Street Names in Beirut, Lebanon

LEBANON,on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, is a city that has seen a great number of conquering armies and ideologies compete for dominance in its area. With a population of about 700,000, it is the capital of the Lebanese Republic, a major port in the Arab world, and a great international, commercial center. 1 It is the major city of Lebanon, with about one-third of the country's total population living within the city's limits. 2 Since the Suez crisis of 1956 Beirut has become even more important as airlines, banks, oil companies, and commercial enterprises from the rest of the Arab world have relocated there. 3 Situated in a country that is about evenly divided between Christians and Moslems, the city has long been a cultural, commercial, and religious link between Europe and the Middle East. This former struggle between East and West,4 between Islam and Christianity, can be seen in the names of Beirut's streets and quarters. 5 There are different theories about the origin of the name of the city. One historian of ancient times, Sanchoniathon, wrote that Beirut was built by the god II or IIlion in honor of his wife, who was named Beirut. 6 Others have derived the name from Berothai ("And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze" -2 Samuel 8:8) or from Berothah (" 'This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath and on to Zedod, Berothah, Sibraim . . ."'-Ezekiel 47:15-16), but the other names in the text would seem to rule out Beirut. It is also possible that the name came from an Aramaic word Brouta "evergreen tree" because of the many trees around the city in former times. Other scholars derive the name from the Hebrew and 1