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  • A City Of Great Contrasts

    A CITY OF GREAT CONTRASTS
    Kaelen Wilson-Goldie

    The National
    October 08. 2008 2:04PM UAE
    United Arab Emirates

    Cafes in downtown Beirut are enjoying a renaissance. Sipa Press /
    Rex Features

    Why go Luxurious and low-key, quaint, sophisticated and stubbornly
    provincial, Beirut is a city of wild contradictions and criss-crossing
    influences. It balances a languid, sun-kissed Mediterranean lifestyle
    with the punishing pace of a hyper-capitalist city that has endured
    a tragically tumultuous history. Destroyed by fire, earthquake and
    wars too numerous to name, Beirut always recovers, and does so in
    style. Its resilience has become intrinsic to its appeal.

    A visit to the National Museum, first completed in 1937 and beautifully
    renovated in 1997, offers a quick study in Lebanon's history. The
    artefacts on view date from the Bronze and Iron ages; the Hellenistic,
    Roman and Byzantine periods; and the years of Arab conquest up through
    the Mameluke era. Highlights include a marble sarcophagus illustrating
    the legend of Achilles.

    Political instability hasn't slowed development in Beirut, such that
    to wander around the city today is an endless exercise in what was
    and what will be. One thing that hasn't changed since the go-go days
    of the 1960s, however, is the Sporting Club, a concrete beach of
    consummate charm that juts out into the sea from Ras Beirut.

    But to truly experience the here and now, head to the cafes of Hamra
    Street, which are enjoying a renaissance, or to the restaurants of
    the city centre, which are again buzzing with activity, or to the
    clutch of cute nightlife joints that have multiplied all the way down
    the main drag of Gemmayzeh and into Mar Mikhael. Drop in on Beirut's
    rigorously contemporary art scene along the way, or simply follow
    the sounds of the city's many live music venues, which range from
    traditional tarab to experimental jazz and the steady thump of techno.

    Where to stay Luxury Situated in the upscale neighbourhood that
    is clustered around Abdel Wahab al-Inglizi Street in Achrafieh,
    the Hotel Albergo offers 33 elegant, individually designed suites
    detailed with Bohemian crystal chandeliers, Briare porcelain, Carrare
    marble and antique furniture. Guests can choose from the Oriental,
    Mediterranean, Colonial and European rooms, or go all out for the
    presidential or royal suites. The Albergo's rooftop terrace - a
    verdant, jasmine-scented reprieve from the chaotic urban density below
    - boasts a casual restaurant, a swimming pool and 360-degree views
    of the Beirut skyline. The more formal and stately Al Dente, located
    on the ground floor, serves exquisite Italian cuisine and invites
    Michelin-starred chefs to create new tasting menus for travellers and
    neighbourhood diners alike. Standard suites begin at Dh1,032 per night,
    including tax and breakfast. (+961 1 339 797, www.albergobeirut.com)

    Mid-range The ultra-modern Monroe Hotel overlooks the marina in the
    heart of Downtown Beirut's hotel district, with the iconic Phoenicia,
    St Georges and Holiday Inn on one side and the new Platinum and
    Marina Towers on the other. More sleek and Scandinavian in style
    than opulent or oriental, the Monroe includes 49 rooms and suites,
    three restaurants, an outdoor swimming pool, a beauty salon and
    a spa. Standard rooms begin at Dh496 per night. (+961 1 371 122,
    www.monroebeirut.com)

    Budget A favourite among visiting artists, writers, foreign
    correspondents, humanitarian aid workers and travellers who value a
    down-to-earth stay over exuberant ostentation, the Mayflower Hotel is
    a long-standing local favourite, with 85 rooms. It recently celebrated
    its 50th anniversary, which makes it ancient by Beiruti standards, and
    its fabled history includes giving shelter to the writer Graham Greene,
    the notorious spy Kim Philby and the formula one champion Graham Hill,
    all of whom have suites named for them now. Situated in the middle
    of the cosmopolitan Hamra Street district, the Mayflower offers few
    frills but can't be beat for location. Single rooms begin at Dh294
    per night, not including tax. (+961 340 680, www.mayflowerbeirut.com)

    Where to eat Back in the 1960s, politicians used the spill out of
    late-night parliament sessions to dine with the luminaries of Lebanese
    arts and letters at the restaurant Al Ajami in downtown Beirut. Al
    Ajami opened in Souq al-Tawile in 1920, and, after the neighbourhood
    was levelled by years of civil war and reconstruction, decamped to
    Ramlet al-Baida in 1998. The new location may be sleepy compared to
    Al Ajami's raucous heyday, but one thing that remains the same is the
    food, an expansive and delectable selection of mezze, meats and sweets
    that carry Lebanon's long and intricate culinary history in every dish.

    In Beirut, the fiercest of epicures seek out Levantine twists on
    the delicacies of Armenian cuisine. The restaurants Al Mayass, in
    Achrafieh, and Mayrig, in Gemmayzeh, are the most famous. But the
    most authentic is the closet-sized Varouj, tucked into an alleyway
    in Bourj Hammoud. Prepare for a marathon feast and make sure you try
    the soujouk, batrakh dressed in garlic, spiced kafta drenched in red
    cherries and, if you can handle it, asafeer (small roasted birds that
    you pop into your mouth and crunch).

    For outdoor dining, head to the gardenia- and jasmine-edged garden
    at Centrale. The menu is refreshed every season, and the summer
    selections include a succulent lobster salad with coriander and
    ginger. The restaurant Casablanca, on the upper floor of an old Ottoman
    villa in Ain al-Mreisseh, is Beirut's best-kept dining secret, with a
    long list of loyal regulars who make reservations a requirement. The
    menu mixes a little of east with a little bit of west, the kitchen
    benefits tremendously from the owner Johnny Farah's organic farm,
    and the daily specials are to die for.

    How to get there Middle East Airlines (MEA), Etihad, and Emirates
    daily to Beirut from Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
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