Beirut rises again

From the January issue: International media reports frequently portray
Beirut as a city on the verge of a breakdown. In the past two years the
capital city of Lebanon has been at the center of a ruinous war with
Israel and has suffered a slew of political assassinations. Meanwhile,
a year of massive protests has hobbled downtown, a former luxury retail
hub and home to the country’s most valuable property. Looking around
the city in the summer of 2006, one United Nations spokesman offered
this grave assessment: “Fifteen years of reconstruction and
rehabilitation – [gone] in a month.” It would be logical to conclude
that Beirut’s real estate market would be in the doldrums as a result
of the violence. Yet that’s not exactly what’s happening.