Drunk on Success

"Take me, bring me to Hamra Street, tonight the party’s in Hamra Street,” sang Lebanese Jazz pioneer Khaled el-Habber in years past, and yet nowadays, the tune somehow rings true again. In the past three years, some dozen new restaurants and cafes have opened on Hamra Street and 32 new bars have opened on the parallel Makdessi Street. The impact has been profound, both in terms of its effect on real estate prices and on local Hamra residents, but in terms of crime and violence as well. Hamra’s roots The proximity of major universities, and hotels usually preferred by tourists on a budget, has historically given Hamra a reputation for being a laid-back party street. According to Michel Bekhazi, the current mukhtar (or ‘neighborhood administrator’) of Hamra, the 1950s were Hamra’s glory days. Back then, “international celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot and major local celebrities such as Sabah cruised the