by Joseph A. Kechichian, Gulf news Beirut: Hisham Jaroudi, a real-estate magnate had promised to save a 100-year building in Beirut, popularly …

by Saudi Gazette — What looked like characters from a medieval tale or the Game of Thrones saga with a wintry theme, …

by Vogue - Living Brigitte Bardot put St.-Tropez on the map. Beirut, on the other hand, was at the height of its Golden Age when the starlet set foot on its cosmopolitan shores—another celebrity endorsement was superfluous. The vibrant city was a jet-setter’s playground, with a social scene that rivaled its European counterparts. It’s what attracted Bardot in the first place. A 15-year civil war ravaged more than just the country’s reputation, but two decades of reconstruction have polished away the grit to reveal its golden sheen. Set between snowcapped mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, Beirut is an enchanting place to retrace Bardot’s steps.

Where to stay
Lebanon’s most glamorous guests settled in at the Phoenicia hotel, the nightlife capital of Beirut in its prime. Bardot was a poolside fixture, her lounge chair previously reserved for guests like Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. The five-star hotel has been restored to its decadent, mid-century glory in recent years, and the mosaic pool retains much of its original character, including views of the sapphire sea. Thanks to a raucous cabaret club and hard-partying Hollywood occupants—Marlon Brando among them—the hotel’s pre-war debauchery has become the stuff of legend. But with maturity comes a more elegant, if more reserved, Phoenicia. The Phoenicia faced stiff competition in Bardot’s day, and today’s voyageur has plenty of five-star hotel options. The quietly extravagant Le Gray Beirut, a Gordon Campbell Gray property, is favored for its prime downtown position and a rooftop infinity pool that dissolves into the skyline.

by david choi – Brigitte Macron (L), wife of French President Emmanuel Macron (R), President Donald Trump, and First lady Melania Trump pose …