About what Metropolis are we talking? B’rt, Beryte,
Berytus, Beirut? Bir-ut, the wells, one sees here
the ancient wells and the vale carrying the water
down to the sea just north of Mreisseh. Geologically
speaking, Beirut is an island or peninsula of some
6km that the coastal rivers and sand-laden winds have
attached to the roots of the hills.
Beirut – Phoenician, Assyrian, Babylonian, Pharaonic
or Persian? Greco-Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Arab,
or the present-day Lebanese embracing them all? A
wonder of our planet, a miracle of Nature in this
world of oriental mystery, the first law faculty in
the time of the Romans, Beirut tells the story of
civilization and of the gift to the world of the Phoenician
values.
Palaces, temples, colonnades, cathedral, mosque, race-track
once overlooking the sea, gateway of the Middle East
and of all Asia, and capital of the great Lebanese
nation! It stands on a geological platform six or
seven kilometers long and three or four wide, a tectonic
island that the sandy deposits of two rivers and of
winds have brought into contact with the mainland.
It reaches a height of some thirty meters at Ashrafiyeh
and so offers a delightful viewpoint. Bordering the
sea on one side is a narrow stretch dominated by the
fine esplanade of Ashrafiyeh and to the east a background
of hills and mountains that rise by stages to the
soaring summits of divine Sannine with its eternal
snows under a luminous blue sky.
The shore to the west and to the north is rocky, overhung
by a cliff. Sandy beaches stretch towards Ramlet el-Baida
towards the south, where lidos abound. This cape or
peninsula of Ras Beirut is bordered on the west and
the north by a parade or sea-front planted with palms
and other trees which recall the Côte d’Azur.
This is prolonged northward under the prestigious
name of “avenue des Français”, meeting-place
of all-Beirut, where in the evening people stroll,
read, jog or relax in the cafés or on the benches
under the foliage, each one according to his or her
taste. On this front there stretch a great number
of hotels, restaurants and buildings offering a maximum
of comfort and luxury.
On the western extremity some rocks of great beauty
and renown have been cut away by the waves. Two enormous
piles rise from the water like some sphinx in the
desert and recall the “Etretat” in France, having
been separated from the mainland by the action of
the billows. They stand like two armed sentinels before
the capital, in front of an extended cliff varying
between twenty and thirty meters high. One can reach
these nearby towering islets by swimming or taking
a boat.
The name of this site “the Rawsheh” is derived from
the French word rocher, corrupted phonetically into
Arabic as Rawsheh. Pigeons come to seek refuge on
the walls and in a cave in these rocks, a fact which
has given them the name of “grotte aux pigeons”. Popular
rumor has it that here despairing individuals come
to commit suicide by throwing themselves from the
height. Professional sportsmen come here to show off
their skills in front of a curious public. The rocks
have become a picturesque subject for painters and
orientalists and provide an incomparable viewpoint
for tourists and passers-by.
On the seashore to the north of these rocks passing
behind the American University of Beirut, or AUB,
is the old Lighthouse, sticking up from among the
houses and clearly visible from afar, so allowing
ships and aircraft to fix their positions before coming
into Beirut harbor or airport. This now has the back-up
of a new modern beacon standing up from the sea, which
however lacks, one must admit, the charm of the old
one.
Text:
Joseph Matar, William Matar, Kenneth Mortimer, André
Delalande
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