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Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, was once the centre-point of the country’s civil war. But it has since shed its deadly past to become one of the Middle East’s most hip and fashionable party destinations.
Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, was once the centre-point of the country’s civil war. But it has since shed its deadly past to become one of the Middle East’s most hip and fashionable party destinations. And that’s often quite a surprise for foreign visitors. It’s 10.30pm on Saturday in Beirut and the streets are packed with bar-hoppers. For two decades, Lebanon was a dangerous war zone in the middle of a bitter civil war. But despite its dark past, Beirut has gained a reputation for being one of the best party cities in the Middle East. Every year, nightclubs in Beirut attract tens of thousands of partygoers from around the world
O1ne is one of Beirut’s biggest nightclubs. Its owner – businessman Cheikh Chafic El Khazen – owns several other famous nightclubs in the capital.
He has invested millions of dollars in this enormous new venue, which can host up to 1,500 people. He said: "Initially, the investment was way less and through the process of the development, I was dragged into something that I was dreaming of for quite a while, and I ended up investing millions of dollars. "If it’s a bit more to the extreme in Lebanon, it’s definitely because we definitely don’t know what’s gonna to happen the next day."
Beirut’s violent past has also influenced some of the city’s most famous venues, like B018, situated in the Karantina neighbourhood.
During the civil war, the area was a slum home to thousands of Kurdish and Palestinian refugees and was later the site of a terrible massacre by local militias.
As a morbid reminder of the neighbourhood’s bloody past, the underground nightclub was designed to look like a coffin – but this gruesome history doesn’t deter the partygoers from enjoying their night.
Its owner, Naji Gebran, said: "B018 was the number of my apartment on the beach I used to live during the war. I used to make parties there and listen to music and educate the ‘youngs’ musically.
"I used to call it musical therapy and my dream was to, at the end of the war, open a club."
Hedonism is definitely a way of living in Lebanon, and Beirut’s carefree parties are a legacy of the country’s turbulent past and uncertain future.
– CNA/ir
