Middle East - Anthony Ham [351]
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ORIENTATION
Though there are lots of useful landmarks by which to navigate around town (the towering, derelict former Holiday Inn being the most obvious; Map), navigating Beirut can still be a little tricky. The blue signs on street corners don’t usually give the name of the street itself; instead, only the sector (suburb) name and rue (street) number. On top of this, numbered buildings are rare, and many streets don’t have names at all, or are locally known by a different name from the one given on a map. That said, armed with a good street map (see below), getting familiar with this compact city is actually rather easy.
The university districts of Hamra and Ras Beirut, with their plethora of hotels, bookshops, cafés and restaurants, is the preferred base for many travellers. Directly north of Hamra runs the seafront Corniche, or Ave de Paris, along which are stringed Beirut’s beach clubs and most of its top hotels. To the south is affluent Verdun, home to designer clothes shops that line the Rue Verdun. East from Hamra, you’ll reach the beautifully restored Beirut Central District (BCD) or Downtown, at the centre of which is the landmark Place d’Étoile, also known as Nejmeh Sq, lined with pavement cafés. Just east again is the Place des Martyrs, where the huge Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque (reminiscent of İstanbul’s Blue Mosque) is another useful landmark.
Edging the Place des Martyrs is the Rue de Damas, which was once the Green Line separating warring East and West Beiruts, and further west you’ll find the funky Gemmayzeh district, centred on Rue Gouraud. A little south from here, you’ll reach Achrafiye, another super-cool district, famous for its clubbing street, Rue Monot.
Maps
An invaluable aid to wandering Beirut is the English-language Zawarib Beirut (LL15,000 or US$10), which is a complete, large-scale A-Z-style street map of the entire city. Remember, though, that the street names listed here are in their English, rather than French, form (eg Damascus Blvd rather than Rue de Damas).
Another useful street map is the city map provided on the back of the countrywide Lebanon Tourist Map (LL12,000), published by Paravision (www.paravision.org). Both are widely available in Beirut bookshops.
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INFORMATION
Bookshops
Beirut has a good range of foreign-language bookshops (which keep standard opening hours unless indicated otherwise).
Books & Pens (Map; 741 975; Rue Jeanne d’Arc, Hamra; 8am-10pm Mon-Fri, 8am-8pm Sat) This stationers and bookshop stocks a decent selection of local and international newspapers and magazines.
Librairie Antoine (Map; 341 470; Rue Hamra, Hamra) If you’re out of holiday reading, this place stocks literature (including Lebanese) in English, French and Spanish, and has a good children’s section.
Naufal Booksellers (Map; 354 898; Rue Sourati, Hamra) Stockists of all things Lebanese, and a terrific place to browse for books and plan your onward travel.
Virgin Megastore (Map; 999 666; Opera Bldg, Place des Martyrs, Downtown; 9am-11pm Mon-Sat) A huge collection of books and maps on Lebanon, fiction and children’s books, local and regional music, and the place to pick up tickets for Lebanon’s summer festivals.
Emergency
Ambulance ( 140)
Fire brigade ( 175)
Police ( 160)
Tourist police ( 350 901)
Internet Access
There’s no shortage of internet cafés all across Beirut; the highest concentration is in the vicinity of the AUB campus (Click here). Opening hours are very flexible, though most open around 9am and stay open until well after midnight. Prices are generally around the LL3000 per hour mark.
PC Club (Map; 745 338; Rue Sidani, Hamra) A popular student hangout that rarely shuts up shop.
Virgin Café (Map; 999 777; 4th fl, Opera Bldg, Place des Martyrs, Downtown) Situated on the 4th floor of the Virgin Megastore, this is one of the only internet places currently operating in Downtown.
Web Café (Map; 03-283 456; Rue