Beirut

If you wonder why the last picture is dark - there is no electricity from the state at the moment. People are on their own and have to organise their own electricity through private providers.

Beirut is the economic and cultural centre of the country with many publishing houses and universities, including the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the Université Saint-Joseph (USJ). The city was often called the "Paris of the Orient" before the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990).

The earliest mention of the city dates back to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Beirut was already an important city-state under the Phoenicians; its ancient Phoenician name was Be'erot (Engl. 'well'). From this, the Greeks called the city Berytós.

After the conquest by the armies of Alexander the Great, Beirut belonged to the Seleucid Empire for a long time. Its rule ended in 63 BC in the course of the Roman conquest of the Levant. Pompey made the area to which Beirut belonged a province of the Roman Empire as Syria. During Roman times, the city, which now bore the name Berytus as a Roman colony, was very important and produced well-known jurists, including Papinian and Ulpian. The Beirut school of law was influential until the 6th century. Latin was the dominant language of Beirut at least until the late 4th century, probably much longer; this set it apart culturally from its surrounding countryside. In 551, an earthquake and a subsequent tidal wave destroyed the prosperous city.Read more