Rue Weygand
Encyclopedia
Rue Weygand is a street in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

's Central Business District
Beirut Central District
The Beirut Central District or Centre Ville is the name given to Beirut’s historical and geographical core, the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hub of the country.” At the heart of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut Central District is an area thousands of years old, traditionally a...

. Originally, the street was named Rue Nouvelle as it was a new thoroughfare constructed as part of a modernization plan in 1915. Upon its completion, the street was renamed after Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...

, the High Commissioner of French-mandated Syria and Lebanon
High Commissioners of French-mandated Syria and Lebanon
High Commissioners of Syria and Lebanon were the highest ranking authority representing France in the french mandated countries of Syria and Lebanon. They were based in Beirut, Lebanon...

 who served from 19 April 1923 – 29 November 1924.

Jean Lauffray, the French archeologist, revealed that Rue Weygand, followed the ancient Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, decumanus
Decumanus Maximus
In Roman city planning, a decumanus was an east-west-oriented road in a Roman city, castra , or colonia. The main decumanus was the Decumanus Maximus, which normally connected the Porta Praetoria to the Porta Decumana .This name comes from the fact that the via decumana or decimana In Roman city...

. While Roman and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 mosaic floors have been found, the street predates the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 as archeological digs have also uncovered evidence that the street was a commercial hub even prior to the Hellenization
Hellenization
Hellenization is a term used to describe the spread of ancient Greek culture, and, to a lesser extent, language. It is mainly used to describe the spread of Hellenistic civilization during the Hellenistic period following the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon...

 of Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

.

Prior to the war, the number 2 tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 ran from Gare du Phare to Rue de Damas via Rue Weygand.

Rue Weygand is a one-way street that runs east-west, beginning at Boulevard George Haddad and turning into Rue Georges Picot
Georges Picot
Georges Marie René Picot was a French lawyer and historian.Born in Paris, son of Charles Picot and wife Henriette Bidois , his main work is Histoire des États généraux for which he twice gained the prize of the French Academy...

 that cuts through the Jewish quarter of Wadi Abu Jamil
Wadi Abu Jamil
Wadi Abu Jamil, located in Beirut's Centre Ville, is the Jewish quarter in Beirut, Lebanon.-History:Formally known as Wadi al-Yahoud ., the quarter was the center of the Lebanese Jewish community, with Beirut's largest and most important synagogue, the Maghen Abraham Synagogue, located there...

. The Municipality of Beirut is located on the street along with exclusive designer shops and hotels, such as Le Gray. The Beirut Souks
Beirut Souks
The Beirut Souks is a major commercial district in Beirut Central District. With over 200 shops and a department store, it is Beirut's largest shopping area, as well as the most dense.The souks have historically been at the commercial heart of Beirut...

 are also located on Rue Weygand.

In Literature

  • The Arms of the Mantis by Robert Charles
"Sam Terrell was at that moment prowling the rooftop of a high rise building on the Rue Weygand."

  • The Man in the Middle by Hugh Atkinson
"Lawrence turned right into the Rue Weygand, changed down and accelerated past a crawl of Mercedes, Buicks and Cadillacs."

  • Redemption: A Novel of War in Lebanon by Liston Pope
"Ligury turned left on Rue Weygand, approaching the center."

  • The Song of the Goldencocks by Margaret Donnelly
"The taxi drove him around blocks and piles of collapsing buildings, then back to Rue Weygand, because Hamid wanted to show him a few archeological excavations that he pointed to, explaining, “Omari Grand Mosque, built over Roman temple..."

  • The Tiller of Waters by Hoda Barakat
"I went out to Rue Maarad
Rue Maarad
Rue Maarad is a main street in the Beirut Central District, the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hub of Lebanon". Severely damaged in the Lebanese Civil War, the street underwent a thorough reconstruction and development plan by the Lebanese real estate giant Solidere...

, thinking I would go as far as Rue Weygand and from there would go home to plant the shoots before they could wilt."
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