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, )
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,
)
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, )
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.
www.albergobeirut.com
www.monroebeirut.com
www.mayflowerbeirut.com