Four years ago, as the war ended, it was difficult to find an unscathed building in this city of 1.5 million people. Today, few of those monuments to war's desolation remain. Reconditioned luxury cars from Germany cruise past the site where a savage bombing of the U.S. Embassy and Marine compound in 1983 left Americans stunned by the furies of the Middle East. Trendy teenagers hang out at KFC and Pizza Hut. Designer boutiques selling European creations line the streets of Hamra, the city's glitziest shopping zone.
Cellular phones are everywhere.
Several luxury hotels are scheduled to reopen by 1999. By 2008 the financial center will be buzzing again. By 2018 modern office buildings will overlook a new 650-boat marina built on a former landfill. By 1998, the new facility will be equipped to welcome more than 6 million passengers a year. Some 28 international airlines already are using Beirut airport, which in 1990 was served only by Lebanon's national Middle East Airlines.