The capital of Lebanon, the ancient modern city. It was the centre of the oldest Roman & Greek law universities; and "the pearl of the orient" in our era for its cultural and economical importance.
Against that setting, Beirut stands as a backdrop of history and modernism. The coastal capital was called “Birot” in ancient times — a Semitic word meaning, “well,” or “source.”

Through the centuries, several civilizations reshaped the city — Roman, Byzantine Greek, Arab, Crusader, Ottoman. Today, extensive archaeological digs dot the city and beckon to its glorious past.

Modern Beirut, with over a million residents, remains the country’s cultural and commercial centre although the city was left in ruins by the 1975-90 civil war. In the 1990s, massive reconstruction and development of the war-ruined area have been underway. Over a 25-year period, the reconstruction will turn Beirut into a modern city retaining its familiar eastern flavour.

In Beirut, there’s a free market of ideas with a vibrant press publishing newspapers and magazines in Arabic, English, French and Armenian. Broadcast media and modern technology have also linked Lebanon to the information superhighway. As in older times, the city remains famous as an educational centre. Beirut sends a steady stream of doctors, teachers, engineers, businessmen and artists into the world.

Along with food for thought is an extensive variety of nourishment for the body, which students and visitors experience at countless Lebanese and multi-ethnic restaurants. Conveniently located shopping centres, beaches and mountain resorts add to the pleasures of Beirut-based students. Entertainment includes a resurgent local Arabic theatre as well as visiting foreign repertory groups, vocalists and orchestras, cinemas and amusement centres. Art galleries abound in Beirut.
 
Beirut retains to this day its role as a great cultural centre with great impact on the Middle Eastern region. Its 8 universities have graduated a large number of the area's prime movers and shakers. Thousands throughout the Middle East read its newspapers and publications, and it remains the publishing centre for the whole area.
It is a commercial, banking and financial centre for the region as whole, with about 85 Lebanese and foreign banks, countless import-export companies, arbitrage and triangular trade operations and free exchange market.

The capital still has many touristy attractions to offer, among them the American University of Beirut Museum, the Sursock Museum, the Pigeons' Grotto, many shopping centres and a large number of restaurants with succulent menus from cuisines of the world as well as local Lebanese specialties.

Beirut Arab University was founded in 1960 by the Lebanese Moslem Welfare Society "Jami'at al-bir wa al-ihsan" in co-operation with the University of Alexandria, and licensed by Lebanese Presidential Decree No. 874 dated January 13, 1961, with a view to providing opportunities for higher learning to Arab students. In its capacity as the only Arab University, which can be called regional in the real sense of the word, and being a private institution, it has liberty of action and flexibility of programs.

These factors account for its stupendous growth, for it has developed academically so as to comprise the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Commerce, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Sciences, the Faculty of Pharmacy, the faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Dentistry.

A visit to the flattened central business district between Bab Edriss and Martyrs' Square, now the site of massive reconstruction and meticulous restoration, is simultaneously saddening and inspiring. In other areas, especially along some 10 miles of crowded coastal strip north and south of Beirut, a jungle of unregulated multi-story concrete buildings has swallowed up onetime plantations of oranges and bananas.

Further along the coasts, however, and once into the mountains above suburban foothills, Lebanon's famous natural beauty still resides. In the north, the port of Byblos, the olive groves above Tripoli, and the steeply terraced hillsides on the winding road to the famous Cedars of Lebanon still draw visitors. In the south, roadside cafes on the banks of cold-running mountain streams still tempt travellers en route to the stone-cut, orange-roofed villages around Beit Eddine. In the central Bekaa Valley, Roman Baalbek has already hosted its first revived summer music festival.

So Lebanon is again open for business. The welcome sign is out. Those Aramcons who were regular visitors to the Beirut of 20 years ago may find themselves mourning the passing of the particular city they carry in their memory. But they can be assured that there is still plenty to love about the eternal Beirut once again rising like the Phoenix from its ashes.