Rue Weygand 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 ...

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. Originally, the street was named Rue Nouvelle as it was a new thoroughfare constructed as part of a modernization plan in 1915. Upon its completion, the street was renamed after

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...

, the High Commissioner of French-mandated Syria and Lebanon who served from 19 April 1923 – 29 November 1924. Jean Lauffray, the French archeologist, revealed that Rue Weygand followed the ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

decumanus. While Roman and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

mosaic floors have been found, the street predates the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

as archeological digs have also uncovered evidence that the street was a commercial hub even prior to the

Hellenization Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

. Prior to the war, the number 2

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

ran from Gare du Phare to Rue de Damas via Rue Weygand. Rue Weygand is a one-way street that runs east-west, beginning at Boulevard George Haddad and turning into Rue

Georges Picot Georges Marie René Picot (; 24 December 1838 – 16 August 1909) was a French lawyer and historian. His main work is ''Histoire des États généraux'' for which he twice gained the prize of the French Academy in 1873 and 1874. Biography Ge ...

that cuts through the Jewish quarter of

Wadi Abu Jamil Wadi Abu Jamil is the former Jewish quarter in Beirut, Lebanon, located in the city's central district. History Formally known as ''Wadi al-Yahoud'' (meaning "Valley of the Jews"), the quarter was the center of the Lebanese Jewish community, wi ...

. The Municipality of Beirut is located on the street along with exclusive designer shops and hotels, such as Le Gray. The

Beirut Souks Beirut Souks ( ar, أسواق بيروت) is a major commercial district in Beirut Central District. With over 200 shops, 25 restaurants and cafes, an entertainment center, a 14 cinema complex, periodic street markets and an upcoming department ...

are also located on Rue Weygand.

In Literature

*''The Arms of the Mantis'' by Robert Charles :"Sam Terrell was at that moment prowling the rooftop of a high rise building on the Rue Weygand." *''The Man in the Middle'' by Hugh Atkinson :"Lawrence turned right into the Rue Weygand, changed down and accelerated past a crawl of Mercedes, Buicks and Cadillacs." *''Redemption: A Novel of War in Lebanon'' by Liston Pope :"Ligury turned left on Rue Weygand, approaching the center." *''The Song of the Goldencocks'' by Margaret Donnelly :"The taxi drove him around blocks and piles of collapsing buildings, then back to Rue Weygand, because Hamid wanted to show him a few archeological excavations that he pointed to, explaining, “Omari Grand Mosque, built over Roman temple..." *''The Tiller of Waters'' by Hoda Barakat :"I went out to Rue Maarad, thinking I would go as far as Rue Weygand and from there would go home to plant the shoots before they could wilt."

References

{{coord missing, Lebanon Weygand, Rue Tourist attractions in Beirut

In Literature

See also

References