Rue de Phénicie or Phoenicia Street is a street in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. The street runs north–south from the Mediterranean uphill to where

Rue John Kennedy Rue John Kennedy is a street in Beirut, Lebanon. The street, originally called Rue Perthuis, was renamed in honor of President John F. Kennedy on November 30, 1963.Middle East forum, Volumes 39-40, page 112 The street, which is located in the Ras ...

meets Rue Omar Daouk, intersecting along the way Rue Ibn Sina, Rue London, and Rue Rustom Pacha. The street is located in the Zaytuneh neighborhood of

Ras Beirut Ras Beirut ("Tip of Beirut") is an upscale residential neighborhood of Beirut. It has a mixed population of Christians, Muslims, Druze, and secular individuals. Ras Beirut is home to some of Beirut's historically prominent families, such as th ...

, where in the mid-1800s the city expanded westerly outside the city walls and was formally recognized during the period of the French Mandate with the construction of

Avenue des Français Avenue des Français was a wide, palm-lined, seaside street in Beirut, Lebanon, and now part of the pedestrian promenade, the Shoreline Walk. History Avenue des Français was created out of the widening of the former Rue Minet El Hosn during ...

that ran along its seaboard.Kassir, Debevoise, and Fisk. ''Beirut'', page 389 After independence, the neighborhood was known for its numerous cafes, bars, cabarets and brothels, such as the Black Elephant, the Lido, and Eve, and the night scene expanded to include Rue de Phénicie, which quickly surpassed any other streets in the neighborhood, becoming "the night's center of gravity". The upsurge of Rue de Phénicie was due to the opening of the ritzy nightclub, Les Caves du Roy, that quickly became the hangout of the rich and famous, including Marlon Brando and Brigitte Bardo. The infamous cabaret,

The Crazy Horse The Crazy Horse is a cabaret venue on the Rue de Phénicie in Beirut, Lebanon. Named after the Parisian cabaret Crazy Horse, it was an infamous nightclub during the 1960s and 1970s when it was both a bar and a brothel, and considered the most outra ...

, a favorite hangout of pre-terrorism Osama Bin Laden, was also located on the street. Other establishments on the street in the 1960s and 1970s was Lucky Luke as well as Stéréo-Club and Epi-Club that catered to a younger clientele. Restaurants were also plentiful, including the fashionable Grenier des Artistes. In postwar Beirut, the night scene had already migrated from Rue de Phénicie to

Rue Monnot Rue Monnot ( ar, شارع مونو), is a street in Beirut, Lebanon. It is located east of Beirut Central District, in the Sodeco neighborhood of the Achrafieh district, and named after Father Ambroise Monnot, a French Jesuit who founded the Saint ...

and

Rue Gouraud Rue Gouraud () is a mixed residential and commercial street in Gemmayzeh, a neighborhood in the Rmeil district of Beirut in Lebanon. It is named after French General Henri Gouraud. Gemmayze, and Rue Gouraud specifically, and competes with th ...

. Today, it is a quieter street and home to the Radisson Blu Martinez Hotel and smaller hotels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rue De Phenicie Phenicie, Rue de

See also

References