ST. GEORGE'S CATHEDRAL OF THE MARONITES

St. George's Cathedral of the Maronites dominates Emir Bechir Street. Built from 1884 to 1894 according to the plans of the Italian architect Giuseppe Maggiore, it was at that time the highest building in the city. Its facade recalls that of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major of Rome. Inside, some beautiful frescoes in the Italian style of the 19th century can be visited in about ten minutes, without being exceptional ... The cathedral is one of the holiest places of the Maronite community of Beirut, which meets for the great religious festivals of the Christian calendar. Opposite the cathedral is the famous Al-Azarié office building. On the left, the remains of the Roman city centre: these columns, called "columns of the Forty Martyrs", were once located on the Cardo maximus (the north-south axis of any Roman city). A little further on, near the Orthodox Cathedral of St. George, the crossing with the Decumanus (west-east axis) allows us to imagine the size and importance of ancient Beirut: there must have been the forum, the markets and the famous law school. If all this past has almost completely disappeared today, this is explained by the various buildings that buried these remains from the 2nd and 4th centuries AD: on this site, archaeologists have discovered Byzantine, Mameluk and Ottoman ruins, which are now covered by the present buildings. History is an eternal beginning...