Martyrs' Square
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martyrs' Square (or el Bourj, (Arabic: البرج); French: Place des Martyrs) is the heart of the downtown district of Beirut, Lebanon (see Beirut Central District). Its central statue commemorates Lebanese nationalists who were hanged during World War I by the Ottomans.
[edit] History
In the 19th century, the square was known as Place des Canons. During World War I, Lebanon was under Ottoman rule. In 1915, Beirut suffered a blockade by the Allies, which was intended to starve the Turks out. The effect was a famine, followed by plague, which killed more than a quarter of the population. A revolt against the Turks broke out which resulted in hanging of many nationalists on 6 May 1916 in the renamed Martyrs' Square. Among them were Abdul Karim al-Khalil, Abed al-Wahab al-Inglizi, Father Joseph Hayek, Joseph Bishara Hani, Mohammad and Ahmad Mahmassani, Omar Hamad, Philip and Farid el-Khazen, and Sheikh Ahmad Tabbara.
[edit] Current day
Some remains of the opera and the bronze Martyrs statue are the only features left of the Martyrs' Square. The statue, riddled with bullet holes, has become a symbol for all that was destroyed during the Lebanese Civil War.
The Martyrs' Square is a common location for protests and demonstrations, among the more notable demonstrations were the 2005 anti-Syrian protests of the Cedar Revolution and 2007 anti-government opposition protests led by Hezbollah and The Free Patrotic Movement.
