New Beirut

This city stood for 5000 years, and god willing, it shall stand for another 5000 years.

— The Mayor of Beirut, in 2059.

New Beirut, or Neo-Beirut, is a large city located along the eastern Mediterranean coast, in west-asia. It is the capital and the largest city of the Lebanon province of the European Federal State.

Histoire

While the old city of Beirut had existed for thousands of years prior and was widely considered to be one of the oldest continually inhabited settlement in the entire world, it would suffer a nearly crippling blow during the West Asian Crisis of 2057 to 2059.
Both the city, and the rest of the country of Lebanon, of which it was the capital of, would be invaded by the European Federal State in fall of 2056, simply as a means to get a foothold in the region. A few months later, the EFS, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Euro-Chem fought Iran and Rosprom over the Middle-east's remaining oil reserves. During the fighting, as much as 60% of the city's infrastructure and housing was destroyed in the fighting, and as a result, more than 75% of the city's pre-crisis population fled to the suburbs of the countryside.
By 2059, the war tilted in favour of Rosprom and Iran, as Syria was invaded by Iraq with Iranian support and Egypt threatened to close the Suez Canal to European, Israeli, and Jordanian ships. Then, Israel launched nukes at Iran, and Iran replicated in kind. In a few hours, both countries were no longer in a state to continue fighting. Israel, with its much smaller territory, was left almost completely in ruins, while Iran still had large, but disconnected and isolated areas where life and civilisation survived. A few weeks later, peace talks began between the EFS, Euro-Chem, and Rosprom and after a month of intense negotiations, in the city of Tyr, the war officially ended.
Israel, Palestine, and Jordan would be put under Egyptian military occupation, while Iraq would annex all of Syria, except for the Kurdistan region, which would be given to Turkey as a "Token of peace". As for Lebanon, the European Federal State would insist of keeping the country, and because no regional player wanted to directly confront the EFS over the tiny territory, their request was accepted, even if they had technically lost the war.
In 2060, Lebanon became an EFS administered territory and money was poured into the country for reconstruction. Many of the city's oldest buildings had been damaged or destroyed during the war, and most were never rebuilt. The priority was given to housing the millions of refugies in the city, and so hundreds of cheap apartment blocks rose all across the country, including in Beirut.
In the 2060s and 70s, a few Megabuildings were constructed, and skyscrapers began to rise around the port area, radically changing the city's skyline. Around that time, Europeans began calling the city "New Beirut", as much of the old city had been destroyed, although many Beirut residents still reject that name.
Between 2079 and 2081, a Hyperspeed Trains line was built through the eastern part of Beirut, which links the city to Jerusalem and Cairo in the south, as well as Tartus, Latakia and Antioch in the north.
In 2088, Lebanon would become a full fledged state within the EFS, with Lebanon restored as its capital. The parliament had finally been rebuilt in the decade prior after intense public pressure to bring back democracy to the country. In September of the year, the parliament opened and the first sessions were held, officially marking a return of Beirut as the capital of Lebanon, albeit as a semi-independent province of the EFS.
In 2092, a new Hyperspeed train line began construction between Beirut and Bashrah, in the Neo-Assyrian State. Currently, the line has been extended to Damascus. With this new line, the European Federal state hopes to turn Beirut into a regional hub for transnational transportation and tourism in the West Asian region.

Nom(s) Aternatif(s)

Beirut / Neo Beirut / Beyrouth(French) / Bayrūt(Arabic)

Type

Capital

Population

5.7 million people

Gentilé

Beiruti

Organisation Propriétaire

European Federal State

Industry and Trade

After the West Asian Crisis , many European firms set up shop in the city, taking advantage of the dirt-cheap land, and the skilled, but still cheap labour. Since then, Manufacturing has become the city's main economic driver, with factories on the south and eastern side of the city producing things like cars, including AATV's, Military weapons and vehicles, and electronics.
The city's large port and strategic location with the Hyperspeed Trains network allows the produced goods to be easily shipped away. The city also has a strong tourism sector, with Beirut being the most popular middle-eastern destination for Europeans for the last two decades.

Geography and Climate

As sea levels began to rise quickly in the 2050s, sea walls began construction and were finished just before the outbreak of the West Asian Crisis. These walls still protect a large portion of the city's valuable waterfront.
The city's climate has also changed substantially since the start of the century. Summers and blistering, with temperatures commonly reaching 40°c.
Rainfall and snowfall amounts in the region have both halved since the year 2000, resulting in a chronic lack of freshwater in the countryside. The city has remedied this by constructing a few desalination plants.
In the south, most forests are dead thanks to this lack of water, and all agriculture is now done inside large greenhouses. Forests and agricultural land remain in the north, but are both greatly diminished.