A few minutes' drive away, the commercial city center is almost deserted, except for bearded Hezbollah supporters drinking tea and playing backgammon in tents set up in a round-the-clock-protest aimed at unseating the government. Here, a different kind of music is played — a deafening repertoire of martial songs often decrying alleged Western intervention in the country's affairs.

These are the two faces of the Lebanese capital, caused by the political standoff between the Western-backed government and the opposition, led by Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah.

The downtown area was rebuilt after Lebanon's civil war ended in 1990 and transformed into a district of glitzy shops and hotels that drew Lebanese away from older shopping areas and nightspots like Hamra Street, which has been in decline since its pre-war heyday as Beirut's trendiest avenue.

But now businesses in the city center are struggling as people avoid the opposition sit-in that began on Dec. 1 in at least two downtown squares. Some 100 shops and business have closed down, and thousands of employees in major hotels, restaurants and malls have been laid off.

Officials estimate the country is losing between US$40 to US$70 million a day as the crisis drags on. Amid the uncertainty over the standoff, which burst into violence earlier in the year, tourists are staying away, and many warn that much needed money from the once lucrative summer tourism season will be lost.

"The atmosphere is poisoning the reputation of the country," said Fadi Riachi, chief executive officer and co-founder of Bridges, a Middle East consulting firm dedicated to assisting in reform. The current standoff, Riachi said, was hurting the country as much as, if not more, than last summer's devastating Israel-Hezbollah war.

United Arab Emirates tycoon Khalaf al Habtoor, whose investments in Lebanon are estimated at around US$400 million, said in March that his group has had to lay off around 800 of his 1,200 employees in his businesses, which includes two hotels, a shopping mall and a children's park.

"Put your differences aside and fix the problems plaguing the country because the loss of Lebanon cannot be compensated," he warned at a press conference.

But the dying downtown has revived long forgotten nightspots, as Lebanese turn to Hamra Street, the nearby upscale Verdun district (pictured right) and across town in Ashrafieh as well as Kaslik Boulevard in Jounieh, just north of Beirut.

"People who can't go there anymore are now coming to us," said Hanan, marketing manager at one of the coffeshops in Hamra who didn't want to give her full name published in line with company rules. "We are now full every night."

Investors appear to be counting on the economy to pull through, even in downtown Beirut.

Beirut Gate, a US$600 million project to build commercial and residential buildings in the downtown district, is forging ahead despite some delays.

"The demand for the land remains strong with several interested parties negotiating with (us), and the current situation has not led to interested parties withdrawing," said Michael Lawrence, executive director of real estate at Abu Dhabi Investment House, which is developing the project. "But it is delaying the completion process of the sales," he said.

"La Residence," (pictured right) a US$140 million dollar project designed by Ivana Trump to build a 27-story tower of luxury apartments and penthouses in downtown Beirut, is also selling normally. Construction, however, has been delayed due to the current situation, said an official of the Dubai-based real estate company developing the project.

During the Easter weekend, restaurants were full of Lebanese families, and flights into the country were fully booked with Lebanese expatriates returning home for the holiday — though few foreign tourists. Across the country, festivals, bridal fairs, fashion shows and theaters continue to attract audiences.

"It was a good year. The demand on tickets has been surprising, and we had full audiences during all the shows," said Nada Massoud, of the Bustan Festivals of classical music and art.

"This is Lebanon. I guess other people may stop their lives during difficult times but when the Lebanese are anxious, they like to listen to music," she said.

Source: AP