are all
listed as the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Here lies one urban settlement for over 5,000 years since
pre-Phoenician Canaanite period, the third millennium BC.
At the crossroads of cultures and religions, bridging east
and west, linking ancient trade routes from the hinterland across the Mediterranean is
Beirut.
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A
view from renovated
Beirut Central District |
Old Beirut was inhabited in Byblos for almost 9000 years;
the so-called Paris of the Middle East became the base of Phoenician life. Its ships
travelled around the Mediterranean Sea, opening to trade down from the West Africa coast
to south Med.
Those who lived along the coast were the richest first
traders in all history of the region.
Today, the recurring theme around the Mediterranean is
expressed in the city's lively cultural and intellectual life and in its wonderfully
eclectic architectural tradition.
Culture and tradition have always fused local and Arab
vernaculars with new influences from abroad, historically from Italy and France.
Lebanon even became the banking capital of the Middle East
until a bloody strife erupted. From 1975-1990, 15 years of war tore a nation so poised and
proud of its heritage and roots.
Reconstructed capital
Modern Beirut today, reconstructing since 1991 after the
damaging civil war that lost the city its pre-eminent role in the Middle East, is reviving
and repositioning itself again - a recurring theme throughout its history.
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Beirut:
On the rise again |
This port city of traders and entrepreneurs
has remained open to fresh ideas from across the seas.
Downtown Beirut, rebuilding from its Dresden-type ruins
received a serious facelift through the reconstruction company Solidere. Starting from a
makeover of 269 civil war-torn houses, it is now abuzz with a variety of cafes (earning
its name Cafe City), restaurants, boutiques, shops, department stores carrying all
signature collections.
The war-ravaged Beirut Central District (BCD) boasts a
multi-billion dollar project responsible for resurrecting the commercial and tourist
capital of Lebanon and the region.
Over 60 outlets mushroomed, with international cuisine and
products offered to suit the status-conscious ultra-chic Lebos.
A prime location on-site overlooks the ancient Phoenician
ruins of Berytus, still under excavation to date.
On weekends, the plaza basks in a semi-Mardi Gras revelry
with the entire destination pedestriansed by families and couples, tourists and locals.
The mega-project awaits the completion of a US$100 million,
100,000sq-m souk, brainchiold of the late premier Rafik Hariri.
