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<DIV><SPAN class=986383907-06122005><FONT face=Verdana color=#0000ff
size=2>Thanks Ziad-- <EM>Should</EM> we be proud about this? Well, I'm sure some
may be, as some may not be. Isn't this very diversity in backgrounds,
ideologies, lifestyles, and opinions on what to pride ourselves on or
not the essence of being different yet equal Lebanese citizenry? This
essence becomes a peril only when one does not respect the 'other's right to
differ and pride him/herself on different facets of Lebanon, as long as those
facets do not infringe on the rights and freedoms of others.<BR><BR>Although I
may disagree with you on this being a face of "<FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#000000 size=3>modernity/plus</FONT>", it does signify its own promising
economic, cultural, and investment-related latencies as well, which you allude
to below. Whether we like it or not, this has demonstrated to be a bustling
industry in Lebanon whose players are playing it right (business-wise),
and in doing so are indirectly affecting (and inspiring) other related
sectors in a positive way from an economic standpoint.<BR><BR>On a related note,
I wish to point out that many articles funneling through the LCM mailing
list(s) need not reflect the precise opinions of their senders, and at
times are meant to capture and share with fellow subscribers what's being
written about Lebanon in major Western media outlets. Trust me, as soon Lebanon
makes - and it will - the noteworthy "<FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000
size=3>economic, educational, cultural... reforms and
investments</FONT>" you aspire to, we'll be the first to spread and advocate
them through those very lists :-)<BR><BR>All the best,<BR>L.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> lebanon-articles-bounces@MIT.EDU
[mailto:lebanon-articles-bounces@MIT.EDU] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Ziad Al
Bawab<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, December 05, 2005 7:02 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
Lebanon-Articles@mit.edu<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [LCM Articles] Beirut among
"New Arrivals" (BusinessWeek)<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>should we proud about this? although it is nice and modernity in this
way is a plus too, yet economic,
educational, cultural... reforms and investments are more promising
for the future i guess!! </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">>
New Arrivals<BR>> St Tropez? Passé. Ibiza? So over. The hottest spots for
bars and<BR>> clubs in Europe right now are not where you'd expect...
<BR>> <A
href="http://www.businessweek.com/@@jD6DRocQJ8oYwxwA/magazine/content/05_48/b3961413.htm">http://www.businessweek.com/@@jD6DRocQJ8oYwxwA/magazine/content/05_48/b3961413.htm</A><BR>><BR>>
Beirut<BR>> Vibrant Beirut was at one time the Paris of the Middle East,
a magnet <BR>> for nightclubbing hedonists from East and West. A long
civil war<BR>> tarnished its cosmopolitan character yet, in the 15 years
since the<BR>> ceasefire, Beirut has rebuilt its reputation for fun in
the sun. The <BR>> bustling playground of the Levant is swinging harder
than ever, alive<BR>> with alfresco cafes, designer shops, exclusive
beach clubs and<BR>> all-night clubs.<BR>><BR>> The best place to
start a long, heady night is around the pool of the <BR>> swanky open-air
Sky Bar at the top of the Palm Beach Hotel (Ain<BR>> el-Mreisseh; +961
(0) 1 369 113), which offers cocktails, DJs playing<BR>> loungey sounds,
and magnificent views across the Med.<BR>><BR>> Stunning Lebanese
girls, flashy local celebrities and monied<BR>> businessmen then move on
to Zinc (37 Seifeddine el-Khatib Street;<BR>> +961(0) 1 612 612), a
classy, dimly lit restaurant and bar in a<BR>> French colonial villa that
was taken and retaken so many times during <BR>> the war that it was
eventually nicknamed the "Bitch of Beirut".<BR>><BR>> After midnight,
revellers head to Monot Street, a hilly road lined<BR>> with bars and
clubs that lies beside the infamous Green Line, which <BR>> once divided
Christian East Beirut fromthe Muslim West. Here, the<BR>> party continues
at a knowingly war-themed bar called 1975 (Monot<BR>> Street; +961 (0) 3
323 700), named after the year that the fighting <BR>> kicked off.
Inside, mortar shells stand on the bar, fake sandbags are<BR>> piled up
in the windows, and the waiters wear fatigues and combat<BR>> helmets,
while your drinks are served in old ammunition boxes. <BR>><BR>> Near
to Monot Street is the plush and baroque Crystal (243 Monot<BR>> Street;
+961 (0) 1 332 523), Beirut's largest and flashiest club.<BR>> Dressing
up is positively encouraged here. Whenever a punter buys one <BR>> of the
?2,500, nine-litre bottles of Moët & Chandon, the music stops,<BR>> a
spotlight is beamed onto them and an anthem is played as two<BR>> waiters
carry over their order.<BR>><BR>> Hottest Spots for bars in EuropeThe
late-night partying continues <BR>> until 7am at the legendary BO18 (Lot
317, La Quarantaine; +961 (0) 3<BR>> 800 018), a rather eerie underground
bunker that looks like a cross<BR>> between a bomb shelter and a
mausoleum. The club has a domed roof <BR>> that retracts to allow the
ravers to dance to house and techno under<BR>> the warm, starry
sky.<BR>><BR>> Lisbon<BR>> The fun and friendly Portuguese capital
has undergone a quiet<BR>> renaissance in the past few years,
transforming itself from a <BR>> charming backwater into one of Europe's
most vibrant cities. Lisbon<BR>> has elegant avenues, soulful fado music,
clanking yellow trams and<BR>> nearby beaches, and now boasts a
great-value, all-night party vibe <BR>> that puts Barcelona and Madrid to
shame.<BR>><BR>> Cool and casual locals, flashy African dudes,
beautiful Brazilian<BR>> girls and super-smart Euro-weekenders kick off
long evenings in the<BR>> busy bars of the historic Barrio Alto area,
then head out to the <BR>> redeveloped Docas district for offbeat clubs
located in converted<BR>> dockside warehouses.<BR>><BR>> Hippest
stop-off is the Alcântara Café (15 Rua Maria Luisa<BR>> Holstein;+351
(0)21 363 7176; < <A
href="http://www.alcantaracafe.com">http://www.alcantaracafe.com</A>><BR>>
<A href="http://www.alcantaracafe.com">www.alcantaracafe.com</A>), a bar and
restaurant in a capacious former<BR>> printing works. Decorated with ruby
velvet drapes, sweeping ceiling <BR>> fans, oversized mirrors and a glam
Art Deco flourish, the<BR>> industrially chic Alcâ ntara has a vast,
high-ceilinged dining room,<BR>> a bar serving the best caipirin has in
the city and a dance floor<BR>> playing house and electronica (check out
the club's eponymous CD for<BR>> a preview).<BR>><BR>> The hip
crowd then dance all night at Lux (Avenida Infante D<BR>> Henrique; +351
(0)21 882 0890; <<A href="http://www.luxfragil.com">
http://www.luxfragil.com</A>><BR>> <A
href="http://www.luxfragil.com">www.luxfragil.com</A>), a club in a
labyrinthine riverside warehouse<BR>> complex part-owned by John
Malkovich. Lux's main dance floor hosts<BR>> superstar DJs such as St
Germain and Dorfmeister. A large<BR>> retro-styled upstairs bar has
balconies, chill-out zones, Sixties<BR>> sofas and video projections.
There's also a rooftop terrace. Next<BR>> day, clubbers siesta in the sun
on the beaches at Estoril and <BR>> Cascais, a short train ride
away.<BR>><BR>> Berlin<BR>> Not since the decadent Thirties has
Berlin's nightlife burned so<BR>> brightly. The city's vibrant club scene
blossomed out of the derelict<BR>> buildings of the former East Berlin
back in the early Nineties and <BR>> has been thriving since. The
Euro-home of a certain renegade edge and<BR>> freeform kookiness,
boomtown Berlin's bar and club scene has never<BR>> been hotter,
especially among the artist, designer and fashion crowds. <BR>><BR>>
Clubbers meet early evening at White Trash (201 Torstrasse), an old<BR>>
Chinese restaurant crossed with a Tex-Mex cowboy diner, where<BR>>
bohemian types mingle with transvestites and biker gangs (the owner <BR>>
is a motorcycle-riding, tattooed American). They move on to
Greenwich<BR>> (5 Gipsstrasse, Mitte; +49 (0)30 2809 5566), a laidback
cocktail bar<BR>> decorated with cowhide panels and illuminated fish
tanks framed with <BR>> lime-coloured leather, or Universum Lounge (153
Kurfürstendamm; +49<BR>> (0)30 8906 4995), a glam former Bauhaus cinema
with sleek, space-age<BR>> furnishings and gold lunar-landscape
wallpaper.<BR>><BR>> All-night ravers then head for the emergency
services-themed<BR>> Ambulance Bar (27 Oranienburger Strasse, Mitte), a
lounge-style DJ<BR>> bar, or Dangerous Drums ( <<A
href="http://www.dangerous-drums.de">http://www.dangerous-drums.de
</A>><BR>> <A
href="http://www.dangerous-drums.de">www.dangerous-drums.de</A>), a roaming
techno and breakbeats night found<BR>> at the Pfefferbank club (176
Schönhauser Allee).<BR>><BR>> Very late (after 8am), dedicated
revellers drop into the infamous <BR>> KitKatClub (2-14 Bessemerstrasse),
a leather-and-chains SM nightclub<BR>> that hosts a hip after-hours
party, and then finally on to Cafe<BR>> Einstein (5 Kurfurstenstrasse;
+49 (0)30 261 5096), a historic<BR>> Viennese-style coffee house that
serves all-day breakfasts.<BR>><BR>> Moscow<BR>> Fifteen years of
the Russian free market revolution has created a<BR>> sybaritic and
super-rich class of New Muscovites with an unbridled <BR>> passion for
partying and the high life. Moscow's nightlife scene<BR>> buzzes with
nouveaux riches young millionaires, gorgeous Russian<BR>> society girls
and louche Euro jet-setters. This hot entrepreneurial <BR>> city
overflows with Bentleys, Prada, caviar, Champagne and ice-cold<BR>>
Stoli.<BR>><BR>> The in-crowd mingle at the "eclectically baroque and
decadently<BR>> maximalist" bar and restaurant Milk &Honey (38 Ulitsa
Myasnitskaya; <BR>> +7 (0) 095 928 9947). The colourful and kitsch
interior is a playful<BR>> riot of Victorian antiques, red velvet
curtains, crystal chandeliers<BR>> and gilt-edged mirrors. Vodka shots
and Champagne -- either vintage <BR>> Moët or Cristal Rosé, by the magnum
of course -- are de rigueur in<BR>> the downstairs bar, where on any
given night the fashion-conscious<BR>> rub shoulders with Russia's
artists and thinkers and the place buzzes <BR>> with
conversation.<BR>><BR>> Drinkers stay to eat in the restaurant,
serving delicious French food<BR>> from chef Charles Lefebre, before
party people move on to the<BR>> ostentatious and staggeringly expensive
new VIP venue Osen (3 <BR>> Teatralny Proyezd; +7 (0)095 921 9888), or to
Cabaret (8a Strastnoi<BR>> Bulvar; +7 (0)095 789 8315), a club designed
by the team behind Caves<BR>> du Roy in St Tropez. But be warned -- both
clubs practise Moscow's <BR>> infamous "face control" door
policy.<BR>><BR>> Serious ravers finish with breakfast at Mix (11
Novinsky Bulvar; +7<BR>> (0)095 255 4333), a favourite after-hours club
that stays open until<BR>> the very last punter decides to leave -- often
as late as 3pm the <BR>> following
afternoon.<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> By Philip Watson<BR>> (<A
href="http://www.businessweek.com/@@jD6DRocQJ8oYwxwA/magazine/content/05_48/b3961413.htm">http://www.businessweek.com/@@jD6DRocQJ8oYwxwA/magazine/content/05_48/b3961413.htm
</A>)<BR>><BR>><BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Lebanon-Articles
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