Downtown
I don't know why the new posts aren't showing up on the first page, but they aren't, so hopefully everyone is finding these okay.
Classes have started, and as many of you have already heard, I am in class 6 hours a day, plus have several hours worth of homework at night. Needless to say, that leaves little time for exploring during the week, but I still have time during the weekends! Friday night several of us from the program went downtown to watch the Germany v. Argentina match. The game was fun, but it was a lot of fun to just watch the people downtown. The streets were busy with people either heading to cafes or clubs, or just strolling with their families. During the war, Beirut's downtown was mostly destroyed by the war. In 1994, the Lebanese Company for the Reconstruction of Beirut Central District (Solidere in French) was formed in an effort to return Beirut to its status as the "Paris of the Middle East". As the name implies, the company has undertaken the reconstruction of the downtown area. This has been an extremely controversial project: on the one hand, the reconstruction has been successful in bringing businesses and people back to the downtown, but on the other hand, the project has smoothed over the problems left by the conflict. It has also made the downtown feel a bit like Disneyland as all of the buildings look the same and are brand new. The people just call the downtown Solidere after the company undertaking the reconstruction. Solidere shares are traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and in London, and Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister assassinated in 2004, owned a significant portion of Solidere. The company has a very nice website with video and everything if you are interested.
I was trying to discreetly take a picture of the soldiers standing under the tree. The parliament building is nearby and the UN also has offices in the area, necessitating the additional security.
Classes have started, and as many of you have already heard, I am in class 6 hours a day, plus have several hours worth of homework at night. Needless to say, that leaves little time for exploring during the week, but I still have time during the weekends! Friday night several of us from the program went downtown to watch the Germany v. Argentina match. The game was fun, but it was a lot of fun to just watch the people downtown. The streets were busy with people either heading to cafes or clubs, or just strolling with their families. During the war, Beirut's downtown was mostly destroyed by the war. In 1994, the Lebanese Company for the Reconstruction of Beirut Central District (Solidere in French) was formed in an effort to return Beirut to its status as the "Paris of the Middle East". As the name implies, the company has undertaken the reconstruction of the downtown area. This has been an extremely controversial project: on the one hand, the reconstruction has been successful in bringing businesses and people back to the downtown, but on the other hand, the project has smoothed over the problems left by the conflict. It has also made the downtown feel a bit like Disneyland as all of the buildings look the same and are brand new. The people just call the downtown Solidere after the company undertaking the reconstruction. Solidere shares are traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and in London, and Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister assassinated in 2004, owned a significant portion of Solidere. The company has a very nice website with video and everything if you are interested.
I was trying to discreetly take a picture of the soldiers standing under the tree. The parliament building is nearby and the UN also has offices in the area, necessitating the additional security.
posted by Courtney at 12:45 PM
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