Beirut swaps bunkers for boutiques

Rana Moussaoui

• Last Updated: November 24. 2009 12:01AM UAE / November 23. 2009 8:01PM GMT

Beirut, dubbed “the Paris of the Middle East”, has re-emerged as a showcase for style after the end of decades of strife and civil war. Bryan Denton for The National

BEIRUT // The city is regaining its pre-civil war reputation as a shopper’s paradise, with luxury labels such as Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton among a host of shops opening in renovated souks.

Dethroned by Dubai as a top destination for shoppers, downtown Beirut today has embarked on a campaign of charm as it seeks to attract visitors with ambitious projects such as the Beirut Souks, where 400 stores – 49 of them jewellers – are set to open in coming months.

“Luxury is spreading like an oil stain through downtown Beirut,” says Guillaume Boudisseau, a consultant with Ramco Real Estate. “And downtown is now the place to invest.”

The city centre, devastated by Lebanon’s civil war between 1975 and 1990, and paralysed in 2007-2008 by an opposition sit-in and by the Israel-Hizbollah war in 2006, is today bustling with activity. Hotels, restaurants and shops are opening across the city. The old souks have been revamped at a cost of US$100 million (Dh367.3m) with such fashion names as Vivienne Westwood, Armani, Berluti and Cartier.

International designers who hail from Lebanon also display their work in the capital: Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad each have studios in the highbrow shopping district.

While Beirut still cannot compete with the wide array of boutiques Dubai offers, it has one advantage in addition to its long-standing reputation: it is all within walking distance.

Tony Salameh, the chief executive of the top Lebanese luxury importer Aishti, hopes the city will “reclaim its position as the shopping destination of choice in two years’ time”.

Mr Salameh says the luxury market in Lebanon is on the rise, estimating growth at almost 15 per cent a year.

Dubbed “the Paris of the Middle East” before the war, Beirut re-emerged as a showcase for style after the end of the fighting, despite an economic slump and shaky infrastructure in the 1990s.

But the country was again plunged into instability after the 2005 assassination of the billionaire former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who is credited with having rebuilt central Beirut.

“That’s when we lost the race to Dubai,” Mr Salameh says. “But today, the global crisis that hit the Gulf countries hard has played to the benefit of Lebanon.”

Unlike many of its neighbours, Lebanon has so far largely weathered the economic downturn, thanks in part to its solid banking sector.

“We now have the chance to regain first place instead of Dubai because its clientele, mainly wealthy Russians, accounted for between 60 and 65 per cent of its turnover,” says Mr Salameh. “And that has disappeared.”

He says some of the clients at his luxury department store do not flinch at spending $200,000 a season.

The shopping area is not limited to the souks, with boutiques opening in nearby streets, turning downtown Beirut into a big outdoor shopping mall, popular among visitors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and other Gulf countries.

Western tourists, largely absent in recent years because of security concerns, have also begun making a wary return.

“Gulf clients prefer to shop here in Beirut because to them it still represents sophistication,” Mr Salameh says.

Fadwa, a visitor from the UAE, says the arcaded streets are “the new Dubai, but much prettier”.

Wafa al Ayuti, a wealthy Egyptian tourist, agrees: “It’s both modern and intimate at the same time.”

“It’s like Paris,” adds her mother, as the two walk down a street in the shopping district.

But the Beirut Souks’ new and improved face has left some seasoned denizens feeling nostalgic for the old city.

“These are not the popular souks of my youth,” says Randa Rjeil, from Lebanon. “I feel more like I’m in Europe, rather than Beirut.

“All that is left from what I remember are the street names.”

* Agence France-Presse