The nightclub business in Lebanon

When The Axis of Evil comedy tour performed in early 2008, Lebanon—for the first time in its history—did not have a president, and was in the midst of a politically unstable and tense period that culminated with the Doha Accord later that year. Despite the situation, Maz Jobrani, one of the group’s stand-up comedians, humorously observed that the Lebanese were still going out clubbing as if everything was fine. Jobrani was not the first—nor the last—to comment on the Lebanese’s panache for partying like there is no tomorrow regardless of the country’s state. While the idea of Beirut as the party capital of the Middle East can lend itself to cliché, the reality is that the breadth of different kinds of nightclubs found in Lebanon—relative to its size—is impressive. Beirut and its immediate suburbs seem to have it all, whether it is live performances by local oriental musicians or international