KwAcKy's Konfessional |
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Nothing of interest; just mindless links to bikes Birmingham City Football Club and useless junk  
  
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30 July 2006
Beirut stands on the site of a very ancient settlement going back at least 5,000 years. Its name appeared in cuneiform inscriptions as early as the 14th century B.C. In the first century B.C., Berytus, as it was then called, became a Roman Colony and under Roman rule was the seat of a famous Law school which continued into the Byzantine era. But the power and the glory of Berytus were destroyed by a triple catastrophe of earthquake, tidal wave and fire in 551 A.D. In the following century Arab Muslim forces took the city and in 1110 it fell into the Crusaders. Beirut remained in Crusader hands until 1291 when it was conquered by the Mamlukes. Ottoman rule began in 1516, continuing for 400 years later until the defeat of the Turks in World War I. The French Mandate Period followed and in 1943 Lebanon gained its independence. Reconstruction The 1.8 million-square-meter reconstruction project for Beirut's Central District includes hotels, office space and residential areas. But not all the buildings will be new. Some 256 structures were restored by 1998, plus historic mosques and churches. Beirut's souks or markets were reconstructed in the traditional style by 1999. Solidere, the private company who took on the challenge of the 25-year project, planned a modern infrastructure of roads utilities, public areas and marine works. More than half a million square meters of landfill provide land for two marinas, a seaside promenade and a green park.     |
