THE STATUE OF THE MARTYRS

The Martyrs' statue has become the main landmark of the area, standing in the centre of a median strip of land occupied by UNHCR tents. Bullet holes are still clearly visible. Impressive! The Italian sculptor Mazacurati was commissioned by the Beirut municipality in 1956 to create it as a tribute to the Arab nationalists hanged by the Ottomans in 1916. It was officially laid on May 6, 1960 by President Fouad Chehab. The eponymous square, which stood on the Green Line, was ravaged during the civil war.