It used to be said that Beirut was 7 times destroyed and 7 times rebuilt. That number rose to 8 after the war, and reconstruction has been ongoing since 91. The following series is a photographic timeline of the very heart of Beirut, Martyr Square. It will take you through the Square's days of glory, its utter destruction, and the new face it has slowly been taking. Martyr Square is one of the most vibrant metaphors of what the country suffered from the war. Only a generation ago, it was the hub of the city that was called the Paris of the Middle-East; early during the Israeli-Syrian war, Israeli air raids annihilated the site. More than 15 years went by before people dared return to what had become a no man's land. The Square is now largely rebuilt, with the statue of the Martyrs returned, and as of 2005 it has reclaimed its place in Lebanese history and hearts by being the locus of the revolution and of the unforgettable rally of March 14.
Although shot under different angles, all the pictures in this series portray the Square at different periods.
Scroll right to begins the tour.
Above: the Square in the 20's.
Right: In the 30's, you see it the way it would remain until the war.
Martyr Square was already an important center in Phoenician times: the
remains of a Phoenician city and its workshops keep being found under buildings
that are being rebuilt.
In 1551 AD an earthquake destroyed its foundations, and the city was re-planned
afterwards. Even now though it is still based on the two road axis set up by the
Romans, the cardus and documanus.
It used to be named El Burj, the Tower, becausea centuries-old tower stood
there in the nameless space. The name is still used by locals even though it has
been officially displaced since the late 18th century. At that time, a Russian
cannon was stationed in its center to protect the city from the invasion of
Ahmad Pasha aka al Jazzar (the Butcher), a bloodthirsty Hungarian in the
service of the Ottomans. The Square was named Square of the Cannons in reference
to this event.
More cannons, this time French and British, were brought by European armies in
1860 when they landed on the coast to fight the armies of King Faysal of Damascus.
The final name of the Square dates from 1915, when 20 Lebanese martyrs, most of them journalists, were hanged there by the Ottomans. When the latter departed from the land after the First World War, the first monument to their memory was raised. You can see this statue on the picture to the left.
Above: Martyr Square in the 60's reflects the country's prosperity.
Six years later the French Mandate came to an end, and students climbed over the head of the Serail to
raise the Lebanese flag for the first time.
The Square played an increasingly important part on all levels of the life of the city in the next few
decades. "All across history, students and trade unions standing against the national government expressed
in down town Beirut all their dissatisfaction. On the other hand, this was also a center of tremendous
intellectual activity, especially with the foundation of the 1950 Grand Theater". (Ghassan Tueni, "El Bourj -
Liberty Square"). When my mother was a child in the 60s, her parents used to take her and her siblings
to the Square whenever they had to shop for groceries. They would go through a jungle of bazaar-like shops,
bathing in the hustle and bustle, and the tour would end with a visit to the best ice cream vendor in town.
During the 1975-91 war, the Syrian and Palestinians as well as Israeli war planes proceeded to the deliberate annihilation of Beirut, of which the Square, given its importance was the foremost target...
March 1996: Five years after the beginning of the reconstruction, the square is one large worksite. All the buildings visible in the previous picture have been removed; what you see here is the second or third layer of constructions, beyond those that were razed. On the far right, the Armenian church, sole building in the entire area to have been completely spared by the destruction. The large, low building in the left-middle, stands right in front of the site shown in the next image.
February 1997: This group of Phoenician workshops was found under one of the buildings that was removed. I participated in the excavation; it took several months to dig it out completely. This site is important enough that it will be preserved, while the many others found under the Square were closed and built over.
January 1998: With the new roads, down town is starting to take shape. Solidere, the society in charge of its reconstruction, sets up a large Christmas tree every year. The statue was removed a long time ago to be restored.
January 2001: Most of the new constructions are now in place, and magnolia trees have been planted along the roads. But we are still waiting for the statue to return...
March 14, 2005: the Square is back.
