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Beirut ( , Bayrūt) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon

with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea

, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which consists of the city and its suburbs. The first mention of this metropolis is found in the ancient Egyptian Tell el Amarna

letters, dating to the 15th century BC, and the city has been continuously inhabited since.

Beirut holds Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy with its Downtown, Hamra, Verdun, and Ashrafieh based corporate firms and banks. The city is the focal point of the region's cultural life, renowned for its press, theaters, cultural activities, and nightlife. After the destructive Lebanese civil war, Beirut underwent major reconstruction, and the redesigned historic city center, marina, pubs and nightlife districts have once again rendered it a tourist attraction.Beirut was named the top place to visit in 2009 by The New York Times. It was also listed as one of the ten liveliest cities in the world by Lonely Planet in 2009.

History

Some historians argue that the name Beirut derives from Beroe, Aphrodite's daughter and the sister of Eros. Others believe that the city was originally named Bêrūt ��‏��‏��‏��‏, "The Wells" by the Phoenicians

,. Another theory yet is that Beirut is the contraction of "Bayt Ashtarout", or "the city of Astarte". Beirut's history goes back more than 5000 years. Profile of Lebanon: History Lebanese Embassy of the U.S. Excavations in the downtown area have unearthed layers of Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Arab and Ottoman remains. The first historical reference to Beirut dates from the 14th century BC, when it is mentioned in the cuneiform tablets of the "Amarna letters." Ammunira of Biruta (Beirut) sent three letters to the pharaoh of Egypt. Biruta is also referenced in the letters from Rib-Hadda of Byblos

. The most ancient settlement was on an island in the river that progressively silted up. The city was known in antiquity as Berytus (see also List of traditional Greek place names); this name was taken in 1934 for the archaeological journal published by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Beirut

Hellenistic/Roman period

In 140 BC, the city was destroyed by Diodotus Tryphon in his contest with Antiochus VII Sidetes for the throne of the Seleucid monarchy. Beirut was soon rebuilt on a more regularized Hellenistic plan, renamed Laodicea in Phoenicia ( ) or Laodicea in Canaan, in honor of a Seleucid Laodice. The modern city overlies the ancient one and little archaeology had been accomplished until after the end of the civil war in 1991; now large sites in the devastated city center have been opened to archaeological exploration. A dig in 1994 established that one of Beirut's modern streets, Souk Tawile, still follows the lines of an ancient Hellenistic and Roman one.

Mid-first century coins of Berytus bear the head of Tyche, goddess of fortune; on the reverse, the city's symbol appears: a dolphin entwines an anchor. This symbol was taken up by the early printer Aldus Manutius in 15th century Venice

.

Beirut was conquered by Agrippa in 64 BC and the city was renamed in honor of the emperor's daughter, Julia; its full name became Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus. The veterans of two Roman legions were established in the city: the fifth Macedonian and the third Gallic. The city quickly became Romanized. Large public buildings and monuments were erected and Berytus enjoyed full status as a part of the empire.

Under the Romans, it was enriched by the dynasty of Herod the Great, and was made a colonia, Colonia Iulia Augusta Felix Berytus, in 14 BC. Beirut's school of law was widely known at the time. Two of Rome's most famous jurists, Papinian and Ulpian, both natives of Phoenicia, taught at the law school under the Severan emperors. When Justinian assembled his Pandects in the 6th century, a large part of the corpus of laws were derived from these two jurists, and Justinian recognized the school as one of the three official law schools of the empire (533). Within a few years, as the result of a disastrous earthquake (551), the students were transferred to Sidon

. About 30,000 were killed in Berytus alone and, along the Phoenician coast, total casualties were close to 250,000.

Middle Ages

Beirut passed to the Arabs in 635. As a trading centre of the eastern Mediterranean

, Beirut was overshadowed by Akka

during the Middle Ages. From 1110 to 1291 it was in the hands of the Crusaders Kingdom of Jerusalem. John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut (1179–1236) rebuilt the city after the battles with Saladin, and also built the Ibelin family palace in Beirut.

Ottoman rule

Beirut was controlled by local Druze emirs throughout the Ottoman period. One of these, Fakr ed-Din Maan II, fortified it early in the 17th century, but the Ottomans retook it in 1763. With the help of Damascus

, Beirut successfully broke Akka's monopoly on Syrian maritime trade and for a few years supplanted it as the main trading centre in the region. During the succeeding epoch of rebellion against Ottoman hegemony at Akka under Jezzar and Abdullah pashas, Beirut declined to a small town (population about 10,000), and was an object of contention between the Ottomans, the local Druze, and the Mamluks.After Ibrahim Pasha captured Akka in 1832, Beirut began its revival.

By the second half of the nineteenth century, Beirut was in the process of developing close commercial and political ties with European imperial powers, France in particular. European interests in Lebanese silk and other export products transformed the city into a major port and commercial center. Meanwhile, Ottoman power in the region continued to decline. Sectarian and religious conflicts, power vacuums, and changes in the political dynamics of the region culminated in the 1860 Lebanon conflict. Beirut became a destination for Maronite Christian refugees fleeing from the worst areas of the fighting on Mount Lebanon and in Damascus. This in turn altered the ethnic composition of Beirut itself, sowing the seeds of future ethnic and religious troubles there and in greater Lebanon. However, Beirut was able to prosper in the meantime. This was again a product of European intervention, and also a general realization amongst the city's residents that commerce, trade, and prosperity depended on domestic stability.

In 1888, Beirut was made capital of a vilayet in Syria, including the sanjaks Latakia, Tripoli

, Beirut, Akka and Bekaa. By this time, Beirut had grown into a very cosmopolitan city, and had close links with Europe and the United States. Beirut also became a centre of missionary activity that spawned impressive educational institutions, such as the American University of Beirut

. Provided with water from a British company and gas from a French one, silk exports to Europe came to dominate the local economy. After French engineers established a modern harbor (1894) and a rail link across Lebanon to Damascus, and then to Aleppo

(1907), much of the trade was carried by French ships to Marseille

. French influence in the area soon exceeded that of any other European power. In 1911, the population mix was reported in the Encyclopædia Britannica as Muslims, 36,000; Christians, 77,000; Jews, 2500; Druze, 400; foreigners, 4100.

Modern era

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I Beirut, along with the rest of Lebanon, was placed under the French Mandate. Lebanon achieved independence in 1943, and Beirut became its capital city. Beirut remained an intellectual capital of the Arab world. It was a financial center for much of the Arab world; and it was a major commercial and tourist center until 1975 when the violent Lebanese Civil War broke out in Lebanon.

During most of the war, the city became divided between a largely Muslim west part and the Christian east. The central area of the city, previously the focus of much of the commercial and cultural activities, became a no man's land. Some of the city's inhabitants fled to other countries. Thousands of residents were killed during the 1982 Lebanon War. In 1983, French and U.S. barracks were bombed

.

Since the end of the war in 1990, the people of Lebanon have been rebuilding Beirut, and by the start of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict the city had somewhat regained its status as a tourist, cultural, and intellectual center in the Middle East, as well as a center for commerce, fashion, and media. Reconstruction of downtown Beirut has been largely driven by Solidere, a development company established in 1994 by Rafik Hariri. Beirut is home to the international designer Elie Saab, jeweller Robert Moawad, and to some popular satellite television stations, such as LBC, Future TV, New TV and others. The city was host to the Asian Club Basketball Championship and the Asian Football Cup. Beirut also successfully hosted the Miss Europe pageant eight times, 1960–1964, 1999, 2001–2002.

The 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri near the Saint George Bay

in Beirut shook the entire country. Approximately one million people gathered for an opposition rally in Beirut, a month after the death of Hariri. The "Cedar Revolution" was the largest rally in Lebanon's history at that time. The last Syrian troops withdrew from Beirut on 26 April 2005. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 15 October 2008. During the 2006 Lebanon War, however, Israeli bombardments seeking Hezbollah targets

damaged the infrastructure of Beirut, especially the poorer and largely Shiite South Beirut, which is controlled by Hezbollah.In May 2008, violent clashes broke out in Beirut, after the government decided to disband Hezbollah's network of communications (which it later rescinded), between the government allies that were relocated in the capital and the forces of the opposition briefly before handing it over to the control of the Lebanese Army.

In the aftermath of these events, all clashing parties traveled to the Qatari capital, Doha

, in a national dialogue conference after an invitation from the prince of the country. On the conclusion of the meeting, many decisions were reached, the appointing of a new president of the country, and the establishment of a new national government with all political adversaries involved in. As a result the opposition's camp in the capital was removed, which is underlined in the Doha Agreement.

Geography

Beirut seen from SPOT satellite

Beirut is positioned on a peninsula extending westward into the Mediterranean Sea, about north of the Lebanon-Israel border. The city is flanked by the Lebanon mountains; it has taken on a triangular shape, largely influenced by its situation between and atop two hills: Al-Ashrafieh

and Al-Musaytibah. The Beirut Governorate area is of , and the city's metropolitan area is of . Beirut's coast is rather diverse; rocky beaches, sandy shores, and cliffs are situated beside one another.

Climate

Beirut has a Mediterranean climate characterized by a hot and rain-free summer, pleasant fall and spring, and cool, rainy winter. August is the hottest month of the year with a monthly average high temperature of 29 °C (84 °F), and January and February are the coldest months with a monthly average low temperature of 10 °C (50 °F). During the afternoon and evening the prevailing wind direction is from the west, i.e., onshore, or inland from the Mediterranean Sea

; at night the wind direction reverses to offshore, i.e., blowing from the land out to the sea.

The average annual rainfall is 860 millimetres (34.1 inches), virtually all of which falls in winter. Much of the rain falls on a limited number of days of heavy downpours. Snow in Beirut is rare and usually occurs without accumulation. Exceptions are 3 big snowstorms occurred in 1920, 1942 and 1950.

Quarters and sectors

Beirut is divided into 13 municipality recognized quarters (quartiers):

These quarters are divided into sectors (secteurs).

Three of the twelve official Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are located in Beirut: Burj el-Barajneh, Shatila and Mar Elias refugee camp, all located in the south of the city.Of the fifteen unregistered or unofficial refugee camps, Sabra, which lies adjacent to Shatila, is also located in Beirut.

Demographics

There are wide-ranging estimates of Beirut's population, from as low as 938,940 people, to 1,303,129 people, to as high as 2,012,000. The lack of an exact figure is due to the fact that no population census has been taken in Lebanon since 1932.

A mosque and church side by side

Beirut is the most religiously diverse city of Lebanon and possibly in all of the Middle East, with Christians, and Muslims both having a significant presence. There are nine major religious communities in Beirut (Sunni Muslim, Shiite Muslim, Druze, Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, and Protestant). Family matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance are still handled by the religious authorities representing a person's faith. Calls for civil marriage are unanimously rejected by the religious authorities but civil marriages held in another country are recognized by Lebanese civil authorities. Until the mid-20th century, Beirut was also home to a Jewish community, in the Wadi Abu Jamil neighbourhood.

Before the civil war the neighborhoods of Beirut were fairly heterogeneous, but they have become largely segregated by religion since the conflict. East Beirut

is characterized by a predominantly Christian population, with a small Muslim minority. Meanwhile, West Beirut

is categorized by a Muslim majority, primarily Sunni, with sizable communities of Shi'ites, Druze, and Christians. Since the end of the civil war, East and West Beirut have begun to see an increase in Sunni Muslims and Christians moving into each half. Beirut's southern suburbs are largely populated by Shi'ite Muslims, while Beirut's Eastern suburbs are predominantly Christian.Northern Beirut has had and continues to have a large Lebanese Protestants community since the 19th century.

Beirut has had a history of political strife due to religious divisions. Religion has historically divided Lebanese society decisively, as evident in its prolonged civil war.

Economy

Beirut is home to one of the largest seaports of the eastern Mediterranean Sea; its location and depth allows it to host the largest mother ship vessels. Its recently completed container port is operating over capacity—ten years before studies showed it would.

Beirut is a relatively thriving and expanding tourism destination, especially among Arab tourists. One billion dollars has been pumped into new infrastructure (new hotels and renovations) and continues to rise. The private owned company, SOLIDERE, is allowing tourists, and business visitors, realize how quickly Beirut survived after the many wars that pounded the region. New modern developments are planned across the city and its suburbs, allowing more job opportunities, despite the present weak economy, and re-allocating Beirut on the world tourism map again as a regional and possibly as an international hub. During the 2006 Lebanon War however Israeli bombardments damaged the infrastructure of Beirut, especially the poorer and largely Shiite South Beirut which is controlled by Hezbollah, and is still in the process of rebuilding and welcoming tourists back.

Despite the global economic downturn (2007 and 2009 till present), Lebanons bank survived the great crisis. This was made possible by the strict regulations of loan lendings and other credit payments, issued by Riad Salameh, governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon. As of 2009, he was made "The World Best Central Bank Governor 2009", for being able to prevent the negative financial situation from reaching Lebanon.

Middle East Airlines has its head office in Beirut.

Government

The capital Beirut is the seat of the Lebanese Parliament and of the government, and encompasses all the Ministries, most of thepublic administrations, embassies and consulates.Beirut

is one of six mohafazat (state governorates; mohafazah, singular), with the others being Beqaa

, North Lebanon

, South Lebanon

, Mount Lebanon

and Nabatiye

Facade of the Beirut City Hall

Lebanese Parliament

United Nations headquarters in Beirut.

Governors of Beirut
	Name	Took office	Left office
1	Kamel Abbas Hamieh	1936	1941
2	Nicolas Rizk	1946	1952
3	George Assi	1952	1956
4	Bachour Haddad	1956	1958
5	Philip Boulos	1959	1960
6	Emile Yanni	1960	1967
7	Chafik Abou Haydar	1967	1977
8	Mitri El Nammar	1977	1987
9	George Smaha	1987	1991
10	Nayef Al Maaloof	1992	1995
11	Nicolas Saba	1995	1999
12	Yaacoub Sarraf	1999	2005
13	Nassif Kaloosh	2005

International organizations

The city is home to numerous international organizations. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is headquartered in Downtown Beirut while the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNESCO

(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) both have regional offices in Beirut covering the Arab world. The Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) is also headquartered in Beirut.

Education

Higher education in Beirut, and all over Lebanon, is provided by technical and vocational institutes, university colleges, university institutes and universities. Among these numbers of institutions nationwide, the Lebanese University

is the only public institution in the capital. The responsibility of the Directorate General of Higher Education is responsible for managing the university colleges, university Institutes and Universities in Beirut and nationwide.

Among the private schools in Beirut are the International College, Beirut, Carmel Saint-Joseph, College Louise Wegmann, the American Community School, Rawdah High School, the Saint Mary's Orthodox College ([6375]), the Collège Protestant Français, Collège du Sacré-Coeur Gemmayzé and the Grand Lycée Franco-Libanais.

The higher education system is based on the Lebanese Baccalaureate but the French Baccalaureate is accepted as an equivalent. Before being admitted to any higher education institution, one must achieve his or her Baccalaureate examinations. Baccalaureate technique is an alternative to credentials.

Foreign students who wish to study in higher Lebanese institutions must also meet Lebanese qualifications. Their examinations must be equivalent to the Baccalaureate system before they are granted admission to higher institutions. They are not subject to any special quota system, and scholarships are granted within the framework of bilateral agreements concluded with other countries. Degrees obtained outside Lebanon must be certified by the Lebanese embassy abroad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lebanon. Then, candidates must go in person to the Secretariat of the Equivalence Committee with required documents.

Beirut is home to universities such as the American University of Beirut

, the Lebanese American University

, Université Saint-Joseph, and Ecole Supérieure des Affaires

Transportation

The city's renovated airport is the Rafic Hariri International Airport

and is located in the southern suburbs.

By land, the latter are served by either service taxi or taxicab. A service taxi is cheaper than a normal taxi, however to avoid misunderstanding agreement over the pricing need to be made before setting off.

Beirut has frequent bus connections to other cities in Lebanon and major cities in Syria. The Lebanese Commuting Company, or LCC in short, is just one of a handful brands of public transportation all over Lebanon. On the other hand, the publicly owned buses are managed by Office des Chemins de Fer et des Transports en Commun (OCFTC), or the "Railway and Public Transportation Authority" in English. Buses for northern destinations and Syria leave from Charles Helou Station.

Apart from the international airport, the Port of Beirut

is another port of entry. As a final destination, Lebanon can be reached by ferry from Cyprus or by road from Damascus.

Culture

The culture of Beirut has evolved under the influence of contact with many civilizations and peoples, including Greeks, Romans and Arabs. The law school in Beirut under the Romanized Berytus is believed to be the first law school in the world. This history of cosmopolitanism is a point of pride for the Lebanese.

Beirut hosted the Francophonie and the Arab League summits in 2002. In 2007, Beirut hosted the ceremony for Le Prix Albert Londres, which rewards outstanding Francophone journalists every year. The city is set to host the Jeux de la Francophonie in 2009. Beirut is the United Nations 2009 World Book Capital, an homage for its cultural wealth.

Museums

The National Museum of Beirut

is the principal museum of archaeology in Lebanon. About 1300 artifacts are exhibited, ranging in date from prehistoric times to the medieval Mamluk period.

The American University of Beirut archaeological museum is the third oldest museum in the Middle East, it exhibits a wide range of artifacts from Lebanon and neighboring countries.

Sursock Museum

was built by the Sursock family at the end of the 19th century as a private villa. It was then donated to the Lebanese government and now houses Beirut's most influential and popular art museum. The permanent collection shows a collection of Japanese engravings and numerous works of Islamic art, and temporary exhibitions are shown throughout the year.

Robert Mouawad Private Museum exhibits Henri Pharaon's private archaeology and antiques collection, located near Beirut's the Grand Serail

.

Planet Discovery is a children’s science museum. It holds interactive experiments, exhibitions, performances and workshops, and awareness competitions.

Media

Beirut is the main center in Lebanon for the television, newspaper, and book publishing industries. The television stations include Tele Liban, LBC, Future TV, OTV, MTV, New TV, Al-Manar, ANB, and NBN. The newspapers include An-Nahar, As-Safir, Al Mustaqbal, Al Akhbar, Al-Balad, Ad-Diyar, Al Anwar, Al Sharq, L'Orient Le Jour and the Daily Star. Beirut is one of the two main media hubs in the Arab World, the other being Egypt.

Sports

Beirut, in addition to Sidon and Tripoli, hosted the 2000 AFC Asian Cup. There are two stadiums in the city, Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium

and Beirut Municipal Stadium

.

There are eight football teams in the Lebanese Premier League that are based in Beirut: Nejmeh, Al-Ansar, Al-Hikma, Al Ahed, Al-Mabarrah, Safa, Racing Beirut and Shabab Al-Sahel.

Beirut has two Basketball teams, Al Riyadi and Al Hikma, that participate in the premiere division of the Lebanese Basketball Championship.

Other sports events in Beirut include the annual Beirut Marathon, Hip ball, a weekly horse racing at Beirut Hippodrome

, and golf and tennis tournaments that take place at Golf Club of Lebanon.

Recently Beirut has taken to rugby league as well, with three out of the five teams in the Lebanon Championship based in Beirut.

Arts and fashion

There are hundreds of art galleries in Beirut and its suburbs. Lebanese people are very involved in art and art production. More than 5000 fine art artists and equal artists working in music, design, architecture, theatre, film, photography and other forms of art are producing in Lebanon. Every year hundreds of fine art students graduate from universities and institutions. Artist Workshops are flourishing all around Lebanon.

Recently, The inauguration of the Beirut Art Center in the Jisr El Wati district of Beirut added to the number of exhibition spaces available in Beirut, with an addition of a screening and performance room, mediatheque, bookstore, cafe and terrace.

On another scale, fashion and couture are thriving Fashion houses are opening up and a number of international fashion designers have displayed their work in various fashion shows.

Many fashion designers have opened shops in Beirut such as Versace and Gucci, but many designers live in and around Beirut, for instance Elie Saab a major designer for women's clothing, lives in Beirut. Elie Saab has made dresses for the likes of Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow and Micha Barton. Elie Saab always donates a Christmas tree to downtown Beirut every year.

Another fashion designer from Beirut is Zuhair Murad who has designed clothing for the likes of Ana Ortiz and Christina Applegate. He has worked for Mango clothing line, which has an outlet in Beirut, and has his own retail in Beirut.

Tourism

The once destroyed town center is thriving once again and is much active. Its former reputation as a crossroads between three continents and gateway to the East has been restored and modernized. Beirut is the oft-invoked “Paris of the East”, and there is plenty of sightseeing, shopping, cuisine, and nightlife to keep a tourist within the city limits for the duration a visit to Lebanon. The city has sleek, modern buildings alongside arabesque Ottoman buildings, giving Beirut a unique and distinctive style often not seen in other Middle Eastern cities.

In Travel and Leisure magazine's World Best Awards 2006, Beirut was ranked 9th best city in the world. However, the list was voted upon before the war broke out in Lebanon that same year. Tourist numbers have increased exponentially these last few months.Recently, Lonely Planet named Beirut as ranking in its 2009 top ten liveliest cities on the planet.The New York Times ranked Beirut as the number one place to go in 2009 on its "44 places to go" list of 2009.

 Many of the tourists are returning Lebanese expatriates, but many are

also from Western countries. Approximately two million visitors areexpected to visit in 2009; the previous record was 1.4 million in1974.Tourism was recently helped by the international attention garnered bymass hike to the peak of Mount Hermon on World Tourism Day,2009.