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Lebanese Nights

Lebanon is not only full of great cars… Check this article taken from Business Week.

New Arrivals – The hottest spots for bars and clubs in Europe right now are not where you’d expect

December 05, 2005 By Philip Watson – Business Week
St Tropez? Pass?ɬ©. Ibiza? So over. The hottest spots for bars and clubs in Europe right now are not where you’d expect

Beirut

Vibrant Beirut was at one time the Paris of the Middle East, a magnet for nightclubbing hedonists from East and West. A long civil war tarnished its cosmopolitan character yet, in the 15 years since the ceasefire, Beirut has rebuilt its reputation forfun in the sun. The bustling playground ofthe Levant is swinging harder than ever, alive with alfresco cafes, designer shops, exclusive beach clubs and all-night clubs.

The best place to start a long, heady night is around the pool of the swanky open-air Sky Bar at the top of the Palm Beach Hotel (Ain el-Mreisseh; +961 (0) 1 369 113), which offers cocktails, DJs playing loungey sounds, and magnificent views across the Med.

Stunning Lebanese girls, flashy local celebrities and monied businessmen then move on to Zinc (37 Seifeddine el-Khatib Street; +961(0) 1 612 612), a classy, dimly lit restaurant and bar in a French colonial villa that was taken and retaken so many times during the war that it was eventually nicknamed the “Bitch of Beirut”.

After midnight, revellers head to Monot Street, a hilly road lined with bars and clubs that lies beside the infamous Green Line, which once divided Christian East Beirut fromthe Muslim West. Here, the party continues at a knowingly war-themed bar called 1975 (Monot Street; +961 (0) 3 323 700), named after the year that the fighting kicked off. Inside, mortar shells stand on the bar, fake sandbags are piled up in the windows, and the waiters wear fatigues and combat helmets, while your drinks are served in old ammunition boxes.

Near to Monot Street is the plush and baroque Crystal (243 Monot Street; +961 (0) 1 332 523), Beirut’s largest and flashiest club. Dressing up is positively encouraged here. Whenever a punter buys one of the ?¢‚Äö¬¨2,500, nine-litre bottles of Mo?ɬ´t & Chandon, the music stops, a spotlightis beamed onto themand an anthem is played as two waiters carry over their order.

The late-night partying continues until 7am at the legendary BO18 (Lot 317, La Quarantaine; +961 (0) 3 800 018), a rather eerie underground bunker that looks like a cross between a bomb shelter and a mausoleum. The club has a domed roof that retracts to allow the ravers to dance to house and techno under the warm, starry sky.

So we are waiting for your visit.