The Heart of Beirut; Reclaiming the Bourj

by Samir Khalaf

• ISBN13: 9780863565427
• ISBN10: 0863565425
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2006-05-14
• Publisher: Saqi Books

Summary

The Bourj in central Beirut is one of the world's oldest and most vibrant public squares. Named after the mediaeval lookout tower that once soared above the city's imposing ramparts, the square has also been known as Place des Canons (after a Russian artillery buildup in 1773) and Martyrs' Square (after the Ottoman execution of nationalists in 1916). As an open museum of civilizations, it resonates with influences from ancient Phoenician to colonial, post-colonial and, as of late, post-modern elements. Over the centuries it has come to embody pluralism and tolerance.

Author Biography

Samir Khalaf is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Behavioral Research (American University of Beirut)

Table of Contents

Foreword and Acknowledgments	9	(4)
Preface: Rafik Hariri's Martyrdom and the Mobilisation of Public Dissent	13	(6)
On Collective Memory, Central Space and National Identity	19	(21)
City and Mountain	23	(4)
Post-War Setting	27	(1)
Global, Regional and Local Encounters	28	(3)
Collective Memory vs Collective Amnesia	31	(4)
The Heritage Crusade	35	(1)
Mediating Agencies of Social Forgetting	36	(4)
Beirut's Encounters with the Social Production of Space: A Historical Overview	40	(72)
Urban Landscape and Architectural Heritage	45	(6)
Egyptian, Ottoman and French Legacies	51	(33)
The Endemic Failure of Successive Urban Planning Schemes	84	(6)
The Architects' Legacy	90	(22)
The Spaces of Post-War Beirut	112	(14)
The Reconstruction of Spatial Identities	113	(7)
The Geography of Fear and its By-Products	120	(6)
Post-War Construction of Beirut's Central District	126	(43)
The Recovery of Foch-Allenby and Etoile	133	(15)
Saifi Village	148	(4)
The Souks	152	(4)
An Open-Air Museum	156	(7)
Waterfront and Marina Projects	163	(2)
Religious Edifices	165	(4)
The Bourj as a Cosmopolitan Public Sphere	169	(27)
Genesis and Emergence as a Public Sphere	170	(9)
Re-Inventing its Identity and Public Image	179	(17)
Public Sphere as Playground	196	(39)
Venues for Self-Expression and Conviviality	197	(4)
Public Entertainment and Social Mobilisation	201	(10)
The Commercialisation of Sexual Outlets	211	(11)
The Press as a Fourth Estate	222	(9)
The Cosmopolitanism of a `Merchant Republic'	231	(4)
Future Prospects	235	(13)
Notes	248	(7)
Bibliography	255	(6)
Index	261	(16)
Picture Credits	277