How the Holiday Inn became a symbol of the Lebanese Civil War

A symbol of jet set prewar Beirut, the empty, shell-scarred building still towers above glitzy downtown.

For over 40 years, the skeletal remains of the Holiday Inn have stood in central Beirut, a constant reminder of the devastating Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990. The 26-storey hotel opened in 1974 when the city was still a glamorous Middle East tourist destination. Its hotel district was "the playground for celebrities, politicians, diplomats and spies," according to political geographer Sara Fregonese. 

However, all of that changed in 1975 when the war erupted. On one side, Lebanese right-wing parties backed by the United States, aimed to expel armed Palestinian groups from Lebanon. On the other were left-wing parties allied with Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and backed by the Soviet Union - who saw the right-wing Christians as an extension of Israeli and American influence in Lebanon.