Travel Report

pulsing

fragile

Strolling through the city, one cannot help but notice how powerfully war must have impacted on the spirits of the inhabitants and the cityscape. There was a time when Beirut was so opulent that it was known as the Paris of the Middle East, frequented by celebrities, wealthy skiing tourists and all manner of top-drawer spies alike. In the days when Life Magazine was still a bastion of photojournalism, its pages described the metropolis as a blend of Las Vegas and St. Moritz, redolent of the “spices of Araby”. Yet even today, the life-affirming optimism of the Lebanese and its corollary, their boundless hospitality, remain unbroken.

Our tips were provided by Nayef Francis, Rudy Shaheen, Tanya ­Traboulsi and Vladimir Kurumilian.