On Wednesday, January 12, 2022, a woman passes by a larger cosmetics store on Hamra Street Commercial Street in Beirut, Lebanon, which has closed forever after the economic crisis. Al Hamra Street was once home to the region's top cinemas, shops selling international brands and cafes where intellectuals from the Arab world gathered. Today, it reflects Lebanon's devastating multiple crises, with shops closing, beggars and piles of garbage on street corners.
Michelle Ed, 88, works at his music shop on Hamra Street in Beirut, Lebanon. In his little music shop, Hamra has witnessed the rise and fall of Lebanon for more than 60 years through the changing fate of this famous boulevard. Once home to the region's top cinemas, international brand shops and cafes, Al Hamra Street was home to intellectuals from the Arab world.
On Hamra Street in Beirut, Lebanon, a couple hugged each other as others passed.
Al Hamra Street represents all the charm of Beirut in the 1960s and 1970s, with Lebanon's top cinemas and theatres, cafes and upscale shops frequented by intellectuals and artists. Over the past decade, it has seen a renaissance with an international chain of stores and vibrant bars and restaurants.
Many of its stores are now closed. Impoverished Lebanese and Syrian refugees begged on the sidewalk. Garbage was piled up in its corner. Like the rest of Lebanon, the economic collapse swept through the streets like a devastating storm.
Al Hamra, 88, recalls the bad times during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, when he witnessed militia fighting, assassinations in cafes and the once-invading Israeli army marching through the streets. Hamra said nothing was worse than now.
"We've fallen to the bottom," he said. Few customers visit his Tosca Music Shop and Electronic Supplies, which sells records and a variety of electronic clocks, calculators and watches.
Lebanon's economic collapse was the culmination of the country's post-war era. The leaders of the war militias became the political leadership and have been in power ever since. The economy they run is sometimes booming, but it's actually a Ponzi scheme rife rife with corruption and mismanagement.
The program finally began to collapse in October 2019, which the World Bank called one of the world's worst economic and financial crises since the mid-1800s.
The value of money evaporated, wages lost their purchasing power, dollars in banks became unavailable, and prices soared. According to the United Nations, as many as 82% of the population now lives in poverty
This effect can be seen through Hamra Street.
Many shops have closed because owners can no longer afford the high rents and huge monthly bills of private generators. After nightfall, shops that are still open close early. Many street lights cannot work because of power outages. At one point, Hamra in the middle of the night felt empty before midnight.
At its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, Hamra Street was the elegant center of the Champs-Elysées in Beirut during Lebanon's pre-war metropolis. Visitors from Arabia, Europe and the United States flock to the trendy shops, restaurants and bars here.
Al Hamra has the best cinema in the capital. At the Piccadilly Theatre, Lebanon's most popular singer Fayrouz performs. You might see the international diva Dalida strolling down the street before one of her shows. World stars gave concerts in Lebanon, including Louis Armstrong and Paul Anka.
Located in the Ras Beirut neighborhood in the western part of the capital, Al Hamra was – and still is – a place where Christians and Muslims live together. Its café was a meeting place for artists, intellectuals and political activists, heavily influenced by the left-wing, secular, Arab nationalist spirit of the time.
"Hamra Street is an international avenue," said Mohammed Reyes, who has worked on the street since the early 70s and owns three clothing and lingerie stores in the area.
He sat in a café known as the Horseshoe in the 1970s. He pointed to a corner of two of the greatest Arab singers of the time, Abdel-Halim Hafez and Farid el-Atrash, as well as the iconic Romantic poet Nizar Qabbani from Syria.
The Civil War ended that golden age. The fighting caused severe damage to Hamra Street.
After the war, Beirut's international business and shopping mall moved to the newly renovated city center. But Al Hamra Street underwent a major renovation in the early 2000s, with new water, sewerage and electricity systems.
This has fueled a renaissance over the past 15 years. International chains such as Starbucks and Nike have opened stores. New restaurants are booming, including those opened by Syrians fleeing the country's civil war.
The New Wave pushed aside many of the region's pre-war signs. Its famous café, Modca, was replaced by a bank. A McDonald's replaced the Faisal restaurant, where Arab leftists used to squeeze in with araki and appetizers. The Piccadilly Theater was abandoned.
But the street has attracted a new generation of young people from all walks of life, bringing with it the progressive spirit of the 2011 frustrated Arab Spring. Once again, bars rang in the street. A club called Metro Medina attracts young people with retro live performances of ancient Arabic music from the last century.
Hamra was still busy during the day. Thousands of people are being treated at their medical center or studying at the nearby American University of Beirut, one of the top educational institutions in the Middle East.
But "Hamra is not the hamra of the past," Elie Rbeiz said.
Rbeiz, 70, has been Hamra's elite hairdresser since 1962. His regular clients include the late Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi, who flew Rbeiz to London in a private jet for a haircut. 20 years ago, Rbeiz expanded into menswear.
Now in the midst of the economic crisis, his sales are down 60 percent.
Still, Rbeiz believes Hamra will bounce back. He said his store was blown up during the Civil War and he renovated and reopened. "I didn't surrender then and I won't surrender now. never. ”
Not everyone is so sure.
Eid opened his music store in Hamra in 1958. He said he would shut it down when he stopped working. His two sons live abroad; if they don't want his 4,500 records, many of which are collector's items, he'll donate them.
Will Hamra Street prosper again? "Never, never. Impossible," he said.
But he's not leaving.
"Hamra Street is the oxygen I breathe," he said. "I grew up on Hamra Street and will end my life here."