An Art Lovers' Guide

Once torn apart by civil war, Beirut has bounced back to rebuild its reputation as a cosmopolitan city with a rich artistic heritage and a level of tolerance and cultural freedom rare in the region. Nina and Alastair's journey takes them up into the surrounding mountains by cable car to an astonishing modern Christian cathedral. Nina is welcomed into an 800-year-old mosque that was once a cathedral built by Crusaders. While Nina discovers how a bullet-ridden house has been transformed into an emotionally powerful war memorial, Alastair meets Bernard Khoury, whose visionary buildings are designed to improve the social fabric of Beirut. Alastair also encounters a street artist paying tribute to an actress who united the city in times of trouble, and Nina takes tea with an elderly Armenian couple who reflect on the city's immigrant experience.