To browse Academia. My thesis aims at preserving a historic event in Beirut through the proposal of a historic district. The event in question is the Battle of the Hotels, a 5-month urban battle that took place within and around the historic luxury hotel district in the Minet El Husn neighborhood of Beirut at the beginning of the 15year Lebanese Civil War The battle opposed the left-wing pro-Palestinian Lebanese National Movement against the right-wing Christian-nationalist Phalanges Party.
The battle is worth commemorating, and therefore preserving, for its instrumental role in shaping the urban rift that divided the city of Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, violently affecting the lives of all Lebanese citizens for a period of 13 years. Lebanese society shares a violent history that could, if considered a common heritage, be part of its postwar nation-building identity and inspire socio-political reform.
The Battle of the Hotels' significance also lies in its status as the first high-rise urban battle in the world. This thesis will argue that the Battle of the Hotels is such a significant Lebanese Civil War event as a major breakthrough battle and World event as the first high-rise urban battle in the world , that it is worthy of having the area where it took place preserved.
I will propose that the most appropriate way of doing so is by designating it as a historic district. Of course, this is easier said than done, for a couple of reasons:. Furthermore, Lebanese law has yet to rigorously protect historic buildings, let alone historic districts, while SOLIDERE has not expressed interest in preserving the Battle of the Hotels, demolishing a few of its landmarks such as the Normandy Hotel.
Second, the traumatic events of the civil war have yet to be addressed by the government or its political parties, even though the war ended 27 years ago. This "state-sponsored amnesia" was fore-fronted by the amnesty granted to all civil war criminals, who have either been integrated in the government and the army or immigrated as soon as the war was over.
