Souks of Beirut, Lebanon

[Libanophile]

After being stalled for years over land ownership issues, the Souks of Beirut are to be rebuilt and redeveloped into a prime shopping district. This will be managed by Solidere, the developer responsible for the reconstruction of much of Beirut's historic Downtown area.

The souks were badly damaged in the course of the Civil War and were subsequently demolished. Original plans called for the completion of the new complex in 1998 or 1999 but have now been pushed back to 2007 at the earliest. Underground facilities (parking) has been finished and construction is set to begin soon on the rest of the development, which will contain 100,000 square metres of retail and entertainment space.

This is the site as it stands today:


An aerial plan:


An artist's impression:


A model of one key section:


A proper map of the Souks' location in the northwestern part of Downtown Beirut:


Newly-released renderings:


















A leisure centre reportedly including an IMAX theatre (next three renderings):








A so-called Multi-Purpose Building:


A department store modelled on an Ottoman caravanserai
which used to stand on the site (and is purportedly set to
become a Middle Eastern branch of the French department
store Galeries Lafayette):




For more detailed information, check out the official website: Solidere - Souks of Beirut. There's an interactive map you can explore with plus information on archaeological finds (e.g. remains of the medieval city wall). However, it is only viewable in Internet Explorer.