the capital
Happy 2004 Beirut! Things are changing... fast downtown, slowlier in the suburbs, especially in the less wealthy ones. Devastated between 1975 and 1990 by a bloody civil war, Beirut is quickly picking itself up. Buildings like the one in the picture are getting more and more obsolete. I'm not too fond of Beirut... beautiful restoration work has been carried out downtown and in other parts of town, yet it's still very grey and sad-looking. I saw very little of it by day, and I was not really impressed. But by night it shines like gold: it's beautiful, it's alive, it's captivating, it's full of contrast. I definitely liked Beirut at night.
